Abstract

For many years, research has been done regarding the psychological link between gender, sex, and policy attitudes. Including, common investigations focusing on how female disposition may be a simple predictor of attitudes on "women's issues." However, the 2016 American presidential election—the first election with a female candidate as a leading party candidate, who was defeated by a male candidate accused of making discriminatory remarks about women—showed just how complex and evolving this relationship is. This was demonstrated yet again when the U.S. Supreme Court added a new female justice, then overturned the reproductive health protections of Roe vs. Wade in 2022. Clearly, the relationship between gender and policy attitudes continues to evolve, and so our research understanding of this phenomenon must evolve too. Therefore, this study seeks to answer the following questions: does being a woman, man, or non-identifier impact political behavior? If so, does this occur more or less when self-identified as a feminist, versus not? What other factors matter in this actively evolving phenomenon? How does this track in reference to what is already known about women, feminism, and policy? Ultimately, this research will seek to unpack if it is true that gender identity and self-identification as a feminist impacts opinions on the Roe v. Wade decision.

Thesis Completion

2023

Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Larsen, Kelsey

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Politics, Security, and International Affairs

Degree Program

Political Science

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Release Date

5-15-2023

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