*Note* This scheduling program was not designed by folks who do a lot with APA Style and unfortunately it defaults to listing authors in alphabetical order. We cannot fix this for this online schedule, but the author orders are posted in the order submitted in the printed program available via pdf here.
Stereotypes about lesbian women and feminist women characterize these women as “man-haters” (Bell & Klein, 1996; Eliason, Donelan, & Randall, 1992; Swim, Ferguson, & Hyers, 1999). However, previous research has indicated that feminist-identified women do not stereotypically hold negative attitudes toward men and, in fact, have healthy relationships with heterosexual men (Rudman & Phelan, 2007). Similarly, this research aims to challenge stereotypes of lesbian and feminist women. In this study, we examined women’s attitudes toward men by considering the intersection of gender, sexual orientation, and political ideology (i.e., feminist identification). Female participants (N = 322) participated in an online survey that measured feminist identity (Feminist Identity Index; Rudman & Fairchild, 2007; Zucker, 2004), as well as hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men (Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory; Glick & Fiske, 1999). Sixty-seven participants identified as lesbian, 69 participants identified as bisexual, and 186 participants identified as heterosexual (88 heterosexual participants did not identify as feminists). Participants ranged in age from 17 to 67 years old (M = 26 years; 75% White). Results indicate that attitudes toward heterosexual men depend on women’s sexual orientation and feminist identity. Feminist-heterosexual and bisexual women held the most positive attitudes toward men compared to lesbian women and nonfeminist-heterosexual women, F(3, 319) = 4.44, p = .004. Specifically, nonfeminist-heterosexual women (M ¬= 2.65) endorsed benevolent sexism toward men to a greater extent than lesbian women (M = 2.10), feminist-heterosexual women (M = 2.16), and bisexual women (M = 2.30). These results discredit the belief that lesbians and feminists have more biases toward men than other women do. Moreover, this work exemplifies the idea that women do not share homogenous perceptions of men, but rather, their social locations on political and sexual identity spectrums greatly inform their attitudes. Implications for benevolent and hostile attitudes will be discussed.
