Gender Differences in Peace Movement Parcicipation

Women have been believed to be peacemakers throughout the centuries. Whether this is biologically determined or a socially structured has been a matter of controversy. This study examined gender differences and the social dynamics of peace movement participation Subjects (N=272) were members of a local nuclear freeze campaign in 1984. Discriminant analysis and difference of means tests were applied to survey data to discern demographic, resource, attitudinal, and ideological characteristics that distinguished female and male participants. Very few differences were found and some were expected due to larger societal differences. However, subtle attitudinal differences revealed that women were less likely to believe in the utility of nuclear weapons and to minimize the strength of the United State's arsenal, demonstrating women's greater likelihood to take more risks than men. It is important t