Feminism and Political Radicalism

Abstract

The political attitudes of 50 feminist women in relation to "feminism" as a dimension were examined and contrasted with those of 50 of their contemporary female peers. They were administered the Attitudes Toward Feminism Belief-Pattern Scale (3), the Conservatism-Radicalism Opinionnaire (4), and a questionnaire providing biographical information and personal opinions regarding various timely political and feminine issues. The feminist women and their peers were found to differ significantly in the attitudinal dimensions of feminism and political conservatism-radicalism. The feminist women manifested more feminism than their peers, as well as being more politically radical. Feminism as a dimension was also found to be positively correlated with political radicalism. Both goups were also compared in their sentiments and opinions on several noteworthy issues; e.g., the potential influence of the women's vote in en- hancing the status of women. Surprisingly, the feminist women and their peers failed to differ on some of the more salient of these. In order to understand and appreciate the feminist personality, the forces potentiating the Women's movement, and the apparent similarities and differences between the feminist women and their peers, the variables of feminism, political conservatism-radicalism, and activism seem to deserve consideration.