Female hurricanes are deadlier than male hurricanes
Edited by Susan T. Fiske, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, and approved May 14, 2014 (received for review February 13, 2014)
Letter
August 26, 2014
Letter
November 24, 2014
Letter
August 4, 2014
Letter
August 4, 2014
Significance
Meteorologists and geoscientists have called for greater consideration of social science factors that predict responses to natural hazards. We answer this call by highlighting the influence of an unexplored social factor, gender-based expectations, on the human toll of hurricanes that are assigned gendered names. Feminine-named hurricanes (vs. masculine-named hurricanes) cause significantly more deaths, apparently because they lead to lower perceived risk and consequently less preparedness. Using names such as Eloise or Charlie for referencing hurricanes has been thought by meteorologists to enhance the clarity and recall of storm information. We show that this practice also taps into well-developed and widely held gender stereotypes, with potentially deadly consequences. Implications are discussed for understanding and shaping human responses to natural hazard warnings.
Abstract
Do people judge hurricane risks in the context of gender-based expectations? We use more than six decades of death rates from US hurricanes to show that feminine-named hurricanes cause significantly more deaths than do masculine-named hurricanes. Laboratory experiments indicate that this is because hurricane names lead to gender-based expectations about severity and this, in turn, guides respondents’ preparedness to take protective action. This finding indicates an unfortunate and unintended consequence of the gendered naming of hurricanes, with important implications for policymakers, media practitioners, and the general public concerning hurricane communication and preparedness.
Acknowledgments
We thank Norbert Schwarz, Don Wuebbles, and Steven C. Zimmerman for helpful comments on previous drafts. We acknowledge support from the Association for Consumer Research/Sheth Foundation dissertation award (to K.J.).
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Published online: June 2, 2014
Published in issue: June 17, 2014
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Acknowledgments
We thank Norbert Schwarz, Don Wuebbles, and Steven C. Zimmerman for helpful comments on previous drafts. We acknowledge support from the Association for Consumer Research/Sheth Foundation dissertation award (to K.J.).
Notes
*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.
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Competing Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Female hurricanes are deadlier than male hurricanes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
111 (24) 8782-8787,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1402786111
(2014).
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