Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Feminist Identity and Sexual Behavior: The Intimate Is Political

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Feminism is understood to be not only about equality for women as a group, but also about personal choices in a gender-unequal world. In this paper, I examined whether feminist identity was associated with solo and partnered sexual behavior. Using an original, representative survey of adult Canadian women (N = 1126), I employed ordinal logistic and logistic regression analyses to assess the relationship between feminist identity and sexual behavior. I found that those who called themselves feminists reported having more recently masturbated than non-feminist women. In addition, I found that in partnered sexual encounters, feminists were more likely to participate in anal play, as well as engage in more kissing, cuddling, and massage than non-feminists. I also found that feminist women were more likely to receive oral sex than non-feminists. These findings contribute to our understanding of feminist identity as tied to women’s personal lives, extending this association to the realm of sexual activity. In this case, the political is not only personal, it is intimate as well. Claiming a feminist identity is aligned with an approach to sexuality that includes a wider array of intimate and sexual behaviors that center women’s sexual and emotional needs in partnered encounters.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of Data and Material

All data will be posted to a public repository such as Dataverse upon acceptance of this manuscript.

Code Availability

The analyses in this manuscript were produced with Stata version 15.1. All code will be posted to a public repository such as Dataverse upon acceptance of this manuscript.

References

  • Acker, J. (1989). The problem with patriarchy. Sociology, 23(2), 235–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed, S. (2017). Living a feminist life. Duke University Press.

  • Andrejek, N., & Fetner, T. (2019). The gender gap in orgasms: Survey data from a mid-sized Canadian city. International Journal of Sexual Health, 31(1), 26–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, E. A., England, P., & Fogarty, A. C. K. (2012). Accounting for women’s orgasm and sexual enjoyment in college hookups and relationships. American Sociological Review, 77(3), 435–462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bay-Cheng, L. Y., & Zucker, A. N. (2007). Feminism between the sheets: Sexual attitudes among feminists, nonfeminists, and egalitarians. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(2), 157–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourhis, R. Y. (2003). Measuring ethnocultural diversity using the Canadian census. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 35(1), 9–32.

  • Boytos, A. S., Costabile, K. A., Austin, A. B., & Short, K. A. (2020). Feminism, gender, and agentic and communal themes in narrative identity. Sex Roles, 83(1), 54–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budgeon, S. (2001). Emergent feminist(?) identities: Young women and the practice of micropolitics. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 8(1), 7–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budnick, J. (2016). “Straight girls kissing”? Understanding same-gender sexuality beyond the elite college campus. Gender & Society, 30(5), 745–768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, D. L., Miller, A. J., Sassler, S., & Hanson, S. (2016). The gendered division of housework and couples’ sexual relationships: A reexamination. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(4), 975–995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, D. L., & Soller, B. (2019). Sharing’s more fun for everyone? Gender attitudes, sexual self-efficacy, and sexual frequency. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(1), 24–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapkis, W. (1997). Live sex acts: Women performing erotic labor. Routledge.

  • Corrigall, E. A., & Konrad, A. M. (2007). Gender role attitudes and careers: A longitudinal study. Sex Roles, 56(11), 847–855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, M., Beutel, A. M., Barber, J. S., & Thornton, A. (2005). Reciprocal relationships between attitudes about gender and social contexts during young adulthood. Social Science Research, 34(4), 862–892.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtin, N., Ward, L. M., Merriwether, A., & Caruthers, A. (2011). Femininity ideology and sexual health in young women: A focus on sexual knowledge, embodiment, and agency. International Journal of Sexual Health, 23(1), 48–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. N., & Pearce, L. D. (2007). Adolescents’ work-family gender ideologies and educational expectations. Sociological Perspectives, 50(2), 249–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desai, M. (2007). The messy relationship between feminisms and globalizations. Gender & Society, 21(6), 797–803.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, L. E. (2010). Women’s relationship to feminism: Effects of generation and feminist self-labeling. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(4), 498–507.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, J. (1973). The origins of the women’s liberation movement. American Journal of Sociology, 78(4), 792–811.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedan, B. (1963). The feminine mystique. Dell Publishing.

  • Gay, R. (2014). Bad feminist. Harper Collins USA.

  • Greene, K., & Faulkner, S. L. (2005). Gender, belief in the sexual double standard, and sexual talk in heterosexual dating relationships. Sex Roles, 53(3), 239–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, L., & Armstrong, E. A. (2009). Gendered sexuality in young adulthood: Double binds and flawed options. Gender & Society, 23(5), 589–616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanisch, C. (1969). The personal is political. CarolHanish.Org. http://carolhanisch.org/CHwritings/PIP.html.

  • Harnois, C. E. (2005). Different paths to different feminisms? Bridging multiracial feminist theory and quantitative sociological gender research. Gender & Society, 19(6), 809–828.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbenick, D., Fu, T.-C. (Jane), Arter, J., Sanders, S. A., & Dodge, B. (2018). Women’s experiences with genital touching, sexual pleasure, and orgasm: Results from a U.S. probability sample of women ages 18 to 94. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 44(2), 201–212.

  • Hill Collins, P. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, J. S., & Khan, S. (2020). Sexual citizens: A landmark study of sex, power, and assault on campus. W. W. Norton & Company.

  • Hurt, M. M., Nelson, J. A., Turner, D. L., Haines, M. E., Ramsey, L. R., Erchull, M. J., & Liss, M. (2007). Feminism: What is it good for? Feminine norms and objectification as the link between feminist identity and clinically relevant outcomes. Sex Roles, 57(5), 355–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. (2016). “I get paid to have orgasms”: Adult webcam models’ negotiation of pleasure and danger. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 42(1), 227–256.

  • Kornrich, S., Brines, J., & Leupp, K. (2013). Egalitarianism, housework, and sexual frequency in marriage. American Sociological Review, 78(1), 26–50.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lamont, E. (2014). Negotiating courtship: Reconciling egalitarian ideals with traditional gender norms. Gender & Society, 28(2), 189–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, H. (2017). Intimate transactions: Sex toys and the sexual discourse of second-wave feminism. Sexuality & Culture, 21(1), 96–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liss, M., Hoffner, C., & Crawford, M. (2000). What do feminists believe? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24(4), 279–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loe, M. (1999). Feminism for sale: Case study of a pro-sex feminist business. Gender & Society, 13(6), 705–732.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luna, Z. (2016). “Truly a women of color organization”: Negotiating sameness and difference in pursuit of intersectionality. Gender & Society, 30(5), 769–790.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, C. (1987). Pleasure under patriarchy. In J. Geer & W. O’Donoghue (Eds.), Theories of human sexuality (pp. 65–90). Plenum Press.

  • Martin, P. Y. (2004). Gender as social institution. Social Forces, 82(4), 1249–1273.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, J. (2005). What’s in a label? The relationship between feminist self-identification and “feminist” attitudes among U.S. women and men. Gender & Society, 19(4), 480–505.

  • Murphy, M. (2004). Immodest witnessing: The epistemology of vaginal self-examination in the U.S. feminist self-help movement. Feminist Studies, 30(1), 115–147.

  • NSSHB. (2016). National survey of sexual health and behavior. Kinsey Institute Center for Sexual Health, Debby Herbenick, PI. https://www.nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu

  • Peltola, P., Milkie, M. A., & Presser, S. (2004). The “feminist” mystique: Feminist identity in three generations of women. Gender & Society, 18(1), 122–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polletta, F. (1999). “Free spaces” in collective action. Theory and Society, 28(1), 1–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodebeck, L. A. (1996). The structure of men’s and women’s feminist orientations: Feminist identity and feminist opinion. Gender & Society, 10(4), 386–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rich, A. (1980). Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 5(4), 631–660.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rickard, K. M. (1989). The relationship of self-monitored dating behaviors to level of feminist identity on the Feminist Identity Scale. Sex Roles, 20(3), 213–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, G. (1984). Thinking sex: Notes for a radical theory of the politics of sexuality. In C. S. Vance (Ed.), Pleasure and danger: Exploring female sexuality (pp. 267–319). Routledge.

  • Schnittker, J., Freese, J., & Powell, B. (2003). Who are feminists and what do they believe? The role of generations. American Sociological Review, 68(4), 607–622.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, A. K. (1980). Sex and power: Sexual bases of radical feminism. Signs, 5(4), 590–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stacey, J. (2005). The families of man: Gay male intimacy and kinship in a global metropolis. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 30(3), 1911–1935.

  • Statistics Canada. (2015). Marital status of person, pp. 267–319. Government of Canada. http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3Var.pl?Function=DEC&Id=26204.

  • Stein, A. (2008). Feminism’s sexual problem: Comment on Andersen. Gender & Society, 22(1), 115–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, J. (2003). The mommy track: The consequences of gender ideology and aspirations on age at first motherhood. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 30(2), 3–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stick, M., & Fetner, T. (2020). Feminist men and sexual behavior: Analyses of men’s sex with women. Men and Masculinities. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20980789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westbrook, L., & Saperstein, A. (2015). New categories are not enough: Rethinking the measurement of sex and gender in social surveys. Gender & Society, 29(4), 534–560.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittier, N. (2016). Carceral and intersectional feminism in congress: The violence against women act, discourse, and policy. Gender & Society, 30(5), 791–818.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winship, C., & Radbill, L. (1994). Sampling weights and regression analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 23(2), 230–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoder, J. D., Perry, R. L., & Saal, E. I. (2007). What good is a feminist identity? Women’s feminist identification and role expectations for intimate and sexual relationships. Sex Roles, 57(5), 365–372.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Debby Herbenick from the Indiana University School of Public Health for sharing the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior questionnaires with our team. This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant #435-2017-0369. I am deeply grateful for my collaborators on the Sex in Canada project, Michelle Dion and Melanie Heath, McMaster University, as well as research assistants, Nicole Andrejek and Max Stick. A version of this work was presented at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

Funding

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant #435-2017-0369.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M4, Canada

    Tina Fetner

Authors
  1. Tina Fetner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

This paper is sole-authored. The author is solely responsible for study conception and design, material preparation, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation and revision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tina Fetner.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fetner, T. Feminist Identity and Sexual Behavior: The Intimate Is Political. Arch Sex Behav 51, 441–452 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02158-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02158-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation