The purpose of this study was to explore the role of abortion narratives in predicting reproductive justice (RJ) collective action intentions, as well as to understand the psychological mechanisms that may explain this link. In doing so, we integrated a reproductive justice framework and sought to extend the social identity model of collective action to reproductive justice advocacy. Predominantly white, heterosexual participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions in which participants read an abortion narrative involving rape, consensual sex, or no written narrative, and were then assessed on outcome variables. Results revealed that, compared to participants in the control condition (i.e., no abortion narrative), participants in the abortion condition involving rape engaged in more RJ collective action intentions, which was explained by greater group-based anger and efficacy beliefs about the RJ movement. Compared to participants in the abortion condition involving consensual sex, those who read an abortion narrative involving rape reported greater group-based anger, which was then related to more RJ collective action intentions. Moreover, participants who more strongly identified as an RJ advocate and read the abortion narrative involving rape reported greater collective action intentions compared to their counterparts in the control and consensual conditions. These findings suggest that exposure to exceptionalized abortion narratives involving rape may predict greater RJ advocacy, even among those who more strongly identify as RJ advocates.
Interdisciplinary literature has utilized the Gothic to critique the impact of power, oppression, and violence on the human condition, yet psychology remains noticeably absent from the conversation. In this theoretical article, I explore the potential use of the Gothic tradition and Black feminist thought (i.e., Gothic Black feminism) to reconceptualize and treat the Black womxn's madness. This article is organized into six overarching sections: (1) The Birth of the Gothic: Introduction to an Interdisciplinary Theory, (2) Gothic Psychotherapy: An Introduction to Praxis, (3) The Gothic Body: Clinical Conceptualization, (4) Soul Work: Five Observances of a Soul-Level Treatment, (5) Discussions on Reclaiming Radicalism: Gothic Departures From a Colonized Field, and (6) Afterbirth: Gothic Conclusions. Within this work, I describe the Gothic Black feminist existential psychodynamics that undergird Gothic psychotherapy and provide brief clinical vignettes to demonstrate its clinical application. I present the four key components of the Gothic psychotherapeutic approach: (1) The Body: The Quinquepartite Self, (2) The Heart: Gothic Black feminist theory, (3) The Soul: Black womxn's knowing , and (4) The Eye: the five non-sequential observances of Gothic clinical praxis. I also include a description of Gothic co-witnessing as an energetic posture to facilitate the Black womxn's movement toward resurrection and self-repossession. Finally, I conclude with a discussion on the Gothic's convergence and divergence from existing clinical approaches, particularly as it concerns its conceptualization of suicide. Together, this work provides a preliminary but comprehensive introduction to Gothic Black feminist theory and the ongoing development of a Gothic praxis for Black womxn's healing.
In this cross-sectional study, we examined if and how experiences of sexual objectification in one's family of origin are associated with sex-related outcomes among 700 young adult college women who completed an online survey. We found that sexual objectification in one's family of origin was directly and indirectly related to both body image self-consciousness during sex and sexual refusal through more self-objectification. In addition, sexual objectification in one's family of origin was indirectly related to less sexual communication via more self-objectification. Among the subsample of participants who had engaged in recent sexual activity, sexual objectification in one's family of origin was indirectly related to less orgasm via four pathways (a) more self-objectification, (b) less sexual refusal, (c) the serial link from more self-objectification to less sexual refusal, and (d) the serial link from more self-objectification to less sexual communication. Our findings suggest that sexual objectification in one's family of origin influences young adult college women's sexual experiences and sexual agency through more self-objectification and women's sexual functioning through more self-objectification and less sexual agency. That is, more experiences of sexual objectification in one's family of origin may lead a woman to internalize those messages and begin to treat herself as an object. This self-objectification, in turn, may make it more difficult for her to communicate her sexual desires and refuse sex when she does not want it, which may ultimately affect her satisfaction with and ability to orgasm during sex.
Black womxn's endurance of the American Gothic is distinct—one filled with corporeal violence, blood-thirsty systems, and haunting histories—thus, their healing requires the development of an equally attuned Gothic approach. Gothic Black feminism is an emerging theory that considers Black American womxn's madness to be the intended consequence of presumably permanent systems of power—henceforth referred to as the American Gothic. This piece, the third within a three-part Gothic Black feminist series, carries the thread of its conceptual and clinical innovation. The present work presents five novel interventions organized between two overarching sections: (1) Gothic Psychotherapy: Roots of an emerging praxis and (2) Gothic Black feminist intervention: Applying its lens to existing approaches. Section one, Gothic Psychotherapy, introduces two interventions foundational to the emerging praxis: (1) Co-witnessing and (2) Gothic Black feminist psychoeducation. Section two, Gothic Black feminist intervention, introduces three novel interventions that demonstrate the application of its lens to existing clinical approaches: (1) Gothic card sorting/clinical cartomancy/Gothic Black feminist tarot, (2) Macabre metaphors and Gothic storytelling, and (3) Gothic narrative work. Two composite case vignettes, demonstrating the applied use of these interventions in the treatment of Black womxn clients, are included. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/DOI: 10.1177/03616843261471161
Across a range of platforms, Tradwives curate and commodify traditional heteronormative ideologies and ways of living devoted to faith and family. As time has passed, a group of women rejecting Tradwifery has also evolved, a term we call De-Tradding. Drawing on a wide range of social media content from Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Reddit, alongside traditional media sources such as online interviews, feature articles, and podcasts, we captured a snapshot of the what, why, and how of De-Tradding. We identified that De-Tradding was happening in two different ways. The first, “ Rejection of the Trad-label, ” involved women living traditional lives characterized by heteropatriarchal gendered roles, but who rejected the Tradwife label and/or brand on grounds of ideology, politics, and faith. The second way, “ Rejection of the Trad-life, ” included women who exited Tradwifery, largely in response to domestic violence, infidelity, and unequal power arrangements in intimate relationships. De-Tradding is thus both conceptual and material, it is personal and political. Using Feminist Storytelling, we explored the psychological, relational, and sociocultural circumstances through which women “De-Trad,” and in doing so, demonstrated processes of identity transformation, disaffiliation, and boundary (re)negotiation within evolving expressions of online femininities and digital subcultures.
This study examined college women's ability to detect aggression and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration risk in unknown men's dating profiles across three samples. Across studies, women accurately distinguished profiles characterized by high, moderate, and low levels of aggression, but showed greater difficulty differentiating between moderate and low levels of IPV perpetration risk. Women's IPV victimization histories and childhood maltreatment exposure were each independently associated with greater accuracy in identifying both aggression and IPV risk. These findings align with trauma-informed frameworks of risk perception, which propose that lifetime interpersonal adversity may shape sensitivity to relational danger cues in early impression-formation contexts. Together, results highlight the complexity of early risk detection in online dating environments and underscore the importance of prevention and education efforts that support women's recognition of both overt and subtle indicators of risk.
Tradwives, a portmanteau from the words “traditional” and “wife,” represent a trend among social media influencers who advocate for a return to restrictive gender norms and patriarchal structures of life. Tradwife social media content often showcases aesthetic elements of 1950s culture or homesteading and includes discursive themes of motherhood, wifehood, critiques of modern feminism, and submission to one's husband. In this article, we draw on feminist, social, and critical psychology, as well as critical cultural theory, to argue that the contemporary technology of social media provides a cultural platform for postfeminist ideas to promote, mobilize, and commercialize alt-right and highly conservative ideologies, offering individualized lifestyle solutions to complex sociopolitical issues. We situate our argument within the cultural context of the progress and backlash of Western feminism, outline and build upon the literature on postfeminism, and demonstrate how such postfeminist culture is ideologically and psychologically constructed through a case study of the prominent British Tradwife, Alena Kate Pettitt.
In the current article, we tested the social interaction model of objectification to explore the effects of the activation and compatibility of sexual goals on women's perceptions of sexual objectification and behavioral intentions. Studies 1 ( N = 272) and 2 ( N = 141), conducted in Italy, demonstrated the importance of women's sexual goals in shaping favorable perceptions and subsequent behavioral intentions in sexually objectifying interactions. However, in both studies, when women desired sexual attention but did not receive it, they reported the highest levels of perceived benefits from remaining in the interaction, along with greater motivation for future interactions. Study 3 ( N = 232), conducted in the United States, replicated the importance of women's sexual goal activation in fostering positive perceptions and intentions to continue the interaction. Nevertheless, contrary to the findings of the first two studies, the results showed that compatibility of sexual goals was preferable to incompatible conditions. The current research provides evidence supporting the social interaction model of objectification's proposition that, during objectifying interactions, women cognitively evaluate whether the interaction aligns with their own sexual goals. It also highlights the significant role of cultural differences in shaping perceptions of sexual goal compatibility in the objectifying interaction process.
This study examines the Tradwife influencer movement, an online phenomenon with a wide reach that romanticizes traditional gender roles and women's domestic submission, as an evolution of postfeminism into the conservative and alt-right domains. Drawing on feminist psychological methodology and using visual motif analysis, a novel multimodal qualitative method for analyzing visual media, we analyzed influential Tradwives across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Our data primarily consisted of Tradwives from the U.S., but also included others from English-speaking countries. Four visual motifs were identified ( Christian Fundamentalist, Domestic Goddess, Rural Libertarian, and Reformed Feminist ), alongside five textual themes shaping their ideological landscape ( Gender Essentialism, Pronatalism, White Supremacy, Christian Supremacy, Anti-Science Misinformation ). Across these archetypes and ideologies, we found that postfeminist sentiments of choice, empowerment, and self-branding were rearticulated to uphold patriarchal, essentialist, White 1 supremacist, and Christian nationalist sentiments. Drawing on Lopes’s concept of meaning vertigo , we interpret the appeal of Tradwives as a psychological response to existential disorientation under late capitalism, heightened national attention to identity politics and social justice, and neoliberal gender politics, offering simplistic, nostalgic hierarchy and order amid social flux. This study extends feminist psychological inquiry into digital culture, showcasing how emotion, aesthetics, and algorithmic visibility coalesce to normalize reactionary gender ideologies and reframe patriarchal submission as a feminist choice.
Pregnancy is marked by visible bodily changes such as weight gain. Guided by objectification theory, this study aimed to test whether gestational body mass gain-an indicator of visible bodily transformation-is associated with perceived interpersonal objectification experiences that position one's body as an object of appearance-based evaluation. These experiences may, in turn, be related to greater self-objectification, which may subsequently correlate with poorer mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms, disordered eating, and sexual dysfunction). The sample included 399 heterosexual, cisgender pregnant women in their second to third trimester who had not previously given birth (Mage = 29.97, range = 19-48). As predicted, path analysis revealed that greater gestational body mass gain was associated with perceived interpersonal objectification, which in turn was related to self-objectification, which then was directly associated with all three mental health outcomes. The association between self-objectification and disordered eating was indirectly explained through body shame and interoceptive awareness, while self-objectification's association with sexual dysfunction was indirectly explained through interoceptive awareness. These findings support the applicability of objectification theory to pregnancy, underscoring the need to reduce weight and appearance-focused practices and foster health-oriented perceptions of pregnant bodies. Finally, findings highlight the importance of public health efforts to normalize pregnancy-related body mass changes.
Scholarship has seen recent growth in the study of the tradwife movement, yet the "tradhusband" has received almost no mention. Although tradhusbands rarely appear in tradwives' content, when they do, they are only seen through the gaze of the tradwife. The tradhusband plays an integral but largely invisible role in facilitating the more visible figure of the tradwife. Adopting a postmodern and Black feminist lens, this theoretical article argues for the importance of locating the tradwife movement within hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity, suggesting that the tradwife and the tradhusband are two mutually co-constructed roles. This article offers the first definition in feminist academia of the "tradhusband" to describe the spouse or romantic partner of a tradwife. The tradhusband serves as a symbolic mechanism to display and prescribe the benefits of a traditional lifestyle, depicting the tradhusband as a "saviour" and "protector." By excluding the tradhusband in the analysis of tradculture, we risk oversimplifying the construction of traditional gender roles in the tradwife movement.
This clinical case study explored the psychotherapy journey of Serena, a composite client representing the experience of a 25-year-old biracial woman who embraces a tradwife lifestyle within the context of her marriage and religious community. Using relational-cultural theory and a trauma-informed framework, this case study describes the course of Serena's therapy over 12 sessions and highlights key decision points, interventions, and outcomes. Sessions included values clarification, exploration of anxiety, relational ruptures, and interventions allowing Serena to grow in her authentic expression and self-compassion. Serena's therapist, Belle, an amalgamated White clinician with different worldviews and belief systems from Serena, attended to these differences from a relational-cultural, culturally humble, and ethical practice while using consultation in difficult moments. The case study format illustrates the interventions that were applied, why they were chosen, what shifted, and continued needed work. These interventions, along with the therapeutic relationship, led to a decrease in Serena's anxiety symptoms, stronger sense of self, and a better understanding of systems of power. Clinical implications for working with those who hold traditional gender roles, such as those identifying as tradwives, are provided. The case study of Serena underscores the importance of considering tradwife identity as a culture, connecting its complex intersections with trauma, faith, power, and race. Moreover, the case study challenges clinicians to examine their biases when working with clients with ideological differences.
Fear of institutional betrayal is a new conceptual extension of the original institutional betrayal framework. The original framework is a way of making sense of, and giving credibility to, the experiences of harm perpetrated by institutions. The original authors developed a checklist of institutional actions or inactions that harm survivors of sexual violence. Building on this work, fear of institutional betrayal is an attitudinal construct that represents the belief that post-secondary institutions will inevitably fail to prevent or acceptably respond to campus sexual violence, and that engagement with the institution in the aftermath of campus sexual violence will result in harm for survivors. In this paper, two studies provided evidence for the psychometric soundness of the Fear of Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire (FIBQ). The first study established the scale's reliability and unidimensional factor structure. A replication study in a larger, more diverse, national sample of students confirmed these findings. Construct validity was supported across both studies by theoretically consistent correlations and expected group differences across demographic characteristics. These studies demonstrate that the FIBQ is a psychometrically sound instrument that captures a construct not previously assessed in the literature.
In this study, we examined how sexual objectification, abortion circumstance, and sexist attitudes interacted to affect abortion stigma and dehumanization of women who have abortions. A total of 237 participants were randomly assigned to a vignette depicting a woman who was either (a) sexually objectified or (b) not sexually objectified and who sought an abortion in either (a) a typical circumstance (i.e., ill timed) or (b) an exceptionalized circumstance (i.e., fetal anomaly). Results indicated that in typical abortion circumstances, women who have abortions are at risk of dehumanization, regardless of whether they are seen as sexual objects. In contrast, exceptionalized conditions may yield humanizing effects for women who have abortions, unless they are seen as sexual objects. Furthermore, participants with moderate and high levels of hostile sexism judged women who have abortions more harshly: they believed that the woman deserved more punishment for having an abortion for typical reasons compared to having an abortion for exceptionalized reasons. Results also suggested that women who have abortions for more typical reasons may be granted less moral patiency (i.e., moral concern), regardless of sexual objectification. However, under exceptionalized circumstances, sexual objectification diminished perceptions of moral patiency among participants with moderate and high levels of hostile sexism. In short, our findings suggest that sexual objectification, abortion circumstance, and hostile sexism operate concomitantly to affect how women who have abortions are evaluated and perceived.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among Latinx college students. Gender role stereotypes influence the ways IPV is perceived and sometimes tolerated within the Latinx culture. In addition, social media can shape the messages individuals receive about what is healthy and unhealthy in romantic relationships. La t & oacute;xica (the toxic woman) is a Latinx gender stereotype often used to describe controlling and demanding women. However, as the term has become more common, its colloquial meaning and the associated behaviors have expanded. The purpose of this study was to explore an emerging gender role stereotype of the label la t & oacute;xica among Latinxs. This study included 19 undergraduate Latinx college students. We used a conventional qualitative analysis approach to analyze the data. The participants were interviewed in English and responded to questions related to the concept of la t & oacute;xica. Interviews lasted an average of 93 minutes. Specifically, we sought to fill a gap in the literature regarding how the la t & oacute;xica label operates as a culturally embedded term that draws on feminine stereotypes and power, while reframing women's behavior in relationships. The qualitative data analysis yielded three themes: vernacular reframing and memetic spread, gendered scripts of power in intimate relationships, and love as leverage: normalizing control in relationships. These results are discussed in the context of intimate partner violence, gender roles, and the media's influence on the dissemination of gender role stereotypes.
This special issue examines the phenomenon of the tradwife-a "retro feminine" figure who performs extreme domesticity on social media. The rise of the tradwife is familiar, yet also reflective of the current technopolitical moment. To introduce this special issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly, we first explore a set of cultural forces that we believe have paved the way for the tradwife's recent ascendence. We contend that tradwives used social media to sell a message perfectly-tailored to the moment: They championed old-school gender roles by tapping into women's dissatisfaction with feminist progress; they showed off laborious domestic pursuits during coronavirus disease 2019, when people's attention narrowed to the home; and they evoked nostalgia in ways that echoed far-right political communications. Next, we summarize seven articles published in this special issue. The first three articles use feminist theories and content-coding strategies to describe the visual and ideological landscape of the tradwife. The next two articles identify how sexist and patriarchal ideologies characterize men's roles in the tradwife phenomenon. The last two articles contend with women's experiences living and leaving the tradlife. Finally, we name several open questions about the tradwife phenomenon that feminist psychological theory and methods are well-equipped to answer.
This study aimed to understand the contradictions of how tradwife social media influencers use content creation as a means for justifying a status quo based on gender prescriptions rooted in the past, while gaining financial benefits for themselves and their families. Content analysis of 250 TikTok posts from top White women influencers indicated 42.4% of videos included traditional gender role prescriptions, and nearly all posts (89.2%) invoked the past either through statements, music, or imagery. Rather than merely describing the influencers' choices, nearly half of the posts used tactics promoting the lifestyle (46%). Although their content portrayed influencers as wives and mothers choosing to center domestic life, the majority of posts (62.8%) made efforts to monetize the content through sponsorships and tactics to boost engagement. Only 2 of 250 videos addressed race; however, tradwife content upheld White patriarchy, reinforcing exclusionary norms and perpetuating the intersectional domination of other women and people of color. Findings highlight the dangers of normalizing restrictive gender and racial hierarchies through aesthetically appealing social media content and underscore the need for stronger media literacy among young audiences.
Women who identify as tradwives advocate for a return to strict gender roles within the context of marriages with men. Because men play a central role in upholding gender inequity, the current research was geared toward more deeply understanding men's attitudes toward tradwives and the #tradwife movement. Our focal analyses tested for links between ambivalent sexism and men's favorability toward the #tradwife movement. In particular, we hypothesized that protective paternalism, a facet of benevolent sexism encompassing beliefs about women's need for care, would play an especially important role in explaining men's favorable impressions of the #tradwife movement. We recruited young men via a Qualtrics panel (N = 595; aged 18 to 29). Participants represented a range of racial and sociodemographic backgrounds. Inconsistent with our expectations, hierarchical regression provided no evidence that men's protective paternalism predicted their tradwife attitudes. Instead, heterosexual intimacy (a different facet of benevolent sexism), hostile sexism, and religiosity emerged as key correlates of men's favorable attitudes toward the #tradwife movement. Thematic analysis provided deeper insight into men's meaning-making about the appeal of the tradwife lifestyle. Many men characterized traditionality as offering a sense of purpose, with some noting that women are naturally predisposed to traditional caregiving roles. Some men also derisively described the tradwife lifestyle as an "easy out" that allows women to avoid the hardships of paid work. Together, findings suggest that men's favorability toward the #tradwife movement is founded on patronizing and derogatory forms of sexism that are harmful to women. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843261433199
