(Dis)empowered? Feminism and citizens’ response to political incivility

Online political participation has become pivotal for democracies as a readily accessible tool for the expression of political interests and preferences but it is still frequently characterized by gender differences to women’s disadvantage. In search of an explanation, studies point to the role of incivility: Traditional gender role socialization nudges women towards conflict avoidance and may explain women’s choice to abstain from politics, especially in the online realm. In this context, we examine the role of a feminist identity. While incivility can generally deter citizens from participating as they expect a negative outcome, a strong collective identity may serve to buffer and empower feminists to participate despite incivility, thus moderating the relationship between perceptions of incivility and online political participation. Using five-country (Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the US) survey data collected in 2023 (n=7500), we find that perceptions of incivility are negatively related to online political participation while a feminist identity shows a positive relationship. However, a feminist identity is negatively related to political participation when politics are perceived as hostile. We also examine whether these relationships differ for men and women. We find that feminist men are more strongly demobilized when they perceive politics to be uncivil compared to feminist women. Our findings have implications for understanding the gender dynamics of political participation, the impacts of incivility on democratic practices, and the role of collective identities in mobilization.