A Feminist Identity Model Among Women of Color

Abstract

The aim of this study was to better understand feminist identity among Women of Color (WOC) by revising the widely critiqued Feminist Identity Composite (FIC; Fischer et al, 2000) using Downing and Roush’s (1985) Feminist Identity Development (FID) model as its basis. In a majority of studies focused on FID, samples have been restricted to White middle class women (Moradi & Subich, 2002b; Hansen, 2002). In an age of growing diversity in the United States, counseling psychology literature has pointed to the significance of understanding individual experiences based on intersecting identities (e.g., Harnois, 2014), and for feminism to be integrated into the application of psychology (Bowman, 2014). I revised the widely critiqued Feminist Identity Composite (FIC; Fischer et al., 2000) and explored the similarities and differences in responses between WOC (N = 236) and White women (N = 164) recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), I analyzed the relationships between five feminist identity dimensions and feminist self-identification; psychological well-being (PWB) factors of positive relations, purpose in life and personal growth; and perceived stress. The relationship of these variables with gendered racism was also explored. The originally proposed factor structure of the revised FIC was not confirmed in this sample and hence, the final scale for the two racial groups was derived using Exploratory Factor Analuses (EFAs). The FIC sub-scales of revelation and active commitment were configured differently for the two racial groups. In addition, small to moderate effect sizes were found in the hypothesized SEM models for WOC using the derived scale. Feminist self-identification when measured using a single item was significantly associated with each of the five derived feminist identity dimensions for WOC. I found a moderate significant relationship between revelation and perceived stress among WOC. Hypotheses regarding the feminist identity dimensions and PWB sub-scales were generally supported. Implications for feminist psychologists working with WOC have been discussed.