Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Part I Foundations of Political Psychology
- Part II The Politics of Intergroup Attitudes
- 11 Authoritarianism
- 12 A Political Psychology of Ethnocentrism
- 13 Collective Narcissism
- 14 Demographic Change, White Decline, and the Changing Nature of Racial Politics in Election Campaigns
- 15 Macro-diversity and Intergroup Attitudes
- 16 The Persistence of Gender in Campaigns and Elections
- 17 The Politics of Abortion, Pregnancy, and Motherhood
- 18 Religiosity and Openness to Authoritarian Governance
- 19 The Consequences of Moral Conviction in Politics
- 20 The Political Psychology of National Identity
- 21 The Political Dynamics of Immigration Opinion Worldwide
- 22 International and Individual Differences in Support for Human Rights
- Part III Contemporary Challenges to Democracy
- Part IV Diversifying Perspectives in Political Psychology
- Index
- References
17 - The Politics of Abortion, Pregnancy, and Motherhood
from Part II - The Politics of Intergroup Attitudes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 February 2022
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Part I Foundations of Political Psychology
- Part II The Politics of Intergroup Attitudes
- 11 Authoritarianism
- 12 A Political Psychology of Ethnocentrism
- 13 Collective Narcissism
- 14 Demographic Change, White Decline, and the Changing Nature of Racial Politics in Election Campaigns
- 15 Macro-diversity and Intergroup Attitudes
- 16 The Persistence of Gender in Campaigns and Elections
- 17 The Politics of Abortion, Pregnancy, and Motherhood
- 18 Religiosity and Openness to Authoritarian Governance
- 19 The Consequences of Moral Conviction in Politics
- 20 The Political Psychology of National Identity
- 21 The Political Dynamics of Immigration Opinion Worldwide
- 22 International and Individual Differences in Support for Human Rights
- Part III Contemporary Challenges to Democracy
- Part IV Diversifying Perspectives in Political Psychology
- Index
- References
Summary
Pregnancy and motherhood are among the most cherished experiences of many women, but for many others are involuntary or unwanted. In either case, they are ideologically loaded and politically consequential. We review various lines of research across the social sciences documenting some of the myths surrounding pregnancy and motherhood, and some of the taboos, restrictions, and discrimination to which pregnant women and mothers are subjected.Our review encompasses opposition to abortion, ‘financial abortion’, paternalistic control over women’s reproductive and lifestyle choices, the motherhood penalty, and antagonism to women’s autonomy in conservative, libertarian, and populist politics. Drawing on social psychological theory, we argue that these phenomena have obvious roots in male dominance but also in idealised, reverential attitudes to pregnancy and motherhood. We conclude that unchecked, they will prevent women from achieving economic and social parity with men.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology , pp. 272 - 283Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
References
Abramowitz, A. I. (1995). It’s abortion, stupid: Policy voting in the 1992 presidential election. The Journal of Politics, 57(1), 176–186. https://doi.org/10.2307/2960276Google Scholar
Anderson, D., Binder, D., & Krause, K. (2003). The motherhood wage penalty revisited: Experience, heterogeneity, work effort and work-schedule flexibility. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 56(2), 273–294. https://doi.org/10.2307/3590938Google Scholar
Becker, G. S. (1985). Human capital, effort and the sexual division of labor. Journal of Labor Economics, 3(1), S33–S58. https://doi.org/10.1086/298075CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, C. (2018, 27 July). How the handmaid became an international protest symbol. British Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-44965210Google Scholar
Benard, S., & Correll, S. J. (2010). Normative discrimination and the motherhood penalty. Gender & Society, 24(5), 616–646. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210383142CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berglas, N. F., Gould, H., Turok, D. K., Sanders, J. N., Perrucci, A. C., & Roberts, S. C. (2017). State-mandated (mis) information and women’s endorsement of common abortion myths. Women’s Health Issues, 27(2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2016.12.014CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Biggs, M. A., Upadhyay, U. D., McCulloch, C. E., & Foster, D. G. (2017). Women’s mental health and well-being 5 years after receiving or being denied an abortion: A prospective, longitudinal cohort study. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(2), 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.3478Google Scholar
Brake, E. (2005). Fatherhood and child support: Do men have a right to choose? Journal of Applied Philosophy, 22(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5930.2005.00292.xGoogle Scholar
Bright Horizons. (2018). Modern family index 2018. Research report. https://www.brighthorizons.com/-/media/BH-New/Newsroom/Media-Kit/MFI_2018_Report_FINAL.ashxGoogle Scholar
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (2001, 26 March). Abortion for court fight woman. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1242952.stmGoogle Scholar
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (2017, 23 January). Trump executive order reverses foreign abortion policy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38724063Google Scholar
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (2019, 14 June). What’s going on in the fight over US abortion rights? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47940659Google Scholar
Budig, M., & England, P. (2001). The wage penalty for motherhood. American Sociological Review, 66(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657415Google Scholar
Cates, W., Jr (1982). ‘Abortion myths and realities’: Who is misleading whom? American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 142(8), 954–956. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9378(82)90773-6Google Scholar
Center for Reproductive Rights. (2019). In the spotlight. https://reproductiverights.org/our-regions/europe?page=1Google Scholar
Center for Reproductive Rights. (2020). Interactive map of the world’s abortion laws. http://worldabortionlaws.com/map/Google Scholar
Chalmers, J. C., Petterson, A., Woodford, L., & Sutton, R. M. (2021). The rights of man: Libertarians’ concern for men’s, but not women’s, reproductive autonomy [Manuscript submitted for publication]. School of Psychology, University of Kent.Google Scholar
Chambers, J. R., Baron, R. S., & Inman, M. L. (2006). Misperceptions in intergroup conflict: Disagreeing about what we disagree about. Psychological Science, 17(1), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01662.xGoogle Scholar
Choudhry, S., Singleton, A., Sapnara, K., et al. (2012). Forced marriage: Introducing a social justice and human rights perspective. Zed Books. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2011.636574Google Scholar
Conard, N. J. (2009). A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany. Nature, 459(7244), 248–252. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07995Google Scholar
Correll, S. J., Benard, S., & Paik, I. (2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112(5), 1297–1338. https://doi.org/10.1086/511799Google Scholar
Deveny, C. (2016, 18 March). Financial abortion: Should men be able to ‘opt out’ of parenthood? ABC News. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-04/financial-abortion-men-opt-out-parenthood/8049576Google Scholar
Filipovic, J. (2012, 14 November). Savita Halappanavar’s medically unnecessary death. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/14/savita-halappanavar-medically-unnecessary-deathGoogle Scholar
Foster, D. G. (2020). The Turnaway Study: Ten years, a thousand women, and the consequences of having – or being denied – an abortion. Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Foster, D. G., Biggs, M. A., Ralph, L., Gerdts, C., Roberts, S., & Glymour, M. M. (2018). Socioeconomic outcomes of women who receive and women who are denied wanted abortions in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 108(3), 407–413. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304247Google Scholar
Fox, G. L. (1977). ‘Nice girl’: Social control of women through a value construct. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2(4), 805–817. https://doi.org/10.1086/493411Google Scholar
Gallup. (2020). Abortion trends by party identification. https://news.gallup.com/poll/246278/abortion-trends-party.aspxGoogle Scholar
Gaunt, R. (2008). Maternal gatekeeping: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Family Issues, 29(3), 373–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X07307851Google Scholar
Gaunt, R., & Pinho, M. (2018). Do sexist mothers change more diapers? Ambivalent sexism, maternal gatekeeping, and the division of childcare. Sex Roles, 79(3–4), 176–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0864-6Google Scholar
Gaunt, R., & Scott, J. (2014). Parents’ involvement in childcare: Do parental and work identities matter?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 38(4), 475–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684314533484CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glenza, J. (2020a, 21 January). Will 2020 be the year abortion is banned in the US? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/20/us-abortion-rights-ban-2020Google Scholar
Glenza, J. (2020b, 29 November). Ohio bill orders doctors to ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancy’ or face ‘abortion murder’ charges. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/29/ohio-extreme-abortion-bill-reimplant-ectopic-pregnancyGoogle Scholar
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491Google Scholar
Granberg, D. (1991). Conformity to religious norms regarding abortion. The Sociological Quarterly, 32(2), 267–275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00357.xGoogle Scholar
Granberg, D., & Granberg, B. (1980). Abortion attitudes, 1965–1980: Trends and determinants. Family Planning and Perspectives, 12(5), 250–261. https://doi.org/10.2307/2134868Google Scholar
Grimes, D. A., Benson, J., Singh, S., et al. (2006). Unsafe abortion: The preventable pandemic. The Lancet, 368(9550), 1908–1919. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)694Google Scholar
Grzebalska, W., & Pető, A. (2018). The gendered modus operandi of the illiberal transformation in Hungary and Poland. Women’s Studies International Forum, 68, 164–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2017.12.001Google Scholar
Hebl, M. R., King, E. B., Glick, P., Singletary, S. L., & Kazama, S. (2007). Hostile and benevolent reactions toward pregnant women: Complementary interpersonal punishments and rewards that maintain traditional roles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1499–1511. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1499Google Scholar
Heilman, M. E., & Okimoto, T. G. (2008). Motherhood: A potential source of bias in employment decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 189–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.189Google Scholar
Ho, R., & Penney, R. K. (1992). Euthanasia and abortion: Personality correlates for the decision to terminate life. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1992.9924690CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huang, Y., Davies, P. G., Sibley, C. G., & Osborne, D. (2016). Benevolent sexism, attitudes toward motherhood, and reproductive rights: A multi-study longitudinal examination of abortion attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(7), 970–984. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216649607Google Scholar
Huang, Y., Osborne, D., Sibley, C. G., & Davies, P. G. (2014). The precious vessel: Ambivalent sexism and opposition to elective and traumatic abortion. Sex Roles, 71(11–12), 436–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0423-3Google Scholar
Kelly, K. C. (2002). Performing virginity and testing chastity in the Middle Ages. Routledge.Google Scholar
Lips, H., & Lawson, K. (2009). Work values, gender, and expectations about work commitment and pay: Laying the groundwork for the ‘motherhood penalty’? Sex Roles, 61(9–10), 667–676. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9670-0Google Scholar
MacInnis, C. C., MacLean, M. H., & Hodson, G. (2014). Does ‘humanization’ of the preborn explain why conservatives (vs. liberals) oppose abortion? Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 77–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.11.009Google Scholar
Marcus, R., & Harper, C. (2015). Social norms, gender norms, and adolescent girls: A brief guide. ODI.Google Scholar
Markovic, M. (2007). Vessels of reproduction: Forced pregnancy and the ICC. Michigan State Journal of International Law, 16, 439–458. https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/163Google Scholar
McCulley, M. G. (1998). The male abortion: The putative father’s right to terminate his interests in and obligations to the unborn child. Journal of Law and Policy, 7(1), 1–55. http://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1394&context=jlpGoogle Scholar
Misra, J., & Strader, E. (2013). Gender pay equity in advanced countries: The role of parenthood and policies. Journal of International Affairs, 67(1), 27–41. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24461670Google Scholar
Murphy, A. O., Sutton, R. M., Douglas, K. M., & McClellan, L. M. (2011). Ambivalent sexism and the ‘do’s and ‘don’t’s of pregnancy: Examining attitudes toward proscriptions and the women who flout them. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(7), 812–816. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PAID.2011.06.031Google Scholar
Ntontis, E. (2020). Antiabortion rhetoric and the undermining of choice: Women’s agency as causing ‘psychological trauma’ following the termination of a pregnancy. Political Psychology, 41(3), 517–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12634Google Scholar
Okimoto, T. G., & Heilman, M. E. (2012). The ‘bad parent’ assumption: How gender stereotypes affect reactions to working mothers. Journal of Social Issues, 68(4), 704–724. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2012.01772.xGoogle Scholar
Osborne, D., & Davies, P. G. (2009). Social dominance orientation, ambivalent sexism, and abortion: Explaining pro-choice and pro-life attitudes. In Palcroft, L. B. & Lopez, M. V. (Eds.), Personality assessment: New research (pp. 309–320). Nova Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Pacilli, M. G., Giovannelli, I., Spaccatini, F., Vaes, J., & Barbaranelli, C. (2018). Elective abortion predicts the dehumanization of women and men through the mediation of moral outrage. Social Psychology, 49(5), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000351Google Scholar
Pető, A., & Grzebalska, W. (2016, 14 October). How Hungary and Poland have silenced women and stifled human rights. https://theconversation.com/how-hungary-and-poland-have-silenced-women-and-stifled-human-rights-66743Google Scholar
Petterson, A., & Sutton, R. M. (2018). Sexist ideology and endorsement of men’s control over women’s decisions in reproductive health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(2), 235–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317744531Google Scholar
Ralph, L. J., Foster, D. G., Kimport, K., Turok, D., & Roberts, S. C. (2017). Measuring decisional certainty among women seeking abortion. Contraception, 95(3), 269–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2016.09.008Google Scholar
Reiss, I. (1980). Sexual customs and gender roles in Sweden and America: An analysis and interpretation. In Lopata, H. (Ed.), Research on the interweave of social roles: Women and men (pp. 191–220). JAI Press.Google Scholar
Roberts, S. C., Biggs, M. A., Chibber, K. S., Gould, H., Rocca, C. H., & Foster, D. G. (2014). Risk of violence from the man involved in the pregnancy after receiving or being denied an abortion. BMC Medicine, 12(1), Article 144. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-014-0144-zCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rye, B. J., & Underhill, A. (2019). Contraceptive context, conservatism, sexual liberalism, and gender-role attitudes as predictors of abortion attitudes. Women’s Reproductive Health, 6(1), 34–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2018.1556425Google Scholar
Sedgh, G., Singh, S., Shah, I. H., Åhman, E., Henshaw, S. K., & Bankole, A. (2012). Induced abortion: Incidence and trends worldwide from 1995 to 2008. The Lancet, 379(9816), 625–632. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61786Google Scholar
Sutton, R. M., Douglas, K. M., & McClellan, L. M. (2011). Benevolent sexism, perceived health risks, and the inclination to restrict pregnant women’s freedoms. Sex Roles, 65(7–8), 596–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9869-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutton, R. M., Murphy, A. O., Petterson, A., Douglas, K. M., & Calogero, R. M. (2020). Benevolent sexism and maternal sacrifice [Unpublished manuscript]. University of Kent.Google Scholar
Swartz, J. J., Rowe, C., Morse, J. E., Bryant, A. G., & Stuart, G. S. (2020). Women’s knowledge of their state’s abortion regulations: A national survey. Contraception, 102(5), 318–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2020.08.001Google Scholar
Taylor, A. (2016, 8 March). Men should have the right to ‘abort’ responsibility of an unborn child, Swedish political group says. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/08/men-shouldhave-the-right-to-abort-responsibility-for-an-unborn-child-swedish-political-groupsays/?utm_term=.c6748d5c7f3eGoogle Scholar
The Herald. (1997, 23 May). Abortion case goes on with court confusion. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12323635.Abortion_case_goes_on_with_court_ confusion/Google Scholar
Verniers, C., & Vala, J. (2018). Justifying gender discrimination in the workplace: The mediating role of motherhood myths. PLoS ONE, 13(1), Article e0190657. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190657Google Scholar
Walzer, S. (1994). The role of gender in determining abortion attitudes. Social Science Quarterly, 75(3), 687–693.Google Scholar
Wang, G., & Buffalo, M. (2004). Social and cultural determinants of attitudes toward abortion: A test of the Reiss hypotheses. The Social Science Journal, 41(1), 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2003.10.008Google Scholar
Żuk, P., & Żuk, P. (2017). Women’s health as an ideological and political issue: Restricting the right to abortion, access to in vitro fertilization procedures, and prenatal testing in Poland. Health Care for Women International, 38(7), 689–704. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2017.1322595Google Scholar
- 4
- Cited by