firecat

Link to the abstract of the paper is at the journal site; it mentions, in part, "Finally, we discuss recent evidence indicating that, in contrast to Allport’s pessimistic predictions, intergroup contact is especially effective in reducing prejudice among people high in NFC." (emphasis added.) Actual paper is behind an academic paywall.

So: they can learn to tolerate ambiguity when it's obviously necessary. (Like, they meet enough different people to know that stereotypes don't work to tell them how those people think and act.)

Makes me wonder if there's some essential difference between sexism and many other kinds of prejudice, many of which are aimed at "those OTHER people not part of my community." It's not like anyone lacks exposure to numerous people of both genders--but I suppose it's possible that some only encounter women in specific roles (housewife-and-mother) and assume they're incapable of doing anything else.

The paper seems to partially explain how privilege continues: in addition to reinforcing power (and usually money) for those who have it, it reduces ambiguity for the people who aren't directly benefiting from it. And, wow, why it's so hard to fight even among people who objectively recognize that everyone should have equal rights: eliminating unconscious prejudices ties into decision fatigue because they'd have to make new judgments and decisions all the time.