A recent study showed that sexist jokes evoke an attitude that favors violence against women. This phenomenon was found more vibrant in men with “macho attitudes”.

University of Granada researchers analyzed data collected from a group of 109 male university students, between the ages of 18 and 26 years.

The students were asked to complete several questionnaires. Then they were made to listen two series of jokes, sexist jokes where women were demeaned and jokes without any kind of sexist content.

Then, the researchers questioned them on the basis of several scenes with different cases of violence against women, from minor to serious attacks. The participants were asked about their reaction in such situations.

Data analysis indicated that students who listened to sexist jokes were much more tolerant to violence against women, as compared to those who had listened jokes without any sexist content.

The findings of the study suggest that apparently sexist humor favors the mental mechanisms associated with violent behavior towards women.

The researchers warned that the participants, who were exposed to sexist humour in the study, showed a previous tendency to tolerate violence against women.