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.