Prejudice and negative attitudes toward stronger gender-equality policies are often associated with personal traits such as sexism. An alternate perspective focuses on intergroup threats in resource-scarce situations, highlighting economic frustration. Centered on South Korea, this study examines the connection between deepening pessimistic economic perceptions among young men and their opposition to gender equality, based on intergroup threat theory. Analyzing data from the 2019 Unification Survey, we find that young Korean men expressed less support for gender-equality policies than other segments of the population. And among Korean men in their twenties, a pessimistic view of their economic status correlated with weaker endorsement of gender-equality policies. In contrast, we saw no significant link in this group between sexist attitudes and resistance to gender-equality policies.
Economic Frustration and Resistance to Gender Equality among Young Korean Men
Hanna Kim is a visiting scholar at the Asian Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. She holds a doctoral degree in political science from the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University, South Korea. Her recent academic experience includes teaching courses on Political Parties and Understanding Contemporary Politics as a lecturer at Seoul National University.
Youngdeuk Park (corresponding author) is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Chungnam National University, Daejon, South Korea, and his research interests include public opinion, elections, and party politics. This work was supported by the research fund of Chungnam National University.
Hanna Kim, Youngdeuk Park; Economic Frustration and Resistance to Gender Equality among Young Korean Men. Asian Survey 1 October 2024; 64 (5): 781–811. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2024.2124374
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