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.

Many campuses have utilized linked-course communities in an effort to enhance learning and build community, but most of the research on these communities are case studies or correlational designs subject to selection effects. This study conducted a randomized controlled trial of STEM linked-course communities for first-semester students with STEM majors. Students (N = 291) were randomly assigned to either a linked-course community (wherein students took three courses with the same peers) or a control group (wherein students took similar courses but with a random mix of students). Utilizing institutional records, student progress was tracked for the students’ first year. Results showed that students in the community were retained into the sophomore year 10 percentage points higher at the university and 15 percentage points higher in STEM, compared to the control group. Additional comparisons to the control group showed that community students earned more credits in both the fall and spring, more STEM credits in the spring, and higher grades in the fall. The effects were consistent across a variety of demographic groups (race, first-generation status, gender, etc.), though the retention effects were significantly stronger for students with low math placement scores. Mediation analyses showed that, compared to the control group, students in the communities had a higher number of classes with a peer, which in turn predicted increased retention. Given that this seems to be the first randomized controlled trial of linked-course communities utilizing students’ majors, future research should replicate these findings and more deeply explore the mechanisms by which these communities increase student success.

Online sex work refers to sexual services that are provided via the internet for compensation. Views of sex work range from empowering to oppressive. Various frameworks examine the balance between these extremes, but how these viewpoints operate in online sex work is underexplored. We examined the experiences of female and nonbinary online sex workers, using a feminist lens. Zoom interviews were conducted with 15 participants ranging from 18 to 33 years old. We describe results identified through thematic analysis within two groups-participants' experiences with misogyny and with managing misogyny. We further identified major themes and subthemes within each. Findings were framed using a micro/macro theoretical framework in which experiences with misogyny were complex and involved both individual and structural consideration. Micro or individual factors such as empowerment, validation, and agency operate under larger macro systems such as misogyny, patriarchy, and capitalism. This study expands on current literature, illuminating how empowerment and oppression operate simultaneously in online sex work.

Previous research has established that peer relationships are important for student success, yet little research has examined connections made in the classroom, as opposed to residence life or extracurricular activities. This project utilized social network analysis in two cohorts of science and mathematics majors to investigate the degree to which students take multiple courses with the same peers. Results showed (1) wide variability in student networks, (2) course selection by students included more repeated connections than random course selection, (3) networks did not vary much by demographic variables (gender, race, first-generation status, and income), and (4) student networks significantly predicted graduation and grades. This correlational research provides a foundation for future experimental research testing the causal impact of classroom-based student networks. This research also serves as a model for how other institutions may analyze institutional data to understand patterns of peer connections and course enrollment at their institution.

Recent technological developments (e.g., platforms such as OnlyFans) have enabled a new kind of online sex work, wherein sex workers can offer both asynchronous content (e.g., photos, videos) and live content (e.g., webcam shows, chats) to either individual customers or whole groups of followers who pay for exclusive content. Though there is significant research on the stigma faced by sex workers writ large, it is unclear the extent to which online sex workers’ experiences mirror those of in-person sex workers, given the precipitous rise of online sex work in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to investigate online sex workers’ experiences of stigma, including how stigma influences disclosure of sex work status. Fifteen participants based in the U.S. were interviewed, and themes were developed using thematic analysis. Three themes were identified, corresponding with findings regarding societal, interpersonal, and internalized stigma: ‘Persistent Judgment,’ ‘Coming out as a Sex Worker,’ and ‘Reflecting on Experiences of Shame.’ Participants reported navigating strict censorship on social media and often faced the misconception that online sex work was ‘easy money.’ However, every participant had disclosed their work to another person, creating a support system of some kind with people whom they could confide in and trust. Self-acceptance, as well as acceptance among friends and some family, could point towards changing attitudes. U.S. policy, however, is still overwhelmingly against sex work; policy changes will need to accompany these social changes for sex work to be truly destigmatized.

Copious research has shown that sexualized and stereotypical portrayals of women in the media are the norm, but there is a gap in the literature regarding the portrayal of lesbians. The aim of this study was to assess how lesbians see themselves and their relationships portrayed in the media. A second aim of this study was to experimentally test whether exposure to a sexualized portrayal of a lesbian increases self-objectification while decreasing mood, self-esteem, and body image. A third goal was to explore the role of race in lesbian perceptions of media portraying lesbians. A sample of 178 lesbian women were recruited via the online survey platform Prolific Academic to participate in a study with quantitative and qualitative components. Results indicated that the hot lesbian was the most common portrayal, as predicted, and the most frequently reported stereotype of lesbian relationships was the idea of lesbians moving too quickly in their relationships, especially among White participants. Qualitative findings revealed that lesbians found media portrayals mostly negative and stereotypical, in that they were hypersexualized and for the male gaze, with lesbian relationships portrayed as temporary. Experimental exposure to a sexualized portrayal of a lesbian caused decreased body area satisfaction but did not affect self-objectification, mood, self-esteem, or overall appearance evaluation. Most findings did not vary by race, but those that did reflected racialized stereotypes. The impact of stereotypical portrayals of lesbians in the media should continue to be examined in both lesbian and outgroup populations.

Previous research has shown that women in STEM often feel a tension between their woman and scientist identities. However, this has not been examined at teaching-intensive institutions, where women in STEM in the United States are more likely to be employed (compared to research-intensive institutions), and where faculty members' identities as teachers may be especially salient. Because aspects of the teacher identity and woman identity overlap, and because STEM faculty must integrate their scientist identity and teacher identity when teaching STEM classes, women faculty in STEM at teaching-intensive universities may be able to resolve their woman-scientist identity interference through teaching. In an online survey, women faculty in STEM and social sciences at a teaching-intensive institution in the northeastern United States (N = 44) reported their identity centrality for teacher, woman, and scientist identities, as well as their woman-scientist identity interference and experiences of workplace flexibility. Analyses revealed that those who had a strong teacher identity had a positive correlation between their woman and scientist identities, whereas those with a weak teacher identity had a negative correlation between their woman and scientist identities. Furthermore, for women in STEM (but not social sciences), a strong teacher identity was associated with lower woman-scientist identity interference. Finally, greater workplace flexibility was associated with lower woman-scientist identity interference. Though not yet generalizable, these findings raise questions about the stature of teaching in academia and its relationship to the underrepresentation of women in STEM.

Body dissatisfaction and self-objectification can arise when women view idealized thin bodies, as well as idealized athletic or curvy bodies. State-level social comparisons have been shown to mediate such effects, with mixed evidence for the moderating role of trait-level social comparison. An experiment tested the hypotheses that viewing messages idealizing thin, athletic, and curvy bodies would be associated with greater state social comparison as compared to a body acceptance condition, and that trait social comparison would moderate this association. Additionally, state social comparison was expected to mediate the association between viewing idealized images and negative body image. Data were collected online from 200 adult women. Regression analyses indicated that all three body ideals significantly increased state social comparison, which in turn predicted greater body surveillance, lower body appreciation, and, for thin and curvy conditions only, lower body esteem for looks. Further, trait social comparison moderated the association between viewing the curvy ideal and state social comparison. This study increases our knowledge of how state and trait social comparison function in relation to body ideals. Reducing social comparison to idealized images, as opposed to replacing the thin ideal with other body types, may be a superior approach to improving body image.

Although the objectification of women is pervasive, it has not been studied extensively in the context of romantic relationships. This is a curious oversight, given that physical appearance is considered a prominent factor in romantic attraction and conceptualizations of objectification tend to involve an exaggerated emphasis on physical appearance. Thus, objectification theory may have interesting implications for romantic relationships. Women who enjoy sexualization may be more likely to have a partner who objectifies them, which could have negative implications for the relationship, as objectification research has generally found that the experience of objectification has negative consequences for women. Across three studies of heterosexual women in relationships (N = 114, N = 196, and N = 208), results showed that those who enjoyed sexualization tended to feel more objectified by their partner, which in turn related to lowered relationship satisfaction. These findings persisted even when controlling for perceptions of partner's sexual desire, self-objectification, and objectification from strangers. Furthermore, Study 3 provides preliminary evidence that self-objectification may be a precursor to this mediation in that self-objectification was associated with higher enjoyment of sexualization, which was associated with higher partner-objectification, which in turn was associated with lower relationship satisfaction. This research sheds light on how the objectification of women operates within the context of a heterosexual romantic relationship.

Chapter 1 be especially important to undergraduate science students, whose confidence in their own abilities as writers may have been damaged by experiences with writing in the classroom during their schooling (Choi et al., 2010;Shanahan, 2004).Several of the scientists and mathematicians in this study discuss damaging experiences with school and English teachers in particular.The anxious mathematics student, sitting in a writing class, who reads this comment by a successful applied mathematician, What's interesting is I did mathematics, I think, because I found English so difficult . . .I failed . . . on English and I was fine on mathematics.I was top in maths but I was desperate in English.I can remember the essay.The title was "Your House."Now as a mathematician . . .I've got to write about my house.What is my house?And I went to numbers straight away.It's got five windows, it's got one door-this is age 10 or 11.I knew it was a disaster when I wrote it.But I was incapable of doing anything better-Timothy, Chapter 3. may recognise a similar incident of their own, and may never have realised that the successful science or mathematics professor in their writing classroom may have experienced this kind of setback.Reading of

Even though male participation in feminism is essential to its success, it is possible that men are reluctant to get involved in the movement because of its primary association with women (Holmgren & Hearn, 2009). This research investigated whether certain moral concerns contribute to men endorsing feminism. According to the moral foundations theory (MFT), there are five moral concerns: harm (i.e., the concern for someone's physical and emotional well-being), fairness (i.e., the concern for equality and justice), ingroup (i.e., the concern for loyalty to group membership), authority (i.e., the concern for tradition and the social hierarchy), and purity (i.e., the concern for physical and spiritual cleanliness; Graham et al., 2011). Graham, Haidt, and Nosek (2009) found that harm and fairness correlate to liberalism; therefore we predicted that men's feminism would be associated with an increased emphasis on those moral concerns and a decreased emphasis on ingroup, authority, and purity. Using an online survey methodology, participants were assessed on various aspects of feminism and morality. The results generally supported our predictions that higher support for conservative moral concerns correlates to less endorsement of feminism, whereas higher support for liberal moral concerns correlates to more endorsement of feminism, even when controlling for political ideology. This research contributes to our understanding of male resistance to and support of the feminist movement.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which young women post sexualized photos of themselves on Instagram and Facebook, whether these photos garner positive feedback in the form of “likes” and friends/followers, explore individual differences that predict which women post self-sexualized photos, and test whether posting self-sexualized photos on social media actually relate to feelings of sexual agency (i.e., control over one's own sexuality). Undergraduate women (N=61) downloaded the ten most recent photographs of themselves posted on Instagram and/or Facebook and completed a variety of survey measures. Systematic coding of the resulting 1060 photos revealed that rates of self-sexualization were relatively low, though participants posted more sexualized photos to Instagram than to Facebook. Wanting attention on social media was the strongest predictor of posting self-sexualized photos, and indeed, more sexualized photos garnered more likes on Instagram than less sexualized photos, and women who post more sexualized photos tend to get more likes in general and more friends/followers on both Instagram and Facebook. Interestingly, posting self-sexualizing photos was not associated with actual sexual agency in offline encounters. These findings suggest the importance of cultural differences between platforms and of understanding women's desire for attention on social media.

Previous research has demonstrated that men are stereotyped as agentic and women are stereotyped as communal. Therefore, perceived importance of agentic versus communal traits for success in science may contribute to subtle gender biases in science. Perceptions of science faculty may be especially important to investigate due to their positions as role models, exemplars, and gatekeepers. The present study tested the hypothesis that agentic traits are considered more important for success in science than communal traits. Faculty (n=115) and undergraduate students (n=122) from science departments at large, research-intensive universities were surveyed using either an open- or closed-ended format, so as to gauge what traits come to mind as well as those possibly related to success in science. Both faculty and students, regardless of gender, perceived agentic traits as more important for success in science than communal traits. Additionally, there were no gender differences in self-perceptions of agentic traits, though women perceived themselves as more communal than men. Finally, participants' perceptions of their own traits correlated with those they perceived as necessary for success in science.

The primary objective of this research was to explore the unique body image concerns of women receiving services at a day center for individuals experiencing homeless, an understudied population in body image research. The study also explored a number of factors relevant to homelessness that could relate to body image, including access to hygiene products or facilities, inconsistent access to food, sexual victimization, and self-esteem. A sample of 60 women from a nonprofit homeless service center in Boston, MA, were administered a written questionnaire. Results indicated that participants had moderately high body esteem on average across all three subscales of the Body Esteem Scale, and body esteem was positively correlated with self-esteem. A multiple regression analysis revealed that 54% of the variance in body esteem was explained by self-esteem, access to hygiene products, inconsistent access to food, and sexual victimization, as well as race, age, and BMI as covariates. Importantly, both self-esteem and access to hygiene products were significant predictors of body esteem, such that women with higher self-esteem and more access to hygiene products reported higher levels of body esteem. Because this is the first study to examine body image among women who have experienced homelessness, these results may influence the direction of future research on this diverse, underrepresented group of women, as well as inform the work of shelters and other organizations that provide services and resources to women affected by homelessness.

While most body image research emphasizes the thin ideal, a wider variety of body-ideal messages pervade U.S. popular culture today, including those promoting athleticism or curves. Two studies assessed women’s reactions to messages conveying thin, athletic, and curvy ideals, compared to a control message that emphasized accepting all body types. Study 1 (N = 192) surveyed women’s responses to these messages and found they perceived body-acceptance and athletic messages most favorably, curvy messages more negatively, and thin messages most negatively. Further, greatest liking within each message category came from women who identified with that body type. Study 2 (N = 189) experimentally manipulated exposure to these messages, then measured self-objectification and body satisfaction. Messages promoting a body-ideal caused more self-objectification than body-acceptance messages. Also, athletic messages caused more body dissatisfaction than thin messages. Together, these findings reveal the complexity of women’s responses to diverse messages they receive about ideal bodies.