So while gender inequality has evolved over the past many decades in America, it still exists in pay and position and parenting, and you’ll never guess (or maybe you will) where else… It turns out the needle on our moral compass is more flexible for …women… in the case of lying.
Almost 2 in 3 Americans say it’s essentially never OK to lie, but in specific situations, we appear more tolerant of lying when it comes to a woman, rather than a man. For example, many Americans feel it’s at least somewhat acceptable[1] to lie about:
| Acceptable to Lie in these Circumstances | ||
| Women | Men | |
| Weight | 44% | 34% |
| Age | 37% | 27% |
| Having had plastic surgery | 31% | 29% |
| Contact information | 29% | 18% |
| Being pregnant | 26% | NA |
And stereotyping be damned…. because in the spheres of fashion, flirtation, and fighting …. we are equally tolerant (or intolerant) of both women and men including:
Do you feel men and women should have a different code of ethics for affection and aggression? And, why do you think we might tolerate lying more from a woman than a man?
[1] “At least somewhat acceptable” refers to selecting a 6-10 on a 10 point scale in which 1 refers to “completely unacceptable” and 10 refers to “completely acceptable.”
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