“Your Bodies… Your Choices?”: Ideologies and Motivations That Drive Men's Support for Abortion and Feminist Protests in Poland and the USA

Abstract

Antiabortionists are becoming a prominent conservative force, as illustrated by the recent rulings of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and the USA Supreme Court. However, global resistance in favor of abortion rights persists, with an increasing number of men joining the protests. In three studies (total N=937 men), we analysed ideological and motivational factors predicting men's support of abortion protests. Study 1 examined the role of anti-restrictions politicised identification and sexism in explaining men's support for pro-abortion protests in Poland longitudinally and cross-sectionally. Studies 2 and 3 investigated the influence of motivations (egalitarian and paternalistic) on men's intentions to participate in pro-abortion and feminist collective actions, in Poland (Study 2) and the USA (Study 3). Our findings indicate that politicised identities lead men to support collective action for women's rights, both directly and indirectly through egalitarian motives (in cross-sectional data). The role of benevolent sexism is more complex; while it discourages long-term support for abortion protests, it can indirectly lead men to support collective action for women's rights through paternalistic motivation. We reflect on whether mechanisms that perpetuate gender power imbalances can somehow be beneficial for social change, at least in the short run.