Are sisters doing it for themselves? Feminists' concern for women, men, and other groups

While it is clear that feminists are interested in improving outcomes for women, it is not clear what their orientation is toward men or other social issues. When activists from minority groups advocate for better conditions, it is possible that they are engaging in zero-sum competition, such that they are seeking to make gains for their own group by taking finite resources away from others - in particular, the majority group. The perception that this is the case may be especially likely for identity-based social activists such as feminists, who, in placing identity characteristics such as gender at the forefront of their activism, run the risk of appearing divisive and antagonistic towards those who do not share this characteristic (i.e., men). However, some accounts of improving intergroup relations do not emphasise competition or antagonism, and instead emphasise universalistic concern for human rights and welfare in order to protect and improve the material and moral conditions of many groups. In fact, many feminists have suggested that the movement seeks to eradicate oppression for everyone, including men.

Over 8 studies, this thesis examines whether feminists are engaged in zero-sum competition with men or whether their concern also extends to men and other groups. Chapter 2 outlines the first five empirical studies in this thesis, which examine whether feminists view gender relations as a zero-sum competition with men and whether they are perceived to do so. In Study 1 (n = 404), feminists did not endorse general or gender-specific zero-sum beliefs, and perceived that the harms and benefits of feminism were positively associated for men and women. In Studies 2 (n = 352) and 3 (n = 208), feminists showed similar or higher levels of concern for issues that affect men than non-feminists did, and their concern for men's issues and concern for women's issues was positively correlated, suggesting a positive-sum (rather than zero-sum) relationship. Study 4 (n = 348) allowed participants to rate the importance of men's and women's issues that they generated themselves, and showed that feminists placed just as much importance on men's issues as non-feminists and perceived outcomes for men and women as positively related. Study 5 (n = 283) used the same procedure, this time showing that feminists placed more importance on men's issues than non-feminists. Once again, this study showed a positive association between men's and women's issue importance for feminists, and this held after controlling for various additional variables including sexism. Across these five studies, participants consistently underestimated the degree to which feminists cared about issues that affect men and the degree to which feminists viewed men's and women's issues as positively associated.

Chapter 3 then outlines one study examining how feminists' support for collective action on behalf of men is related to perceptions that it benefits both men and women. In Study 6 (n = 363), I showed that feminists supported progressive (but not reactionary) collective action on behalf of men, and perceived that this action helps both men and women. However, after controlling for the degree to which it was perceived to help women, feminism was no longer associated with support for progressive collective action for men. Chapter 4 outlines the final two studies, which examine how the expectations placed on feminists to care about men as well as other social issues are reflected in other intergroup contexts. In Study 7 (n = 255), I compared feminists with activists for Black Lives Matter (BLM), gay rights, and trans rights, and found that feminists stood out as the only group for whom it was perceived to matter more whether they both liked and cared about the majority group (i.e., men) relative to non-activists. Study 8 (n = 269) once again compared feminists to these same three social movements, and showed that it was perceived that feminists should care about and take action on behalf of both the majority group and other social movements more than other activists should.

In concert, these findings demonstrate that feminists care about men and issues that affect them, reject zero-sum thinking, and see outcomes for men and women as positively associated with each other, but their concern for men is underestimated in meta-perceptions. However, some of the concern that feminists demonstrate for men seems to be linked to a perception that it indirectly helps women. In addition, it is perceived that feminists should care about both men and other social issues in a way that is not expected of other minority group activists. A final chapter contextualises these results and discusses implications for feminist messaging , while also giving suggestions for future research examining the unique orientation feminists have towards both men and other social issues.