A form of sexism which promotes negative stereotypes or disparaging views about members of an entire gender. This can apply to sexism against women or against men.
Some sources provide a very limited definition of hostile sexism by claiming that it should only refer to sexism in which people who do not conform to traditional
gender roles are viewed in a negative manner, with the goal of oppressing the targeted gender.
However, since hostility can take on many other forms, and since sexism has many goals, and since sexism can be targeted at any gender, it would be a very narrow-minded oversight to limit
the definition of hostile sexism by applying it only to situations in which the sexist is disparaging members of the targeted gender specifically because of them not conforming to traditional
gender roles, and/or because the sexist specifically wants to promote oppression.
Disparaging a person simply for being a member of a particular gender is always sexism,
even if the sexist's motivation is not caused by their target not conforming to traditional
gender roles. And it is clearly hostile to encourage others to view the targeted gender as inferior, even if oppression is not the stated intention. Therefore, all disparaging of an entire gender should be defined as hostile sexism, no matter what the stated motivation or goal is.
A female
talk show host stated that women are superior, and she lectured that all leaders should be women, and then she called for a campaign to
make it happen. Her male guest stated that women are trying to oppress men,
and that there are already enough women leaders. It is baffling that only the guest was accused of hostile sexism, and not the host.
