Paternalistic Push & Pull: The Role of Sexism in Public Opinion of Kamala Harris
Studies indicate that sexism played a prominent role in the 2016 U.S Presidential election (Frasure 2018; Glick 2019; Ratliff et al. 2019). President Trump’s 2024 victory signifies a tendency wherein Trump prevails upon facing a female candidate. This paper examines sexism’s influence in favorability toward Vice President Harris relative to President Trump across race and gender given Trump’s gains in minority supporters. Using data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-election Survey I examine these attitudes across four racial groups, Asian Americans, Latinos, White, and Black U.S residents between men and women.
Read more at: https://doi.org/10.1017/rep.2025.10036
Womb Raiders: Sexism in the Formation of IVF Policy Preferences (w/ Alexander Rossell-Hayes
To what extent does sexism influence attitudes toward reproductive healthcare policy? After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, discussions of not only abortion access but reproductive rights more broadly have grown in political salience. Throughout the 2024 election, both candidates expanded their discussions of reproductive rights. While their positions on abortion, predictably fell across their partisan lines, other reproductive issues were more interesting. In particular both 2024 presidential candidates expressed support for making in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment more accessible (Quinn, 2024). Given this issue’s growing political prominence, this project examines public opinion formation toward IVF policies. We utilize the 2020 and 2024 Collaborative Multiracial Post-election Survey to assess the influence of hostile sexism and benevolent sexism on IVF attitudes. We find hostile sexism is negatively associated with support for IVF policies whereas benevolent sexism is positively associated with IVF policy support. Upon examining gender differences we find the effect of hostile sexism is stronger among women than men, while benevolent sexism shows no evidence of a differential effect across gender..
Parallel Politics: Racial Solidarity and Sexism Among Black Men During the 2024 Election (with Michael Strawbridge)
Linked fate and sexism reflect conflicting worldviews. While linked fate captures beliefs in interdependence, sexism legitimizes societal inequalities. Both orientations influence Black political decision-making, yet little is known about how they jointly shape Black men’s political attitudes. Using data from the 2024 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), we examine the relationship between racial linked fate, hostile sexism, and Black men’s attitudes toward political representation, presidential candidates, and race- and gender-related policies. We find that linked fate is associated with greater support for Black representation, race-conscious policies, and more favorable evaluations of Kamala Harris, while hostile sexism is associated with lower support for Black women’s representation, more favorable evaluations of Donald Trump, and opposition to several gender-related policies. Despite their distinct effects, we find little evidence that these orientations consistently moderate or mediate one another. These findings demonstrate how multiple social orientations can independently shape Black political attitudes.