Do Feminist Identity Styles Moderate the Relation Between Perceived Sexist Events and Disordered Eating?

Abstract

Feminist consciousness is theorized to be a powerful resource against the detrimental effects of sexism. The present study examined whether feminist identity styles moderated the relation of perceived lifetime and recent sexist events to disordered eating for 256 college women. Using hierarchical moderated regression, we found two styles of feminist identity (i.e., synthesis and active commitment) buffered the relation between perceived sexist events and disordered eating; the three remaining styles of feminist identity did not moderate this relationship. For women low on synthesis and active commitment, both perceived lifetime and recent sexist events positively predicted disordered eating. In contrast, for women high on synthesis and active commitment, neither perceived lifetime nor recent sexist events predicted disordered eating. Our results substantiate extant theory that sexist events contribute more to the psychological distress of nonfeminist women than of feminist women.