Skip to main content
Log in

The Relationship Between Gender Social Identity and Support for Feminism

  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study is an application of social identity theory to feminist consciousness and activism. For women, strong gender identifications may enhance support for equality struggles, whereas for men, they may contribute to backlashes against feminism. University students (N = 276), primarily Euroamerican, completed a measure of gender self-esteem (GSE, that part of one's self-concept derived from one's gender), and two measures of feminism. High GSE in women and low GSE in men were related to support for feminism. Consistent with past research, women were more supportive of feminism than men, and in both genders, support for feminist ideas was greater than self-identification as a feminist.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

REFERENCES

  • Abrams, D., Thomas, J., & Hogg, M. A. (1990). Numerical distinctiveness, social identity and gender salience. British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 87–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen, K., & Cook, E. A. (1984). Women, work, and political attitudes. American Journal of Political Science, 29, 606–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banaszak, L. A., & Plutzer, E. (1993). Contextual determinants of feminist attitudes: National and subnational influences in Western Europe. American Political Science Review, 87, 147–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu, A. (1995). The challenge of local feminisms: Women's movements in global perspective.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bat-Chava, Y. (1994). Group identification and self-esteem in deaf adults. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 87, 147–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breinlinger, S., & Kelly, C. (1994). Women's responses to status inequality: A test of social identity theory. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self: On being the same and different at the same time.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 475–482.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burn, S. M. (1996). The social psychology of gender. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burn, S. M. (2000). Women across cultures:Aglobal perspective. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buschman, J. K., & Lenart, S. (1996). “I am not a feminist, but...”: College women, feminism, and negative experiences. Political Psychology, 17, 59–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston: Irwin Hyman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E. A. (1989). Measuring feminist consciousness. Women and Politics, 9, 71–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, R. (1990). Collective self-esteem and ingroup bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 60–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., & Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychological Review, 96, 608–630.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., & Major, B. (1992). A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one's social identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 302–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dion, K. L. (1986). Responses to perceived discrimination and relative deprivation. In J. M. Olson, C. P. Herman, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Relative deprivation and social comparison (pp. 159–179). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, N. (1993). The influence of socio-structural variables on identity management strategies.In W. Stroebe and M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 27–57). Chichester, England: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurin, P., & Markus, H. (1989). Cognitive consequences of gender identity. In S. Skevington and D. Baker (Eds.), The social identity of women (pp. 152–172). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurin, P., Miller, A. H., & Gurin, G. (1980). Stratum identification and consciousness. Social Psychology Quarterly, 43, 30–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson-King, D. H., & Stewart, A. J. (1994). Women or feminists? Assessing women's group consciousness. Sex Roles, 31, 505–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A., & Turner, J. C. (1987). Intergroup behavior, self-stereotyping, and the salience of social categories. British Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 325–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, M. B. (1981). You say potato and I say potahto: Attitudes toward feminism as a function of its subject-selected label. Sex Roles, 7, 349–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, A., Madlala, N., Moodley, A., & Salo, E. (1995). The dawn of a new day: Redefining South African feminism. In A. Basu (Ed.), The challenge of local feminisms: Women's movements in global perspective (pp. 131–162). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komarovsky, M. (1985). Women in college: Shaping new feminine identities. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, B. L. (1996). Putting the feminism into feminism scales: Introduction of a Liberal Feminist Attitude and Ideology Scale (LFAIS). Sex Roles, 34, 359–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pharr, S. (1988). Homophobia: A weapon of sexism. In S. Ruth (Ed.), Issues in feminism (3rd ed., pp. 253–263). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renzetti, C. (1987). New wave or second stage? Attitudes of college women towards feminism.Sex Roles, 16, 265–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skevington, S., & Baker, D. (1989). Introduction. In S. Skevington and D. Baker (Eds.), The social identity of women (pp. 1–14). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, H. J., & Tyler, T. R. (1997). Choosing the right pond: The impact of group membership on self-esteem and group-oriented behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33, 146–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swan, S., & Wyer, R. S. (1997). Gender stereotypes and social identity: How being in the minority affects judgments of self and others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1265–1276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: Studies in social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, I., & Mann, L. (1987). Unemployment, relative deprivation, and social protest. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 275–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. A., & Giles, H. (1978). The changing status of women in society: An intergroup perspective. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

since graduated

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Burn, S.M., Aboud, R. & Moyles, C. The Relationship Between Gender Social Identity and Support for Feminism. Sex Roles 42, 1081–1089 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007044802798

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007044802798

Keywords

Navigation