This is how America feels about feminism
Feminism is sometimes referred to as the other “f” word, a term so loaded its meaning is often obscured by the intense emotions around it.
This was reflected in a Pew Research Center survey released this month, which found that although nearly 80% of Americans support gender equality – and feminism is defined as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” by Merriam-Webster – only 61% of women and 40% of men say “feminist” describes them very or somewhat well.
“I think ‘identify as feminist’ has morphed into ‘identify with a wide breadth of social, political issues that align with contemporary politics of equity and reparative justice,’ ” says Karla Holloway, who has taught African American studies, women’s studies and law at Duke University. “Feminism is taken to mean a shared perspective on these issues, but because the issues divide constituencies, it turns into pushing aside the label rather than understanding it as a category that can, and does, contain complexity.”
Three-quarters of self-identified feminists say the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving women equal rights with men, and only 39% of nonfeminists say the same, according to the survey, which found divisions along gender, racial and political lines, as well. Among the survey’s findings: About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say feminism has helped the lives of white, Black and Hispanic women at least a little. More than a third say feminism has helped white women a lot; only 21% say it’s done the same for Black women, and just 1 in 10 say feminism has helped poor women a lot.
Holloway says the feminist movement is not inclusive of women of color. Many white women, she says, benefit from aligning with white men in power. It’s one reason gender experts say 53% of white women voted for Donald Trump in 2016, despite his history of sexist behavior.
The exclusion of Black women from the feminist movement, Holloway says, is particularly painful because none of the work would have been possible without them.
“Women of the civil rights generation always noted how the white feminists on the front lines were being supported in their freedoms to advocacy by the Black women who kept their homes, their children, their lifestyles secure,” she says. “Black women were underserved by the politics of feminism at the same time that we were the mortar that made it possible.”
Forty-two percent in the Pew survey say feminism is very or somewhat inclusive.
More than half of women with a college degree, as well as Democratic women, say feminism is inclusive, compared with 36% of Republican women.
White men and women are more likely to agree on negative attributes of feminism – about half say it’s polarizing vs. about a third of Black and Hispanic adults who say the same.
About a third of white adults say it’s outdated vs. about a quarter of Black and Hispanic adults who say so.
Some men identify as ‘feminist’
The survey found 9% of men say “feminist” describes them very well, and 31% say it describes them somewhat well.
A study in 2009 in Psychology of Women Quarterly on stereotypes of feminist men found that a “feminist man” was viewed as having fewer stereotypically masculine characteristics, including being less powerful and less heterosexual.
The authors said the results “suggest that at least on some dimensions, a feminist man’s masculinity may be questioned, which in turn may be a hindrance to men in adopting the feminist label.”
Democratic men are more than twice as likely as Republican men to say feminist describes them well, according to Pew.
The survey found nearly a third of men say women’s gains in society have come at the expense of men.
Republican men are twice as likely as Democratic men to say they feel this way.
Among Republicans, 17% say the country has gone too far in giving women equal rights with men.
Ex-NFL quarterback and feminist activist Don McPherson says this may be because of the limiting way American culture defines masculinity, which is often defined by work.
Men see themselves as providers, historically as breadwinners, their jobs central to their identities. As women gain equal footing – in the workplace, in politics, in other areas of public life – some men may feel threatened.
“Not only does it feel like you’re taking my job that I was entitled to ... but I’m also not left with many options otherwise. Because my identity as a man doesn’t allow me to say, ‘OK, if I can’t be the doctor, I can be the nurse. If I can’t be the principal, I can be the teacher,’ ” McPherson says. “As long as masculinity is narrowly defined ... then my options for expressing it are narrowly defined.”
Republican vs. Democratic women
The survey conveys stark divides between liberal and conservative women. Three-quarters of Democratic and Democratic-leaning women say the term feminist describes them at least somewhat well, compared with 42% of Republican and Republican-leaning women.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2017, Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign, said she didn’t consider herself a feminist “in the classic sense” because she said the movement is considered anti-male and proabortion.
Democratic women are among the least likely to say they expect gender equality, but the majority of Americans say that eventually, women will have equal rights with men.
“We need to begin again,” Holloway says. “Defund the institutions and restructure the values so that women of color, women with limited economic means, women who have been excised and disabled by the mantra of ‘American dream’ are architects of its new formations. Not a seat at the table but determining the size, shape and congregants who come to the table.”