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Gender consciousness and sophistication in the American electorate

Dunlap, Sara J.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061294081

Abstract Details

2003, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
For the past twenty years, gender differences in politics have been well documented, but much of the literature that deals with women and politics treats women as a monolithic group. The idea that differences among women, and not just differences between men and women, are politically important is just beginning to get the attention it deserves. In this study I examine the effects of an interaction between two well-documented political characteristics – political sophistication and gender consciousness. What I test in this research is whether political sophistication and gender consciousness, although politically significant separately, interact to produce a dynamic that is manifested in political gender differences. These factors may be triggers of some of the aggregate gender differences that we see; as suggested in some of the gender gap literature, it is likely that a group of women who share these characteristics are substantially different from both other women and men. These women should take their status as women into consideration when constructing political opinions, but also be able to understand where those interests lie when making political decisions such as voting. Political sophistication can be understood as having the political information and expertise to understand both politics and how one’s own political interest fits into the political environment. Gender consciousness imbues an individual with the sense that her gender is a factor in many aspects of life. It is likely, then, that someone with high degrees of political sophistication and gender consciousness will combine these positions into several different views. First, they will see their gender as being politically relevant, and they will also have the understanding of where, particularly, their gender affects their political life. They are also likely to feel that their gender is disadvantaged, but this will be coupled with the political sophistication to understand how that disadvantage can be remedied. In short, individuals possessing both gender consciousness and political sophistication will be adept at determining which policies are in women’s interests. I find mixed results, the strongest of which indicate that there is a very strong relationship between gender consciousness and sophistication. The effects of this relationship on public opinion are less clear, but results show that there is an effect on a subset of issues of particular relevance. Moreover, women who are both gender conscious and politically sophisticated have distinct voting behavior from other women and from men.
Herbert Weisberg (Advisor)
Kira Sanbonmatsu (Other)
Kathleen McGraw (Other)
139 p.
Political Science, General
gender consciousness; political sophistication

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dunlap, S. J. (2003). Gender consciousness and sophistication in the American electorate [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061294081

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dunlap, Sara. Gender consciousness and sophistication in the American electorate. 2003. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061294081.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dunlap, Sara. "Gender consciousness and sophistication in the American electorate." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061294081

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1061294081
981
© 2003, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.