Exploring the Determinants of Feminist Consciousness in the United States

Abstract

Previous research on the determinants of gender-related group consciousness has focused either exclusively or primarily upon structural or demographic determinants at the expense of attitudinal or ideological predispositions. This study questions the theoretical assumption upon which the extant literature is based, that group consciousness is a product of personal experience. Using data from the 1992 American National Election Study, we construct a model of feminist consciousness that incorporates a variety of variables measuring ideological predispositions in addition to variables measuring adult life circumstances and childhood and adult socialization. Gauging the relative explanatory power of each set of independent variables, we find that feminist consciousness in 1992 is, in large part, a function of core, ideological beliefs about race and equality, as well as partisanship and liberal-conservative self-identification. Neither direct personal experience with nontraditional gender roles nor exposure to nontraditional ideas and role models can account for much variation in consciousness.

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