Thinking of Others: Feminist Identification and the Perception of Others’ Beliefs

Abstract

Previous research has shown that most women in the United States support feminist goals but do not label themselves as feminists. Concern over other people's opinions of feminists may predict rejection of the feminist label. In the present study we predicted that feminists would be more likely than non-feminists to believe that other people view feminists favorably. One hundred seventy-one female participants completed the BerrymanFink Semantic Differential Scale twice, once to indicate how they view feminists and again to indicate how they believe others view feminists. Contrary to our hypothesis, all women, regardless of feminist identification, believed that others view feminists negatively and as more likely to be homosexual than heterosexual. Relationships between participants' own views of feminists and their perceptions of others' views of feminists were explored. Transformative experiences that may lead a feminist to ignore their perception of society's views are discussed.

By name or by deed? Identifying the source of the feminist stigma

“…Generally, men think less favorably of feminists than do women (Breen & Karpinski, ; Henderson‐King & Zhermer, ; Twenge & Zucker, ; Williams & Wittig, ) and feminists are evaluated less favorably than are women in general, housewives, and traditional women (Haddock & Zanna, ; MacDonald & Zanna, ; Twenge & Zucker, ). Perhaps, not surprisingly, people who do not describe themselves as feminists evaluate feminists more negatively than do self‐identified feminists (Breen & Karpinski, ; Houvouras & Carter, ; Liss, O'Connor, Morosky, & Crawford, ; Myaskovsky & Wittig, ; Ramsey et al., ). However, even those women who self‐identify as feminists tend to hold views of typical feminists that are aligned with those of the dominant culture, in that they describe themselves as less extreme than typical feminists (Liss et al., ).…”

“…A review of four decades of American public opinion polls revealed that public support for both feminism and feminists has remained essentially unchanged since the early 1970s (Huddy et al, 2000). Though attitudes toward feminists range across studies from slightly negative to slightly positive (Breen & Karpinski, 2008;Cottrell & Neuberg, 2005;Jenen, Winquist, Arkkelin, & Schuster, 2008;Ramsey et al, 2007;Twenge & Zucker, 1999), only about one third of men and women report having a favorable impression of feminists (Huddy et al, 2000) and a sizable minority view the term "feminist" as an insult (Huddy et al, 2000;Schafer & Shaw, 2008). Generally, men think less favorably of feminists than do women (Breen & Karpinski, 2008;Henderson-King & Zhermer, 2003;Twenge & Zucker, 1999;Williams & Wittig, 1997) and feminists are evaluated less favorably than are women in general, housewives, and traditional women (Haddock & Zanna, 1994;MacDonald & Zanna, 1998;Twenge & Zucker, 1999).…”

Threats to Feminist Identity and Reactions to Gender Discrimination

“…The contentious position of the term is one reason that some women, despite favoring feminist goals, might be hesitant to call themselves feminists (a phenomenon noted e.g. in the U.S.: Ramsey et al 2007; Williams and Wittig 1997; Zucker 2004, and Poland, Frąckowiak-Sochańska 2011). Backlash criticism reflects a threat to the value of feminist group membership (see Branscombe et al 1999a and Riek et al 2006 for a discussion on how it differs from other types of identity threats such as categorization, distinctiveness, or acceptance threats).…”

Feminism and Women’s Control over Their Bodies in a Neoliberal Context: A Closer Look at Pregnant Women on Bed Rest

“…10 Women's alienation from feminist self-identifications can be partly explained through the backlash against feminism and the stereotypes now commonly associated with it. Largely orchestrated by increasingly powerful right-wing evangelical groups, this backlash resulted in the stigmatization of feminists as separatists, extremists, and men-hating lesbians (Eisenstein 2005;Faludi 1991;Ramsey et al 2007;Walby 2011). The stereotype of the man-hating feminist is perpetuated by the media and encourages women to disassociate themselves from the feminist label (Beck 1998;Lind and Salo 2002); it also helps to explain the hesitance of almost a quarter of the participants to identify as feminist in spite of agreeing with the struggle for women's equal rights and equal treatment.…”