Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2024
Publisher
Wiley
Source Publication
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP)
Source ISSN
1529-7489
Original Item ID
DOI: 10.1111/asap.12383
Abstract
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, liberal feminism has garnered the spotlight on equal rights for women. However, what factors contribute to men and women developing liberal feminist ideologies? This is important to understand as this ideology is predictive of support for political and social policies that are currently under debate in the United States. In this survey study (149 heterosexual men and 233 heterosexual women) we examined attitudinal and ideological variables that underlie liberal feminist ideology. The results of this study indicate that heterosexual men scored significantly lower on liberal feminist ideology and significantly higher on traditional attitudes toward women, hostile and benevolent sexism, gender-specific justification, rape myths, and conservative political affiliation compared to heterosexual women. Furthermore, traditional attitudes toward women, hostile and benevolent sexism, gender-specific justification, rape myths, political leanings, and gender accounted for almost 70% of the variance in liberal feminist ideology. Participant gender did not moderate the regression analyses, suggesting that men and women are influenced similarly in determining what attitudes predict liberal feminist ideologies. Implications for support for public policy are addressed.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Russell, Brenda; Oswald, Debra; and Cotter, MaryKate, "What Makes a Liberal Feminist? Identifying Predictors of Heterosexual Women and Men’s Liberal Feminist Ideology" (2024). Psychology Faculty Research and Publications. 617.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/psych_fac/617
Comments
Published version. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP), Vol. 24, No. 1 (April 2024): 241-260. DOI. © The Authors. Used with permission.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.