Sexism in Relation to Evaluations of Kamala Harris and Voting Behaviors

Gendered racism occurs when the mistreatment of women is grounded in both gender and racial stereotypes and it is often used to target women of color directly (e.g., angry Black woman or cold Asian woman stereotypes). Prior research demonstrates that sexist attitudes are related to evaluations of White women in politics; expanding on this, we examine color-blind racial ideology (CBRI) as an individual difference factor influencing the relationship between sexist attitudes and evaluations of Kamala Harris. Approximately 769 college students completed measures of candidate warmth and competence, voting intentions, hostile and benevolent sexism, and color-blind racial attitudes. We found that CBRI moderated the relationship between benevolent sexism and evaluations of Harris. For participants strongly endorsing CBRI, complementary benevolence was positively associated with Harris warmth, while heteronormative benevolence was negatively related with Harris competence. CBRI also interacted with gender in relation to voting behaviors. Results showed an 8% chance of voting for Biden (not Trump) among women strongly endorsing CBRI, compared to a 17% chance of voting for Biden (not Trump) among men strongly endorsing CBRI. This study illuminates how CBRI influences how sexist attitudes and gender are related to important political outcomes, suggesting that there are consequences for women defying traditional gender norms regarding warmth.