Is it a Gender Gap or a GenderED Gap? Gendered Personalities and Political Behavior

Abstract

While partisan "gender gap" research focuses on biological sex as the key to understanding the gap, almost none of the research actually hypothesizes that biological distinctions are at the heart of it. Addressing this paradox, I argue that biological sex is merely a corollary of a gender-related gap in political differences, not a cause. I offer a "gendered gap" theory positing that gendered personalities are at the heart of political differences we traditionally attribute to men and women. Holding feminine personality traits drives individuals, regardless of sex, towards Democratic leanings while masculine traits encourage Republican preferences. This paper presents an analysis of gendered personality effects on individuals’ party affiliation and partisan vote choices in 2008 and 2010, using an original national survey. The results demonstrate that gendered personalities contribute to partisan differences, explaining the small amount of variance traditionally explained by biological sex (both theoretically and statistically) and more.

Keywords: Gender, political behavior, political psychology, gender gap, personality