Trappings of femininity: A test of the "beauty as currency" hypothesis in shaping college women's gender activism.
This study investigated whether believing beauty is a primary currency for women operates as an antecedent force in the relation between self-objectification and gender activism. Ninety-four ethnically diverse women attending a small liberal arts college in the southeastern United States completed the study questionnaires online for course credit. Preliminary results demonstrated beauty as currency belief, self-objectification, and support for the gender status quo were negatively associated with gender activism. A serial mediation analysis revealed support for the proposed model: Beauty as currency belief was indirectly and inversely linked to gender activism through self-objectification and support for the gender status quo, offering initial evidence for our beauty as currency hypothesis. These findings suggest belief in the notion women will reap more benefits from their bodies than other attributes or pursuits may be an important legitimizing feature of feminine beauty ideology that works through self-objectification against gender social change.
Department of Psychology, Western University, London, ON, Canada. Electronic address: rcaloger@uwo.ca.
Rachel M
RM
Calogero
Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, USA.
Tracy L
TL
Tylka
School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Lois C
LC
Donnelly
Department of Industrial Organizational Psychology, Radford University, USA.
Amber
A
McGetrick
College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, USA.
Andrea Medrano
AM
Leger
D000328:Adult; D001504:Beauty; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D057227:Femininity; D006801:Humans; D000074439:Political Activism; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
Beauty; Feminine beauty ideology; Gender collective action; Gender status quo; Objectification theory; Self-objectification