Threats to Feminist Identity and Reactions to Gender Discrimination.

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Cichocka, Aleksandra; Golec de Zavala, Agnieszka; Kofta, Mirek and Rozum, Joanna. 2013. Threats to Feminist Identity and Reactions to Gender Discrimination. Sex Roles, 68(9-10), pp. 605-619. ISSN 0360-0025 [Article]

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Official URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11199-...

Abstract or Description

The aim of this research was to examine conditions that modify feminists’ support for women as targets of gender discrimination. In an experimental study we tested a hypothesis that threatened feminist identity will lead to greater differentiation between feminists and conservative women as victims of discrimination and, in turn, a decrease in support for non-feminist victims. The study was conducted among 96 young Polish female professionals and
graduate students from Gender Studies programs in Warsaw who self-identified as feminists (Mage = 22.23). articipants were presented with a case of workplace gender discrimination. Threat to feminist identity and worldview of the discrimination victim (feminist vs. conservative) were varied between research conditions. Results indicate that identity threat caused feminists to show conditional
reactions to discrimination. Under identity threat, feminists
perceived the situation as less discriminatory when the target held conservative views on gender relations than when the target was presented as feminist. This effect was not observed under conditions of no threat. Moreover, feminists showed an increase in compassion for the victim when she was portrayed as a feminist compared to when she was portrayed as conservative. Implications for the feminist movement are discussed.

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Article

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0272-5