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Double standard
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{{Short description|Inconsistent application of principles}} {{For|the money usage|Bimetallism}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} A '''double standard''' is the application of different sets of [[principle]]s for situations that are, in principle, the same.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of double standard |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/double-standard|access-date=2020-07-27|website=dictionary.com|language=en}}</ref> It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another.<ref>{{cite web |title=double standard |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/double-standard |website=collinsdictionary.com |publisher=[[HarperCollins Publishers]] |access-date=3 March 2019 |format=Web article}}</ref> A double standard arises when two or more people, groups, organizations, circumstances, or events are treated differently even though they should be treated the same way.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/double-standard|title=double standard Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary|website=dictionary.cambridge.org|language=en|access-date=9 June 2018}}</ref> A double standard "implies that two things which are the same are measured by different standards".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eichler |first1=Margaret |location=London, U.K.|title=The Double Standard: A Feminist Critique of Feminist Social Science |date=1980 |publisher=[[Croom Helm]] |isbn=978-0-85664-536-5 |page=15 |language=en |type=Print}}</ref> Applying different principles to similar situations may or may not indicate a double standard. To distinguish between the application of a double standard and a valid application of different standards toward circumstances that only ''appear'' to be the same, several factors must be examined. One is the [[sameness]] of those circumstances β what are the parallels between those circumstances, and in what ways do they differ? Another is the [[philosophy]] or [[belief system]] informing which principles should be applied to those circumstances. Different standards can be applied to situations that appear similar based on a qualifying [[truth]] or [[fact]] that, upon closer examination, renders those situations distinct (a [[Physical world|physical]] reality or [[moral]] obligation, for example). However, if similar-looking situations have been treated according to different principles and there is no truth, fact or [[principle]] that distinguishes those situations, then a double standard has been applied. If correctly identified, a double standard usually indicates the presence of [[hypocrisy]], [[bias]] or [[Injustice|unjust]] behaviors.
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