Gender, American Identity, and Sexism

Abstract

SOCIAL SCIENTISTS LONG HAVE BEEN INTERESTED in explaining why individuals vary in their beliefs about national identity and what citizens think it means to truly belong to their nation. Research to date has provided many insights into the determinants and consequences of emphasizing different elements of American national identity. Understanding why different individuals emphasize particular dimensions of national identity is important because these beliefs predict a wide range of political and social attitudes, including views of cultural minorities, support for policies designed to increase economic and social equality, political trust for key democratic institutions, opinions about how immigrants should be treated, and even a person's subjective well-being.1 While scholars have documented large gender differences across a wide range of political behavior and attitudes, researchers have yet to closely examine the relationship between gender and what individuals see as being most important to being an American.2 We also do not yet understand how persons' views about national identity may shape their views of gender equality. These oversights are puzzling, given the robust body of research showing that patriarchy has been a defining feature of the conceptualization of American national identity since the beginning of the nation, with men and women continuing to experience what it means to be American in distinct and unequal ways.3 Our study contributes to both this scholarship and the larger body of research looking at gender gaps in political attitudes by examining the extent to which contemporary beliefs about America's national identity differ by gender, as well as—and perhaps more importantly—the consequences of such beliefs on attitudes toward women. Specifically, we test whether men and women differ in their conceptions of what it means to be fully American. Then, we investigate how variations in conceptions of national identity shape individuals' attitudes about the role of women in society generally. Finally, we examine the extent to which gender moderates the consequences of individuals' beliefs about Americanness on their level of sexism.