The Words of (Non-)Humanity: Sexist Slurs Elicit Self-Dehumanization in Women

Abstract

Derogatory labels increase dehumanization in bystanders; research however has yet to investigate whether the same applies to victims themselves. In three preregistered studies (N_total = 1146), we predicted that women targeted with sexist slurs would dehumanize themselves. Participants imagined or recalled a situation in which a man addressed them with a generic insult, a sexist slur, or no insult. Then, we assessed self-dehumanization (primary and secondary emotions, perceptions of the self as an object or a person, and self-attributed warmth and competence) and meta-dehumanization (studies 2 and 3), namely the perception of the dehumanizing intentions of the speaker. Sexist slurs led participants to consider themselves as less human- and more object-like, and this effect was partially mediated by meta-dehumanization. Therefore, sexist slurs can affect women's self-perception by eliciting self-dehumanization, which negatively impacts women's wellbeing and life outcomes. Findings are discussed especially considering the debate around hate speech policing.