I had a difficult time finding any kind of official research or editorials that explore the subject I'm about to tackle in response to Uboa's question. Without making widespread generalities the only thing I can really offer is a fleeting glimpse into the life of an average male growing up in average conditions of (Mid)Western patriarchy in the United States.
Before I begin, a bit of a theoretical tangent. After reflecting on our conversations here, I'll posit up front that no single cultural artifact (ranging from the Bible to Beyonce's
Single Ladies --
it was one of the best videos of all time!!! Look at the lighting! The skilled choreography! That video editing!) is necessarily sufficient in and of itself to generate sexism. Each individual could conceivably have his or her own varied interpretation of the Book of Genesis and Beyonce displaying her rather nice gams for all to see. Is Eve being made from Adam's rib implying that "women are the crowning jewel of creation" or is it implying "women are second rate beings"? Is Beyonce "putting out" for me on command like dancers in the old harems, or is she displaying a fierce sexuality that strikes out at patriarchy because it is all her own? Sexism occurs when these cultural articles are arranged together in such a way or framed in such a context that they carry a sexist message. The explicitness with which this message is communicated and disseminated, then, may determine how many fall under its sway.
Since I still feel a need to lend some credence to the possibility that the issue I'm about to address is of societal significance, let's first turn to three Youtube videos I found on short notice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWR1Z4AiyWMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VDvZYcrq0ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua1g-eGn3V0These videos tell stories about men in our society and their view of women, and specifically their views about how they relate to women. In each case the viewer will likely pick up strong vibes of anger toward women (and thus thinly veiled misogyny).
In the first case the literal message is, "Feminism screwed us up! Society was so much better when things were arranged more orderly!"
In the second case, it's "Hey, numbnuts! Start acting tough or you'll never get laid!"
In the third case, it's "Hey, you retard girls! If you'd stop dating assholes and start dating 'nice guys' like 'us' your lives will be a whole lot better!"
But in addition to each video's literal message, there is a subtext shared by all three: a false but unquestioned underlying assumption that these men are somehow entitled to something they've been deprived of unfairly, or else they might not be getting so worked up over the issues they're getting worked up about. If we were to have a conversation with them, we might arrive at the core issue here: they feel they are entitled to women.
This would only be a pet theory except for the fact that I myself was in these men's shoes for a time. For me it manifested in such a way that I had a really flippant attitude toward women who were dating or otherwise socially attached to men who were not me; I began categorizing, labeling, every conversation a reconnaissance mission; if she was dating I left for more fertile pastures. During lull periods I would feel alternately frustrated like the guy in video #3; charged with aggressive machismo like the speaker in video #2; and yearning for ye olde days where conservative values simplified these adolescent trials, like the guy in video #1. When I finally paused and actually examined myself and my motives, I realized I was trying to build my whole life around a sense of entitlement. I, a white male living the dream that is middle class patriarchy in the US, was no different than those slave masters of old who defined the worth of other human beings only in relation to themselves. I am, to this day, a recovering sexist. Feminism was my ticket out; I have positive cultural artifacts and feminist women in my life to thank for my interest in exploring this field, and it's been the most liberating experience for me on a personal level.
So I've said thus far that I believe there might be a societal issue here worth addressing: that our culture could be producing self-centered men so fixated on "the score" that they actually get cranky and feel deprived when women exercise free choice, and that free choice doesn't lead straight to them. More simply: male entitlement to women. Others here may report honestly never feeling such things; that's good, that represents progress to me. But on the other hand, between the three Youtube videos and myself, you've got four who fit the sexist mold, at least as captured in video and anecdote. How many more are out there? Does the attitude contribute to extreme behaviors in some cases? Like...acquaintance rape, sexual assault, child pornography, you name it?
And how does this attitude even arise? How could a male baby born with naught but a tabula rasa to call his own, get these ideas in his head? Again, all I can pretend to offer at this point are personal anecdotes. I'll paint a very brief impression of a (probably average) male adolescent life in a middle class midwestern US community:
Age 9: Grade school soccer match during recess. Boy sees a male peer calling another male peer a "faggot." Boy doesn't know quite what that means just yet; only knows it's something he doesn't want to be called himself, judging from the fact that the one peer was screaming that at the other peer. Later that year boy looks up the term; it's not a burning stick like in
The Hobbit after all.
Age 12: Boy receives his regular monthly videogame magazine in the mail; approximately half way through is a full-spread Sega Saturn ad featuring a luxuriously reclining woman adorned only by strategically placed videogame screenshots. Boy's response: "Whoa."
Age 13: Boy is accused of being "gay" in an argument; boy vows to drop the games and start lifting weights. Although...the weight-lifting plan is postponed for a year to make more time for Final Fantasy VII.
Age 18: Boy receives his first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. The covergirl is Yamila Diaz Rahi; and the issue climaxes with an image of Ms. Diaz-Rahi that leaves very little to the imagination (and ironically, what little she is clad in would become the ultimate dress -- or lack thereof -- in Dead or Alive: XTreme Beach Volleyball).
Later that year: Boy is at a lunch table listening to a peer's report of having sex with a drunken freshman -- one of the school's most desirable hotties -- at a party. When someone asks why the peer did what he did, his response is: "Well, who the fuck wouldn't?" Everyone bows their heads because he apparently speaks solemn truth. The issue of whether the sex was or was not consensual does not enter discussion.
Later that year: Boy is inducted into an honor society, the only male. A mother of one of his peers quips of the boy: "He has a harem!"
What does this all amount to? Could be anything, reasonably; for me, the subtext that succinctly unites all these anecdotes thematically is something along the lines of: "Women's bodies are out there for the grabbing, better get busy and prove you're not gay!" That's the kind of attitude I found festering within me after being exposed to all this for so long. Once I saw it for what it was it seemed poisoning and destructive.
Now, there's no guarantee everyone would have reacted the same way to these things. Furthermore, I left out various countervailing cultural impressions that at least helped me realize women aren't somehow these, one-dimensional caricatures. But more important than what I chose to leave out are what I'm forced to leave out due to their nonexistence: there was no classroom discussion at age 10 about the fact that the nude woman I saw in a videogame mag at age 9 entered into a complex legal contract, and furthermore was probably photoshopped. There was no discussion at age 18 about female empowerment through sexuality; there was just...Yamila Diaz-Rahi's bare body there, meant to be consumed. There was nothing framing that act of consumption, nothing that helped me interpret the cultural implications of the image in one way or another. I didn't get any of that until I'd taken a women's studies course way later in college.
So that's my spiel about how the sum effect of cultural artifacts can contribute to patriarchy. It's also why I feel a bit of a pit in my stomach when I read what some Third Wave Feminists are up to, and why some remaining Second Wave Feminists share this trepidation. As a concluding analogy to sum up my current feelings about the state of the movement: While I think Beyonce should be completely free to shake her thang, I just hope that for every boy who sees it, there's a parent, friend, mentor, or teacher out there at the ready with a feminist interpretation of what he's seeing. If not, then the movement has much work left ahead of it indeed. We need to actively create discussion and pro-feminist context as an adjunct to promoting sexual freedom.