The role of gender in racial meta-stereotypes and stereotypes

Stereotypes often guide interracial interactions—both the stereotypes we hold about others, and the stereotypes we believe others hold about us (i.e., meta-stereotypes). In Black-White interactions, the stereotype that Whites are prejudiced is one of the most salient, but does this stereotype vary by gender? White women tend to express more positive racial attitudes than White men, and stereotypes of Whites overlap more with stereotypes about men than with stereotypes about women. Thus, we hypothesized that both prejudice-related meta-stereotypes and stereotypes differ by gender. In Study 1, Whites reported that White men are seen as more prejudiced than White women. Studies 2a and 2b measured Blacks’ perspectives, finding that Blacks also reported that White men are seen as more prejudiced than White women. Together, these findings highlight the importance of considering gender to develop a more nuanced understanding of race-related stereotypes, meta-stereotypes, and interracial interactions. Full text forthcoming in Social Cognition.