What’s in a Label? The Relationship between Feminist Self-Identification and “Feminist” Attitudes among U.S. Women and Men

Abstract

Although scholars and media critics have suspected a disconnect between feminist self-identification and attitudes among the U.S. public, little is known empirically about this relationship. This article examines the relationships between feminist self-identification, sociodemographics, political orientation, and a range of gender-related attitudes using data from the 1996 General Society Survey. Results suggest that feminists are most likely to be highly educated, urban women who self-identify as liberals and Democrats. Feminist self-identification significantly relates to views about the impact of the women’s movement and to core causes of gender inequality. It links less well, particularly for women, to more specific causes and attitudes about what should be (e.g., those implicating working mothers, biology, and God’s will). This suggests the importance of analyzing clusters of attitudes regarding ideal gender arrangements and of examining and differentiating between other attitude clusters. These findings point to more multifaceted and heterogeneous meanings of feminist identity among the U.S. public than most research acknowledges.

Older and Younger Adults’ Attitudes Toward Feminism: The Influence of Religiosity, Political Orientation, Gender, Education, and Family

“…In addition, increased educational attainment is generally associated with more liberal views (McCabe 2005;Thornton and Freedman 1979), higher feminist consciousness (Reingold and Foust 1998), less traditional gender role attitudes (Marks et al 2009), and less likelihood to ascribe to traditional family values (Blanchard-Fields et al 2001;Willits and Funk 1989). However, some researchers (e.g., McCabe 2005;Schnittker et al 2003) have found this relationship only with extreme differences in the education levels.…”

“…Religion and politics have also been found to be related to attitudes about women's roles (Bryant 2003). Although group identification, rather than specific political affiliation, may most impact views on feminism (Rhodebeck 1996), liberal political orientation are more likely to identify as feminist (McCabe 2005;Peltola et al 2004). …”

The influence of feminist ascription on judgements of women's physical attractiveness

“…First, single-item feminist ascription scales do not capture the complexity of feminist beliefs, and being a 'feminist' may mean different things to different people (McCabe, 2005;Swami & Tovée, 2006). This is also important because different aspects of feminist beliefs may be related to body image in different ways (Myers & Crowther, 2007).…”

Physiological Arousal and Self-Reported Valence for Erotica Images Correlate with Sexual Policy Preferences

“…Those supportive of pro-choice policies also employ the language of human rights but in the other direction. They believe women, at least at certain stages of gestation and in certain circumstances, have the right to decide to terminate their pregnancy (McCabe, 2005;Wilcox & Norrander, 2002;Adams, 1997;Sapiro & Shames, 2009;Luker, 1984). Note that neither side employs personal attitudes toward sex in defense of their own positions, though they may suspect it influences their opponents.…”