The influence of the feminist subculture in changing sex-role attitudes

Abstract

A recent analysis of longitudinal data indicates that protest participation does not explain the modernization of sex-role attitudes which has occurred on campus during the past decade. As an alternative, it is suggested that the “consciousness raising” (CR) groups that have characterized the subcultural phase of the women's movement are partially responsible for these dramatic changes. To test this hypothesis, changes in the sex-role attitudes of 66 students in a 10-week introductory women studies class were analyzed. While a comparison group of 121 students in an introductory sociology class showed no change in attitudes toward the female sex role, the women studies students significantly increased in sex-role modernism. Female students showed significantly greater increases than males. These findings support the “subcultural thesis” that sex-role modernism, a subcultural value of the feminist movement, has been successfully promoted through the mechanism of CR groups, such as the one studied here. While other factors undoubtedly have affected this change in sex-role attitudes, the spread of CR groups in the 1970s must be give a prominent role.