SAFER, BETTER SEX THROUGH FEMINISM: THE ROLE OF FEMINIST IDEOLOGY IN WOMEN'S SEXUAL WELL-BEING

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00431.x Byline: Vanessa R. Schick (1), Alyssa N. Zucker (1), Laina Y. Bay-Cheng (2) Abstract: Feminists have argued that traditional gender norms can obstruct women's sexual well-being (Amaro, 1995; Morokoff, 2000; Tolman, 2006; Walker, 1997). Therefore, we expected feminist ideology, by virtue of this critique, to be associated with women's sexual subjectivity and sexual well-being. To test this model, we analyzed data from a survey of college-age women (N= 424) using structural equation modeling. As hypothesized, feminist ideology was indirectly related to condom-use self-efficacy and sexual satisfaction via sexual subjectivity, and sexual motivation was directly related to sexual satisfaction. In an alternative model, feminist ideology was directly related to sexual motivation. This research indicates that feminist ideology may play a role in the promotion of women's sexual well-being. Author Affiliation: (1)The George Washington University (2)University at Buffalo Article History: Initial submission: September 18, 2007Initial acceptance: January 23, 2008Final acceptance: March 10, 2008 Article note: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Vanessa R. Schick, The George Washington University, Department of Psychology, 2125 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail: vschick@gwu.edu