The Political Consequences of Gender-Based Marginalization

Abstract

Sexism, sexual harassment, and the objectification of women are issues that have gained a new level of salience in our political culture. The phrase “Me Too” has captured the pervasiveness of these experiences. Feminist theorists in particular, have long recognized the political significance of marginalization and discrimination on the basis of gender, and how even events that occur in the private sphere can have political implications. However, positivist scholars of political science have paid less attention to these seemingly non-political factors as potential predictors of political engagement. This dissertation is an effort to shed light on how gender-based discrimination affects women in the electorate and how they engage in the political sphere. Through a combination of observational research, survey experiments, and lab experiments, I demonstrate that under certain circumstances, gender-based discrimination can depress women’s political engagement and under other circumstances, gender-based discrimination can actually act as an impetus to political engagement and activism. The goal of this dissertation is two-fold. First, I argue and empirically demonstrate that sexism, sexual harassment, and the objectification of women have explicit political consequences. Second, I illuminate the moderating factors in this relationship between gender-based marginalization and political engagement. I explore how group consciousness, ideology, and emotions affect the connection between marginalizing experiences and political engagement and behavior. My findings uncover a complicated relationship between marginalizing experiences and political engagement. These experiences can depress engagement, but can also become events that galvanize political activity. The most important contribution of this dissertation is underscoring the need for scholars to consider how the lived experiences of marginalized groups shape the way they approach politics.