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When Declaring “I am a Feminist” Matters: Labeling is Linked to Activism

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Abstract

Being a feminist has been operationalized as a label (linked with activism), beliefs (associated with personal and interpersonal outcomes), and their combination. Using an internet survey completed by 220 American mid-western college women, we explored the unique and combined impact of feminist self-labeling with feminist beliefs on women’s well-being, egalitarianism, and activism. Self-labeling was most clearly defined as a binary declaration of being a feminist or not, which alone was related to increased feminist activism above and beyond the impact of feminist beliefs. Furthermore, self-labeling, unlike feminist beliefs, was not related to personal well-being or interpersonal egalitarianism. Our findings confirm the exclusive and singular importance of self-labeling for enhanced feminist action.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Miriam Liss whose input to our paper was invaluable. Our paper was presented at the meetings of the American Psychological Association in San Diego in August 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, 44235-4301, USA

    Janice D. Yoder, Ann Tobias & Andrea F. Snell

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  1. Janice D. Yoder
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  2. Ann Tobias
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  3. Andrea F. Snell
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Correspondence to Janice D. Yoder.

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Yoder, J.D., Tobias, A. & Snell, A.F. When Declaring “I am a Feminist” Matters: Labeling is Linked to Activism. Sex Roles 64, 9–18 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9890-3

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