Whither Feminist Solidarity? Critical Thinking, Racism, Islamophobia, Gender, Authoritarianism, and Sexism in a U.S. National Sample

Abstract

Feminist solidarities form when people from a variety of social locations and accompanying power and privilege actively forge alliances across difference(s) to support gender equity and justice and to resist systemic gender bias. While nations from the Global North depict themselves as bastions of gender equity in comparison to nations of the Global South, countries such as the US, making dubious claims to “post-sexist” and “post-racial” societies, protest too much. Using a representative, national sample in the US, most participants did not disagree with sexist and racist attitudes and beliefs, and six variables accounted for 60.1% of the variance in sexism in a multiple regression model (F = 89.62, p < 0.001): racism, critical thinking dispositions, Islamophobia, conspiracy mentality, gender, and authoritarianism. Implications for educators and social science researchers are discussed.

Keywords

• feminist solidarity
• critical thinking
• dispositions
• gender bias
• assessment
• social location