ABSTRACT
A double standard is used when identical behaviors or situations are evaluated, treated, or measured by different criteria. Double standards can be found in language, concepts, methods, interpretation of data, and policy conclusions. The use of a double standard is often difficult to recognize because it is not necessarily introduced along overtly sexual lines, but rather in an indirect manner. Analyzing materials for the existence of a double standard therefore often involves two steps: first, determining whether any sex-based elements are present (whether overtly or indirectly), and second, establishing whether or not the situations discussed are, in fact, comparable.
