A Study of Feminist Identity Development of Un Dergrad Uate College Women
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by IUScholarWorks I Think I am a Feminist: A Study of Feminist Identity Development of Un dergrad uate College Women LaTayna M. Purnell Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Education school of Indiana University October , 2006 I Think I am a Feminist … ii Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee _______________________ Mary Howard -Hamilton , Ed.D. ________________________________ Robin L. Hughes, Ph.D. ________________________________ Edward St. John, Ed.D. ________________________________ Valerie Grim , Ph.D. Date of Oral Examination May 11, 2006 I Think I am a Feminist … iii © 2006 LaTayna M. Purnell ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I Think I am a Feminist … iv Acknowledgments I w ould like to thank my entire committee, with a special thanks to Mary Howard - Hamilton, for their guidance throughout this project. Thanks for hanging in with me! Also, Cindy Bohrer and Mark Giles for keeping me motivated and serving as a sounding board and peer debrief . The women in the study, especially Lucy and Ellen, inspired me and I am excite d by the feminism they are in the midst of constructing. I Think I am a Feminist … v Abstract Although today’s college women take advantage of the opportunities made available to them by the effort of the feminist movement, the word feminism has a negative connotation for many you ng women who deny identification with the label when describing themselves. Central research questions included: a) how is feminism defined by the college women in this study; b) what is the current start of feminism on this college campus; and c) how do the epistemological perspective of these young women relate to their understanding and acceptance of feminism. Fifty -six undergraduate women at a selective co -educational liberal arts institution completed a survey of their position on feminism and were a sked to identify as a)feminist, b) non -feminist, or c) don’t know. Twenty -five of these respondents were interviewed in depth to explore their experience of feminism. Epistemological stage of the participants was studied through the use of the Measure of Epistemological Reflection (Baxter Magolda & Porterfield, 1985). Half of the women in the study considered themselves feminist and many in the “don’t know” category were exploring feminism. Definitions of feminism were contextual and varied greatly amon g the respondents, depending upon their position on feminism and their experiences and values. These college women faced many obstacles in developing a feminist identity: lack of role models, negative stereotypes, peer pressure, and lack of information. Each woman’s epistemological stage was integral in helping her deal with these obstacles, gain awareness and form an opinion based on her own beliefs and needs. The research results in the development of a new model of feminist identity development. Five positions through which college women develop a feminist identity are presented in the model: afeminist, non -feminist, non -feminist supporter of feminist issues, feminist with qualifiers and feminist. Case studies that illustrate each position are prese nted. The state of feminism cannot be measured in traditional ways. Rather than counting the participants in feminist organizations and women’s studies classes, new approaches must be used to uncover the extent of feminism. Although many of the women in the study were not “active” in traditional ways, nevertheless feminism was very significant in their lives. I Think I am a Feminist … vi Table of Contents Page Acknowledgements…………………………………………………. iv Ab stra ct………………………………………………………………. v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION………………………… …….. 1 Feminism …………………………………………………….. 1 Problem Identification: the Unpopularity of Feminism Among College Women…………………………………….. 6 Purpose of the Study………………………………………… 8 Research Question ………………………………………….. 9 Significance ……………………………………… ………… 9 Impli cation for Practice……………………………………… 10 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………. 12 Historical Background of Feminism ……………………………… 12 Feminism and Feminist Beliefs on Campus ……………….. 14 Theories of College Women’s Development………………… 16 Feminist Iden tity Development…… …………………………. 25 “Womanis t” Identity………………………………………….. 27 Summary …………………………………………………….. 37 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY……………………………. 38 Rationale for Qualitative Design …………………… ………. 38 Site Selection………………………………………………… 39 Participant Select ion…………………………………………. 39 Data Collection………………………………………………. 41 Data Analysis……………………………………………….... 43 Trustworthiness and Authenticity……………………………. 47 Researcher’s Subjectivity ……………………………………. 47 Summary……………………………………………………... 47 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS… ……………………………………. 49 The Cam pus Context………………………………………….. 49 Demographic Information…………………………………….. 50 Fi ndings……………………………………………………….. 53 Table 1 ………………………………………………………… 74 Limi tations…………………………………………………….. 81 Summary ……………………………………………………… 81 CHAPTER FIV E: DISCUSSION…………………………………….. 83 Context………………………………………………………… 84 The Participants’ View on Feminism………………………….. 85 Feminism Data in Context of Developmental Theory………… 99 CHAPTER SIX: COLLEGE FEMINISM MODEL ……………… … 101 Position in the College Femin ism Model……………………. 102 I Think I am a Feminist … vii Implication For Student Affairs Professionals………………. 121 Need for Further Research…………………………………… 122 Conclusion…………………………………………………….. 123 Referenc es……………………………………………………………….. 125 Appendix A: Cover Story……………………………………………….. 131 Appendix B: Con sent Form…………………………………………….. 132 Appendix C: Questionnaire………………………………………………. 13 4 Appendix D: Interv iew Questions……………………………………… 136 Appendix E: Measure of Episte mological Reflection…………………. 138 LaTayna Purnell CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The h istory of wo men in American higher education reveal s a lon g-standing tension between the espoused ideal s of democracies and fairness , and the realities of struggle for access, equality , and social justice. Although women , through F ederal law and institutional policie s, have equal access to the same facilities, faculty, and programs as their male classmates, their experiences of these educational benefits are typically not equal (Hall & Sandler, 1982). The “backlash” movements against feminism described in the mass me dia (Faludi, 1991) also exist in higher education settings , obscuring the inequalities of the educational experience for women. Feminism Feminism is a social, political ideology with a broad purpose of advancing the status of women. Mainstream feminism as a social movement has its origins in the woman suffrage campaigns of the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. The modern women’s movement is based largely on the civil rights struggles of the mid -20 th century. Feminism as a political stance has a goal of ge nder equality, but there are multiple approaches within feminism, expressing different philosophical or theoretical explanations for the source of inequality and different paths toward abolishing it (Tong, 1989). Liberal feminism, for example, focuses on s ocial and economic structures such as the difference in men’s and women’s earnings, the absence of women in particular careers or social roles, and the differential treatment of boys and girls in the educational system. Radical feminism centers the oppress ion of women in the body, through sexuality, reproduction, and representation in pornography or other media. Other feminisms locate the source of oppression in other social or political structures. Some of these include socialist feminism, Marxist feminism , eco -feminism, multicultural feminism, and womanism LaTayna Purnell (Delmar, 1994; Hughes, 1998). In addition to multiple approaches to feminism, there are different ways of expressing feminist beliefs. Activist feminists work publicly to effect political and social chan ge. Activists work in political action groups, provide services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, hold public protests and demonstrations, or engage in other visible woman -centered work. Academic feminists are concerned with exploring a nd understanding the theoretical underpinnings of oppression and advancing knowledge about sources and solutions. These feminists use research and teaching as tools of dismantling the dominant paradigms and envisioning new ways of making meaning. The categ ories of activist and academic are not mutually exclusive, but rather can be seen as overlapping. Each feminist expresses her or his beliefs in unique ways and has a different level of activist or academic commitment. The belief in feminist goals is widesp read . Buschman and Lenart (1996) found that 59% of the undergraduate women they surveyed had some degree of feminist orientation. College women surveyed by Williams and Wittig (1997) showed a 63% rate of support for feminist goals. Another sample of colle ge and non -college women indicated that 52% had some level of feminist identification (Cowan, Mestlin, & Masek, 1992). For many women, however, the adoption of feminist beliefs and a feminist identity comes later in life (Astin & Leland, 1991). It might be expected that the proportion of women espousing feminism would increase with age. Belief in feminist goals does not necessarily indicate a willingness to adopt a feminist label, however. Several studies have revealed