Race, Class, and Gender Differences in High School Seniors' Values: Applying Intersection Theory in Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Objective. This article demonstrates how intersection theory can be applied in empirical studies by testing whether an individual's race, class, and gender have interactive effects. Methods. Data on high school students' ratings of the importance of equality, money, career, and family from the Monitoring the Future study are used. A stepwise regression model is employed to determine first whether additive effects exist in the data, and then whether interactions exist among race, class, and gender characteristics. Results. Previous findings of additive effects were generally confirmed in the first stage of the regressions, with some exceptions. For the money and family values, significant interactions exist between some pairs of characteristics, but three-way interactions were not significant. For equality and career values, no significant interactions were found. Conclusions. Although there are times when additive models are sufficient to describe differences among groups, the omission of interaction terms can sometimes lead to misleading conclusions about the effects of race, class, and gender. Using intersection theory in empirical models will guard against this oversight and may lead to a broad theory of when significant race, class, and gender interactions should be expected.In a 1983 article on sex role attitude differences, Ransford and Miller noted that in most previous research on stratification, socioeconomic status, ethnicity/race and gender are somewhat separate hierarchies, each affecting the distribution of power, privilege and prestige. . . . More accurate predictions and a fuller theoretical understanding often result from a consideration of the intersections or joint effects of SES [socioeconomic status], race and sex. These intersections of status positions represent unique social spaces within which persons construct explanations of reality. (46) *Direct all correspondence to Seth Ovadia,

Race, Class, Gender, and Social Space: Using an Intersectional Approach to Study Immigration Attitudes

“…These outcomes are consequential because prior research on immigration attitudes has not thoroughly examined the potential for significant interactions between analytic categories, even though inconsistent results by race and gender are frequent in the literature (e.g., see Espenshade and Calhoun 1993; Quillian 1995; Espenshade and Hempstead 1996; Hood and Morris 1998; Burns and Gimpel 2000; McLaren 2003; Neal and Bohon 2003; Sanchez 2006; Berg 2009a). The inconsistent results therefore may be a result of additive models being unable to fully represent the varied social structural positions—and therefore, different opinions—of members of a single group, such as women or blacks (Ovadia 2001).…”

“…Third, location in this matrix of domination consequently influences personal worldviews and life‐chances differently than would the impact of any single form of social stratification (Demos and Lemelle 2006). As Ovadia (2001:342, emphasis in original) states, “Intersection theorists point out that individuals are simultaneously situated within the systems of race, gender, and class identity and to consider any one of these systems of difference without including the others may lead to incomplete, or possibly incorrect, conclusions about similarities and differences within and among groups.” Consequently, an integrative perspective rather than an additive one may be theoretically and methodologically necessary to understand the variation in immigration attitudes.…”

“…Over 35 years ago, Ransford and Miller (1983:46) made the argument that “these intersections of status positions represent unique social spaces within which persons construct explanations of reality.” In their study, they found that middle‐class black males were more likely than other males to express the attitude that women should not be in politics, one reason being that middle‐class blacks were likely familiar with the ethos of the Black Power and Black Nationalism movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Moreover, a number of other studies have found support for an intersectional perspective in explaining attitudes toward a diverse set of topics, including equality, success, money, marriage, welfare, sexuality, race, and education (e.g., see Grant and Sleeter 1986; Kane 2000; Ovadia 2001; Han 2006; Foster 2008).…”

The Intersection of Race and Gender: An Examination of Black Feminist Consciousness, Race Consciousness, and Policy Attitudes*

“…In other words, just because a citizen has a strong gender identity and a strong race identity does not necessarily mean that person will recognize the unique situation faced by black women in American society. 6 In addition to these two approaches to black feminist consciousness, some scholars have focused on ''intersectionality'' by examining how black women's political attitudes compare to the views of other race-gender subgroups (Ovadia, 2001;Ransford and Miller, 1983). Ransford and Miller (1983:46) argue that black women's political attitudes will differ from those of black men, white women, and white men because ''the intersection of race and gender create unique aggregates.''…”

Role of Educational Mediain Promoting the Values of Citizenship Among Students of Secondary Schoolsin Zarqa Education Directorate II from View point of Their Teachers

“…A study by (Ovadia, 2001) aimed at detecting the differences in the degree of citizenship values among secondary school students in the United States of America according to gender, class, and raceconcepts. This was made through the role of media education within the school.…”