Feminism as a predictor of mass media use

The mass media habits of men and women who hold discrepant attitudes toward traditional female sex-role expectations were assessed. From a random sample of more than 500 citizens of Santa Barbara, California, high feminists (respondents who agreed with women's movement ideals) were found to differ significantly in several respects in their uses of media from low feminists (individuals who did not agree with movement ideals). Feminism differentially predicted the amount of television viewing for highly educated audience members. Significant differences were also found between high and low feminists for television program and radio format preferences, but not for newspaper reading habits.