Abstract
From a neoliberal perspective, young women are free to make autonomous choices and are personally responsible for the outcomes of these choices. Neoliberal ideals may appear to empower women as free sexual agents; however, an individualistic focus on self-sufficiency and personal responsibility may lead to harsh, decontextualized responses to those who experience unintended outcomes. We hypothesized that observers with stronger neoliberal beliefs would show more stigmatizing responses to an unintentionally pregnant adolescent. We also explored whether these expected associations would be moderated by whether or not the young woman chose to consent to sex. U.S. undergraduate students (n = 200) completed a measure of neoliberal beliefs and were randomly assigned to read one of two scenarios in which an adolescent became pregnant after either consensual or forced sex. As expected, participants with stronger neoliberal beliefs were more blaming toward the adolescent for becoming pregnant, felt less sympathy toward her, and had less positive attitudes about her receiving help. These associations remained after controlling for general political ideology and regardless of whether the pregnancy was due to consensual or forced sex. Our results suggest that, for the neoliberal observer, young women are held personally responsible for even uncontrollable sexual and reproductive outcomes.
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The authors gratefully acknowledge Claire Edgington, Jillian LaRose, and Miranda McKinney for their work with data collection and management.
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This manuscript has not been submitted for review elsewhere. The research methods described in this manuscript fully conform to APA standards on the ethical treatment of participants. The project received IRB approval from our institution before data collection began. There are no informed consent notifications to disclose, nor do any of the co-authors have financial or other conflicts of interest to disclose. These data have not been previously published, in whole or in part.
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Katz, J., Gravelin, C.R. & O’Brien, C. Neoliberal Beliefs and Perceptions of Unintended Adolescent Pregnancy after Consensual or Forced Sex. Sex Roles 78, 810–821 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0842-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0842-z