Gender Differences and the Use of Force in the United States, 1990-2002.

This paper analyzes gender differences in 455 public opinion surveys on the use of military force by the United States from 1990 to 2002. Several important conclusions emerge from the analysis. First, gender differences are indeed generalized: on average, women are less supportive of the use of military force for any purpose. Second, variations in the magnitude of gender differences largely confirm the reasoning of past theory and research: women are relatively more sensitive to humanitarian concerns and more sensitive to the loss of human life. Third, it is nonetheless also true that women are hardly pacifists, and men are not uniformly bellicose. Any difference occurs at the margins in response to specific circumstances and the specific military actions that are contemplated. Fourth, given the magnitude of some gender differences on some issues involving military force, gender differences have the potential to be a significant factor in political decisions to use military force and in the political response to the use of force. The concluding section discusses the implications of these findings for two issues currently on the political agenda: the War Against Terror, and a possible military action against Iraq. Check author’s web site for an updated version of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]