Hostile and Benevolent Sexism and Attitudes Toward Establishing Consent Among Chinese Men: The Detrimental Role of Token Resistance Beliefs and Binge Drinking

Attitudes toward establishing sexual consent is an important prerequisite for understanding whether and how men will actively negotiate consent in sexual activities. However, little is known about the factors influencing sexual consent attitudes. The current study examined the associations among three sets of factors, known to be associated with sexual assault culture (i.e., hostile and benevolent sexism, token resistance beliefs, and rape myth acceptance), and Chinese men’s sexual consent attitudes, and whether these associations differed depending on their history of binge drinking before sex. Data from 399 Chinese adult men who had sex with women in the past year were analyzed. The results indicated that token resistance beliefs, but not rape myth acceptance, mediated the relationship between hostile sexism and positive sexual consent attitude, an association that was significant in men with and without a history of binge drinking before sex. Benevolent sexism showed a positive significant direct effect on positive sexual consent attitude. Importantly, among men with a history of binge drinking before sex, benevolent sexism had a significant indirect effect on positive sexual consent attitude through token resistance beliefs. Moreover, the supportive direct effect of benevolent sexism on positive sexual consent attitude was also suppressed by a history of binge drinking before sex. These findings suggest that hostile sexism, token resistance beliefs, and binge drinking, may be detrimental to positive sexual consent attitude, and may be important starting points for sexual assault prevention projects in China.