A Generational Analysis of Women's Rights Activists

Abstract

This article addresses the important issue of intergenerational similarities and differences among women's rights activists. We examined the attitudes, emotions, and experiences of three generations of reproductive rights activists, born between 1925 and 1975. Across generations, the participants were strongly pro‐choice and identified as feminists. Despite these similarities, there were several differences that could be explained by considering the sociohistorical circumstances faced by each cohort. For example, the Civil Rights generation activists came of age during the boycotts and marches of the 1950s and showed the highest level of civil rights activism. Reflecting the coincidence of their young adulthood with the 1970s women's movement, the Protest generation activists identified the most with the label “feminist.” Finally, the Poshvomen's movement activists, raised in the 1970s and 198Os, were the most likely to have taken college‐level women's studies classes.

Japanese Adults’ Sex Role Attitudes and Judgment Criteria Concerning Gender Equality: The Diversity of Gender Egalitarianism

“…The findings on age group differences are consistent with other cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989) and imply that social events experienced before early adulthood affect and individual's perspectives on gender equality. Individuals currently in their 40s had, during early adolescence in the 1970s, experienced the women's movement questioning the traditional role of the homemaker.…”

“…of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment" when they were in late adolescence or early adulthood. Given supporting evidence from earlier cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989), we can surmise that these individuals incorporated the ideas of the women's movement and equality laws into their own values as they became adults and adapted to society. This offers an explanation for the egalitarian sex role attitudes we found in this study.…”

“…Societal events that occur in early adulthood affect the formation of an individual's fundamental values, whereas social events that occur in middle to late adulthood affect an individual's behavior (Stewart and Healy 1989). Duncan and Stewart (2000) have further substantiated this model by classifying various lifestages. We have borrowed these classifications to summarize the societal events experienced by age cohorts made up of individuals in their 30s through 60s at the time our survey in 2001 (Table 2).…”

Japanese Adults’ Sex Role Attitudes and Judgment Criteria Concerning Gender Equality: The Diversity of Gender Egalitarianism

“…The findings on age group differences are consistent with other cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989) and imply that social events experienced before early adulthood affect and individual's perspectives on gender equality. Individuals currently in their 40s had, during early adolescence in the 1970s, experienced the women's movement questioning the traditional role of the homemaker.…”

“…of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment" when they were in late adolescence or early adulthood. Given supporting evidence from earlier cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989), we can surmise that these individuals incorporated the ideas of the women's movement and equality laws into their own values as they became adults and adapted to society. This offers an explanation for the egalitarian sex role attitudes we found in this study.…”

“…Societal events that occur in early adulthood affect the formation of an individual's fundamental values, whereas social events that occur in middle to late adulthood affect an individual's behavior (Stewart and Healy 1989). Duncan and Stewart (2000) have further substantiated this model by classifying various lifestages. We have borrowed these classifications to summarize the societal events experienced by age cohorts made up of individuals in their 30s through 60s at the time our survey in 2001 (Table 2).…”

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2000–2004

“…Psychology of Women Quarterly is a premier showcase for feminist empirical research. It is a place that welcomes innovative research methods, such as Lauren Duncan and Abigail Stewart's (2000) surveying of women riding buses to the 1992 March on Washington for Women's Lives in their study of intergenerational similarities and differences among women activists. Other innovative methods are exemplified in Muhammad Haj‐Yahia's (2000) study of violence against engaged Arab women from Israel and Janice Yoder and Lynne Berendsen's (2001) qualitative study of African American and White women firefighters.…”

Women's Relationship to Feminism

“…Social events occurring during young adulthood, on the other hand, tend to affect individuals' perceptions of career and romantic opportunities and to be incorporated into identity development. This work has been supported empirically, and it provides a general framework for understanding political generations (Duncan & Agronick, 1995; Duncan & Stewart, 2000; Zucker & Stewart, 2007).…”

Japanese Adults’ Sex Role Attitudes and Judgment Criteria Concerning Gender Equality: The Diversity of Gender Egalitarianism

“…The findings on age group differences are consistent with other cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989) and imply that social events experienced before early adulthood affect and individual's perspectives on gender equality. Individuals currently in their 40s had, during early adolescence in the 1970s, experienced the women's movement questioning the traditional role of the homemaker.…”

“…of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment" when they were in late adolescence or early adulthood. Given supporting evidence from earlier cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989), we can surmise that these individuals incorporated the ideas of the women's movement and equality laws into their own values as they became adults and adapted to society. This offers an explanation for the egalitarian sex role attitudes we found in this study.…”

“…Societal events that occur in early adulthood affect the formation of an individual's fundamental values, whereas social events that occur in middle to late adulthood affect an individual's behavior (Stewart and Healy 1989). Duncan and Stewart (2000) have further substantiated this model by classifying various lifestages. We have borrowed these classifications to summarize the societal events experienced by age cohorts made up of individuals in their 30s through 60s at the time our survey in 2001 (Table 2).…”

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2000–2004

“…Psychology of Women Quarterly is a premier showcase for feminist empirical research. It is a place that welcomes innovative research methods, such as Lauren Duncan and Abigail Stewart's (2000) surveying of women riding buses to the 1992 March on Washington for Women's Lives in their study of intergenerational similarities and differences among women activists. Other innovative methods are exemplified in Muhammad Haj‐Yahia's (2000) study of violence against engaged Arab women from Israel and Janice Yoder and Lynne Berendsen's (2001) qualitative study of African American and White women firefighters.…”

Women's Relationship to Feminism

“…Social events occurring during young adulthood, on the other hand, tend to affect individuals' perceptions of career and romantic opportunities and to be incorporated into identity development. This work has been supported empirically, and it provides a general framework for understanding political generations (Duncan & Agronick, 1995; Duncan & Stewart, 2000; Zucker & Stewart, 2007).…”

Japanese Adults’ Sex Role Attitudes and Judgment Criteria Concerning Gender Equality: The Diversity of Gender Egalitarianism

“…The findings on age group differences are consistent with other cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989) and imply that social events experienced before early adulthood affect and individual's perspectives on gender equality. Individuals currently in their 40s had, during early adolescence in the 1970s, experienced the women's movement questioning the traditional role of the homemaker.…”

“…of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment" when they were in late adolescence or early adulthood. Given supporting evidence from earlier cohort studies (Delli Carpini 1989;Duncan and Stewart 2000;Stewart and Healy 1989), we can surmise that these individuals incorporated the ideas of the women's movement and equality laws into their own values as they became adults and adapted to society. This offers an explanation for the egalitarian sex role attitudes we found in this study.…”

“…Societal events that occur in early adulthood affect the formation of an individual's fundamental values, whereas social events that occur in middle to late adulthood affect an individual's behavior (Stewart and Healy 1989). Duncan and Stewart (2000) have further substantiated this model by classifying various lifestages. We have borrowed these classifications to summarize the societal events experienced by age cohorts made up of individuals in their 30s through 60s at the time our survey in 2001 (Table 2).…”

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2000–2004

“…Psychology of Women Quarterly is a premier showcase for feminist empirical research. It is a place that welcomes innovative research methods, such as Lauren Duncan and Abigail Stewart's (2000) surveying of women riding buses to the 1992 March on Washington for Women's Lives in their study of intergenerational similarities and differences among women activists. Other innovative methods are exemplified in Muhammad Haj‐Yahia's (2000) study of violence against engaged Arab women from Israel and Janice Yoder and Lynne Berendsen's (2001) qualitative study of African American and White women firefighters.…”

Women's Relationship to Feminism

“…Social events occurring during young adulthood, on the other hand, tend to affect individuals' perceptions of career and romantic opportunities and to be incorporated into identity development. This work has been supported empirically, and it provides a general framework for understanding political generations (Duncan & Agronick, 1995; Duncan & Stewart, 2000; Zucker & Stewart, 2007).…”