Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior

What influences political behavior more -- one's gender or one's gendered personality traits? Certain gendered traits have long been associated with particular political leanings in American politics. For example, the Democratic Party is thought to have a compassionate, feminine nature while the Republican Party is deemed to have a tougher, more masculine nature. Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior, a first-of-its-kind analysis of the effects of individuals' gendered personality traits -- masculinity and femininity -- on their political attitudes and behavior, argues that gendered personalities, and not biological sex, are what drive the political behavior of individual citizens. Drawing on a groundbreaking national survey measuring gendered personality traits and political preferences, the book shows that individuals' levels of masculine and feminine personality traits help to determine their party identification, vote choice, ideology, and political engagement. And in conjunction with biological sex, these traits also influence attitudes about sex roles. For example, the more strongly an individual identifies with "feminine" characteristics, the more strongly they identify with the Democratic Party. Likewise, the more "masculine" an individual, the more they are drawn to the GOP. The book also demonstrates that, despite conventional wisdom, biological sex does not dictate gendered personalities. As such, the personality trait approach of the book moves gender and politics research well beyond the traditional male/female dichotomy. Moreover, Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior points to new and as yet underexplored strategies for candidate campaigns, get out the vote efforts, and officeholders' governing behavior.

Politics & Social Sciences

McDermott, Monika L.

Social Sciences

Oxford University Press

What influences political behavior more -- one's gender or one's gendered personality traits? Certain gendered traits have long been associated with particular political leanings in American politics. For example, the Democratic Party is thought to have a compassionate, feminine nature while the Republican Party is deemed to have a tougher, more masculine nature. Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior, a first-of-its-kind analysis of the effects of individuals' gendered personality traits -- masculinity and femininity -- on their political attitudes and behavior, argues that gendered personalities, and not biological sex, are what drive the political behavior of individual citizens. Drawing on a groundbreaking national survey measuring gendered personality traits and political preferences, the book shows that individuals' levels of masculine and feminine personality traits help to determine their party identification, vote choice, ideology, and political engagement. And in conjunction with biological sex, these traits also influence attitudes about sex roles. For example, the more strongly an individual identifies with "feminine" characteristics, the more strongly they identify with the Democratic Party. Likewise, the more "masculine" an individual, the more they are drawn to the GOP. The book also demonstrates that, despite conventional wisdom, biological sex does not dictate gendered personalities. As such, the personality trait approach of the book moves gender and politics research well beyond the traditional male/female dichotomy. Moreover, Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior points to new and as yet underexplored strategies for candidate campaigns, get out the vote efforts, and officeholders' governing behavior.

"Jones and McDermott restore meaning to democratic responsibility by finding that public evaluations affect Congress. In contrast to the popular depiction of the representatives controlling the represented rampant in the political science literature, Jones and McDermott show that the people are in control, determining not only the direction of policy in Congress, but also who stays, who retires, and who faces difficult reelection efforts. This book makes an important correction to our understanding of how Congress operates." ---Sean M. Theriault, University of Texas at Austin Voters may not know the details of specific policies, but they have a general sense of how well Congress serves their own interests; and astute politicians pay attention to public approval ratings. When the majority party is unpopular, as during the 2008 election, both voters and politicians take a hand in reconfiguring the House and the Senate. Voters throw hard-line party members out of office while candidates who continue to run under the party banner distance themselves from party ideology. In this way, public approval directly affects policy shifts as well as turnovers at election time. Contrary to the common view of Congress as an insulated institution, Jones and McDermott argue that Congress is indeed responsive to the people of the United States. David R. Jones is Professor of Political Science at Baruch College, City University of New York. Monika L. McDermott is Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University.

Americans, Congress, and Democratic Responsiveness: Public Evaluations of Congress and Electoral Consequences

Jones, David R.

Politics & Government

University of Michigan Press

"Jones and McDermott's groundbreaking book makes a strong case for the proposition that the popular standing of Congress (not merely that of its individual members) influences voters' decisions. Voters enforce collective responsibility, they contend, and Congress takes notice. This will be an important read for all students of Congress and congressional elections."---Gary C. Jacobson, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego"Jones and McDermott have set a new standard for empirical analyses of responsiveness and representation in contemporary American politics. They frame the important substantive and normative questions, highlight the problems that have bedeviled previous work, and combine disparate data sets and sophisticated analytic techniques to develop new and important findings about the relationship between citizen preferences, legislator actions, and government policies. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the nature of citizen-representative linkages under real-world conditions."---William Bianco, Professor of Political Science, Indiana University"This book engages important questions related to congressional elections with new theoretical arguments and new data. It comes to conclusions that are contrary to widely accepted views in the literature, arguing that the public cares politically about the policies produced by Congress, that voters are able to have a reasonable amount of information about what Congress does in this realm, and that voters' perceptions on these matters have important electoral consequences. I think this book will be widely read and cited, and that it will have an impact on the scholarly debates about elections and polarization."---David W. Rohde, Professor of Political Science, Duke University"Americans, Congress, and Democratic Responsiveness is an interesting book with important and compelling results. Jones and McDermott restore meaning to democratic responsibility by finding that public evaluations affect Congress. In contrast to the popular depiction of the representatives controlling the represented rampant in the political science literature, Jones and McDermott show that the people are in control, determining not only the direction of policy in Congress, but also who stays, who retires, and who faces difficult reelection efforts. This book makes an important correction to our understanding of how Congress operates."---Sean M. Theriault, Associate Professor, Department of Government, the University of Texas at AustinVoters may not know the details of specific policies, but they have a general sense of how well Congress serves their own interests and how closely politicians pay attention to public approval ratings. David Jones and Monika McDermott show, through new empirical analysis, that both politicians and voters take a hand in reconfiguring the House and Senate when the majority party is unpopular, as was the case during the 2008 elections. Candidates who continue to run under the party banner distance themselves from party ideology, while voters throw hard-line party members out of office. In this way, public approval and democratic responsibility directly affect policy shifts and turnovers at election time. Contrary to the common view of Congress as an insulated institution, Congress is indeed responsive to the people of the United States.David R. Jones is Professor of Political Science at Baruch College, City University of New York.Monika L. McDermott is Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University.Jacket photograph: iStockphoto.com © Slowgogo

Univ of Michigan Pr

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Books by McDermott, Monika L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McDermott, Monika L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior

Masculinity, Femininity, and American Political Behavior

Americans, Congress, and Democratic Responsiveness: Public Evaluations of Congress and Electoral Consequences

Americans, Congress, and Democratic Responsiveness: Public Evaluations of Congress and Electoral Consequences