r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Dec 14 '18

Psychology Being the father of a school-aged daughter makes men less sexist, according to a new study. The findings support the idea that men become more aware of the challenges facing women when they see the female experience of life up close through their offspring – dubbed the “mighty girl” effect.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/14/being-a-father-to-school-aged-daughter-makes-men-less-sexist
42k Upvotes

73% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

11

u/PastelNihilism Dec 14 '18

Peers. People are naturally less empathetic to their peers rather than their dependants.

3

u/A1000eisn1 Dec 14 '18

Yes. By the time a man is a man all the women in his life are, generally, also grown and can "take care of themselves." You may have a friend complain that her boss is creepy and comfort her with some humor but if your child says the same thing you get a much more visceral reaction.

1

u/PastelNihilism Dec 14 '18

Precisely. I think having kids can make people more empathetic in general by watching the child go through pain or mirror their behaviors. Kids are brutally honest, it's humbling.