Are difficulties finding a romantic partner associated with sexist beliefs? Exploring associations between mate value and mate access with hostile and benevolent sexism, and belief in sexism shift

We tested the hypothesis that individual differences in difficulties finding a romantic partner are associated with sexism and belief in sexism shift. We hypothesized that, because heterosexual men with low (vs. high) mate value and low (vs. high) mate access face greater difficulties in finding a partner, they are more likely to hold sexist beliefs. We used self-reports of mate value, mate access, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, and belief in sexism shift from 1604 Finnish adults. We examined associations between these self-reports by using multivariate multiple regression, controlling for political ideology, perceived sex ratio, relationship status, and partner search status. Higher mate value was associated with greater benevolent sexism, while those not searching for a partner and single women with more mate encounters reported lower benevolent sexism. In contrast, hostile sexism was higher among respondents reporting more possibilities with potential partners and among singles reporting more mate encounters. Male gender and political conservatism were also associated with hostile sexism and belief in sexism shift. Together, these findings highlight that associations between mate access, mate value, and sexist beliefs are complex and context-dependent, varying by relationship status, partner search-status, and type of sexism. • Higher mate value was associated with higher benevolent sexism. • Not searching for a partner was associated with lower benevolent sexism. • Single women reporting more mate encounters reported lower benevolent sexism. • Mate access possibilities and encounters (in singles) were associated with higher hostile sexism. • Male gender and political conservatism were associated with hostile sexism and sexism shift.