Alyssa N. Zucker

Disavowing Social Identities: What it Means When Women Say, “I'm not a Feminist, But …”

Many women, even as they embrace feminist principles, are loath to be labeled feminists. This study presents a measure of feminist identity that accounts for beliefs and behaviors of self-identified feminists and nonfeminists, and for a third group, egalitarians, who endorse liberal feminist beliefs but reject the feminist label. In a sample of 272 college-educated women, a MANOVA showed egalitarians had levels of feminist consciousness between nonfeminists and feminists. Egalitarians did not differ from nonfeminists on favorable conditions for feminist identity or on feminist activism, but both groups scored lower on these measures than feminists. In a hierarchical multiple regression, feminist identity was a significant predictor of feminist activism, above and beyond favorable conditions and barriers. The importance of self-labeling for invisible and stigmatized social identities is discussed.

Genital Appearance Dissatisfaction: Implications for Women's Genital Image Self-Consciousness, Sexual Esteem, Sexual Satisfaction, and Sexual Risk

Findings regarding the link between body image and sexuality have been equivocal, possibly because of the insensitivity of many body image measures to potential variability across sensory aspects of the body (e.g., appearance versus odor), individual body parts (e.g., genitalia versus thighs), and social settings (e.g., public versus intimate). The current study refined existing methods of evaluating womens body image in the context of sexuality by focusing upon two highly specified dimensions: satisfaction with the visual appearance of the genitalia and self-consciousness about the genitalia during a sexual encounter. Genital appearance dissatisfaction, genital image self-consciousness, and multiple facets of sexuality were examined among a sample of 217 undergraduate women using an online survey. Path analysis revealed that greater dissatisfaction with genital appearance was associated with higher genital image self-consciousness during physical intimacy, which, in turn, was associated with lower sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction, and motivation to avoid risky sexual behavior. These findings underscore the detrimental impact of negative genital perceptions on young womens sexual well-being, which is of particular concern given their vulnerability at this stage of sexual development as well as the high rates of sexually transmitted infections within this age group. Interventions that enhance satisfaction with the natural appearance of their genitalia could facilitate the development of a healthy sexual self-concept and provide long-term benefits in terms of sexual safety and satisfaction.

College-educated women's personality development in adulthood: perceptions and age differences.

Adulthood encompasses a large time span and includes a series of psychosocial challenges (E. H. Erikson, 1950). Five aspects of personality (identity certainty, confident power, concern with aging, generativity, and personal distress) were assessed in a cross-sectional study of college-educated women who at the time of data collection were young adults (age: M = 26 years), middle-aged adults (age: M = 46 years), or older adults (age: M = 66 years). Respondents rated each personality domain for how true it was of them at the time, and they then rated the other 2 ages either retrospectively or prospectively. Results are discussed with attention to the ways in which womens adult development may have been shaped by experiences particular to both gender and birth cohort, and to how these women fit with E. H. Eriksons theory of adult development.

Safer, Better Sex Through Feminism: The Role of Feminist Ideology in Women's Sexual Well-Being

Feminists have argued that traditional gender norms can obstruct womens sexual well-being (Amaro, 1995; Morokoff, 2000; Tolman, 2006; Walker, 1997). Therefore, we expected feminist ideology, by virtue of this critique, to be associated with womens sexual subjectivity and sexual well-being. To test this model, we analyzed data from a survey of college-age women (N = 424) using structural equation modeling. As hypothesized, feminist ideology was indirectly related to condom-use self-efficacy and sexual satisfaction via sexual subjectivity, and sexual motivation was directly related to sexual satisfaction. In an alternative model, feminist ideology was directly related to sexual motivation. This research indicates that feminist ideology may play a role in the promotion of womens sexual well-being.

FEMINISM BETWEEN THE SHEETS: SEXUAL ATTITUDES AMONG FEMINISTS, NOnFEMINISTS, AND EGALITARIANS

To better understand the relation of feminist identification to sexuality, we compared the attitudes of feminist, egalitarian, and nonfeminist undergraduate women (N = 342) in five domains: (a) erotophilia (ones positive affective or evaluative responses to sexual stimuli), (b) sexual assertiveness, (c) perceived self-efficacy for safer sex, (d) sexual satisfaction, and (e) support of the sexual double standard. Significant results of ANOVA analyses included: Feminists were more erotophilic than egalitarians and nonfeminists, egalitarians were the most confident in their ability to be assertive with a partner regarding condom use, and egalitarians and nonfeminists were more supportive of a traditional sexual double standard than feminists. Consistent with Zucker (2004), we argue that a distinctive characteristic of egalitarians is that their acceptance of feminist values with regard to their own sexual lives does not translate into a critique of gendered sexual norms for other women.

The Psychological Impact of Reproductive Difficulties on Women's Lives

Little is known about the long-term impact ofreproductive experiences on womens lives. This paperuses questionnaire data collected from 107 white femalecollege graduates, when they were approximately 47 years old. More than half the sample hadexperienced at least one type of reproductive difficulty(abortion, miscarriage, or infertility). The stress andcoping model of life difficulties (Lazarus &Folkman, 1984) was used to examine the relationshipbetween the womens reproductive difficulties andemotional sequelae, politicization, and orientation tomotherhood at midlife. As predicted, emotional responses to the reproductive difficulties variedaccording to the particular nature of each experience.In addition, women who had abortions and no otherdifficulties were more politicized at midlife than other women. Women whose reproductive experienceswere especially likely to arouse feelings of not beingin control of their life (those who had miscarriages orinfertility) described a more agentic orientation to motherhood when compared with other women.

Growing Up and Growing Older: Feminism as a Context for Women's Lives

Social science research shows that contemporary women endorse feminist goals at rates similar to women in the 1970s. However, generations may differ in some aspects of their relationship to feminism. This study of 333 university alumnae examined expressions of feminism across three generations. We provide the first empirical evidence to support Stewart and Healys (1989) prediction about the impact of social events experienced in childhood; only the youngest cohort recalled holding feminist beliefs as children. Additionally, each cohort identified feminist influences from the period coinciding with their own identity-forming adolescence as most important, although feminism was related to other beliefs in a similar way for each cohort. The Womens Movement appears to be internalized differently depending on developmental life stage.

Not All Nonlabelers Are Created Equal Distinguishing Between Quasi-Feminists and Neoliberals

Past research regarding feminist identity has revealed that a significant number of women endorse feminist attitudes yet reject a feminist identity. In the current study, we sought to examine whether these nonlabeling women fall into two distinct groups: (a) one that falls on the same ideological continuum of their feminist peers and (b) the other that represents an attitudinally unique group of women characterized by their neoliberal beliefs that prioritize individual merit as the sole determinant of success. Two samples of undergraduate women self-reported their feminist identity and political and sexist attitudes. In our first sample (N = 231), we used k-means cluster analysis to identify two types of nonlabelers: quasi-feminists and neoliberals. Results revealed that, despite both groups’ shared belief in gender equality, quasi-feminists reported relatively lower levels of meritocratic, just world, and modern sexist beliefs, all of which were similar to those of their feminist-identified peers, whereas neoliberals indicated stronger meritocratic, just world, and modern sexist beliefs. In our second sample (N = 351), we replicated findings from our first sample and subsequently validated these groupings. Specifically, multivariate analysis of variance results demonstrated that, separate from the differences found in relation to the measures used for cluster analysis, quasi-feminists scored lower than neoliberals on measures of ambivalent sexism, social dominance, and equal opportunity beliefs. Women’s individual and collective welfare often hinges on their endorsement of neoliberal and feminist beliefs, especially in the face of unfair treatment. We suggest that activists and policy makers tailor strategies for engaging nonlabelers in the movement toward gender equality to the subtype of nonlabeler in question.

Feminist With Benefits College Women’s Feminist Beliefs Buffer Sexual Well-Being Amid Hostile (Not Benevolent) Sexism

Perceived sexism has been linked to poorer sexual health among women. However, research has yet to examine whether protective factors, specifically liberal feminist beliefs (i.e., support for women’s empowerment and equity), moderate the relation between perceived sexism and precursors to risky sexual behavior. The present studies tested this possibility. In Study 1, 161 female undergraduates reported their liberal feminist beliefs, perceived sexism, and sexual self-efficacy. For women with weaker feminist beliefs, perceived sexism was related to lower sexual self-efficacy. For women with stronger feminist beliefs, perceived sexism was uncorrelated with sexual self-efficacy. In Study 2, 85 women with weaker or stronger liberal feminist beliefs were exposed to either hostile or benevolent sexism and subsequently reported their expectations to initiate condom use during sex. Participants with strong feminist beliefs reported greater anticipated condom use than those with weak feminist beliefs, but only in the hostile sexism condition; in the benevolent sexism condition, women with strong feminist beliefs reported condom use intentions that were similar to those reported by women with weak feminist beliefs. Results suggest women’s attitudes and social environment work together to shape sexual well-being and that liberal feminist beliefs may be a powerful tool women can employ to combat hostile, but not benevolent, sexism.

Everyday Exposure to Benevolent Sexism and Condom Use among College Women.

Understanding factors related to condom use is critical in reducing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially for women, who are disproportionately affected by many STIs. Extant work has shown that perceived sexism is one such factor associated with lower levels of condom use among women, but has yet to explore whether benevolent sexism in particular—a subtle form of sexism that often goes unnoticed and increases cognitions and behaviors consistent with traditional female gender roles (e.g., sexual submissiveness)—relates negatively to this safer-sex practice. The present research tested this possibility and, in addition, examined whether relational sex motives, which reflect a desire to engage in sex as a means to foster partners’ sexual satisfaction, mediated the relation between benevolent sexism and condom use. During the spring of 2011, female college students (N = 158) reported how often they experienced benevolent sexism in their daily lives and, 2 weeks later, their relational sex motives and condom use. Supporting hypotheses results indicated that greater exposure to benevolent sexism was associated significantly with lower condom use, and that relational sex motives mediated this relationship. We discuss implications for womens well-being, including ways to promote safer sex in the face of sexism.