Abstract
Given feminist backlash and stigma in society, whether people would publicly say that they are a feminist might depend on their social context, which could have implications for understanding who identifies as a feminist and why, as well as community and coalition-building. We therefore tested whether disclosure of feminist identity varies across interaction contexts and by gender/sex, given some gender/sex-specificities to stigma about feminist identity. In our study, we asked women, men, and nonbinary people who are feminists (N = 640) about their willingness to disclose their feminist identity in eight interaction contexts: immediate family, extended family, friends, partners, work, strangers, anti-feminists, and pro-feminists. Results revealed substantial intra-person contextual variability in feminist identity disclosure, suggesting participants’ decision to disclose their feminist identity varies across contexts. In general, participants were most reluctant to disclose their feminist identity to a stranger, with anti-feminists and work contexts showing the next greatest likelihood to not disclose. Finally, participants were most likely to share their feminist identity with their immediate family, friends, pro-feminist, and romantic partners. We also examined the disclosure pattern for each gender/sex group (women, men, and nonbinary participants). Results emphasize that holding a feminist identity might not necessarily lead to identity disclosure and that disclosure decisions may depend on contextual pressure and gender/sex considerations.