Benevolent Sexism

Gallantry, customs and behaviours associated with paying respect to women, such as holding doors, is often seen as an example of benevolent sexism because it involves treating women as though they are fragile or in need of protection. Usually, this kind of idealizing of women for their assumed feminine qualities comes at the expense of women being fairly assessing their other qualities. Another example of benevolent sexism can be seen in the women-are-wonderful rhetoric. This sort of language, such as that used to praise women for being mothers and carrying out the "hardest job in the world," overestimates female qualities on a cultural level, but not on a financial level.