Predictors of Feminist Activism among Social Work Students in the United States

Abstract

While social workers advocate against domestic violence, sexual harassment, and restrictive reproductive practices, there have been virtually no studies on the reasons behind their feminist activism. To address this oversight, this study documented the extent of feminist activism among American undergraduate social work students (n ¼ 159). When moving to explanatory analysis, our data suggest that feminist activism was related to greater educational attainment, knowing activist peers, recognizing heterosexism, and internalizing a commitment to social justice. Moreover, electoral activism was tied to the rejection of traditional gender norms in the family and perceptions of social movement tactics were crucial to protesting for women's rights.

#MeToo as a Connective Movement: Examining the Frames Adopted in the Anti-Sexual Harassment Movement in China

“…Gender's impact on framing #MeToo should be examined, as sexual violence is predominantly committed by men to prey upon women (Marshall, 2003). The current patriarchal structures normalize "power over" females in the dominative sense (Uggen & Blackstone, 2004), and the imbalance of power relations between genders results in a gender gap in relevant movements (Swank & Fahs, 2014). Specifically, females are inclined to participate in sexual violence-related movements on their own behalf to seek social justice frames (Fileborn, 2016;Skalli, 2014), and they tend to apply injustice frame when identifying predators' responsibility for the offense (Marshall, 2003).…”

“…Specifically, females are inclined to participate in sexual violence-related movements on their own behalf to seek social justice frames (Fileborn, 2016;Skalli, 2014), and they tend to apply injustice frame when identifying predators' responsibility for the offense (Marshall, 2003). In contrast, males are reluctant to engage in gender-related issues that are perceived to challenge male privileges (Liss et al, 2004;Swank & Fahs, 2014). Consequently, gender may impact the frames social actors adopt regarding the #MeToo movement, and we propose the following question to address this possibility:…”

Personality Traits and Locus of Control as Predictors of Civil Activism

“…Stupanj obrazovanja nije se pokazao kao značajan prediktor ni za jedan kriterij. Ovaj nalaz nije u skladu s prošlim istraživanjima, gdje su viši stupanj obrazovanja (Franc i sur., 2007;Swank i Fahs, 2014) i veći prihodi bili povezani s većom građanskom uključenosti (Swank i Fahs, 2014). No ipak je do- bivena niska pozitivna povezanost stupnja obrazovanja s KA (r(275) = 0,18; p = 0,003), i građanskim aktivizmom (r(275) = 0,25; p = 0,001).…”

“…Brandstätter i Opp, 2014; Curtin i sur., 2010;Franc, Šakić i Maričić, 2007;Krolo i Puzek, 2014;Vecchione i sur., 2015), mjere pojedinačnih oblika aktivizma (npr. Corning i Myers, 2002;DiGrazia, 2013;Roets i sur., 2014;Swank i Fahs, 2014) i pojedinačna ponašanja aktivizma (npr. Gallego i Oberski, 2012;Ha, Kim i Jo, 2013;Mondak, Canache, Seligson i Hibbing, 2011;Mondak, Hibbing, Canache, Seligson i Anderson, 2010).…”

“…Istraživanja koja su se bavila odnosom sociodemografskih karakteristika i građanskog aktivizma došla su do ovih rezultata: građanska uključenost bila je pozitivno povezana sa stupnjem obrazovanja i prihodima, dok za spol nisu dobiveni jednoznačni rezultati (DiGrazia, 2013;Franc i sur., 2007;Mondak i sur., 2010;Saleh, El Kahhal i Abou Seif, 2011;Swank i Fahs, 2014). Prema istraživanjima povezanosti građanskog aktivizma i sociodemografskih varijabli u Hrvatskoj (Franc i sur., 2007;Krolo i Puzek, 2014), aktivizmu su skloniji muškarci, osobe višega stupnja naobrazbe, osobe veće percipirane efikasnosti te osobe koje su same članovi udruga i češće pozna-ju aktivnoga člana udruge.…”