Hostile Sexism and the 2024 Blame Game
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9744977 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Tyree-Herrmann (University of Mary Washington, corresponding author), Jared Mcdonald (0000-0002-2429-271X, University of Mary Washington), Rosalyn Cooperman (0000-0001-5470-3105, University of Mary Washington) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-30 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Forum (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2194-6183 • E-ISSN: 1540-8884 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/for-2025-2021 |
| OpenAlex | W4416843122 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
In three presidential election cycles from 2016 to 2024, the Democratic Party nominated two women, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, and one man, Joe Biden. Each ran against the Republican Party’s repeat nominee, Donald Trump, with Clinton and Harris losing and Biden winning. This paper examines the role that sexism plays when women lose elections, focusing on the narratives used to explain Democrats’ (and Harris’s) loss in 2024. Using original survey data, we find that men and women attribute blame across the candidates differently from one another. Regardless of party identification, women voters are significantly less likely than men to blame Harris most for Democrats’ loss. Indeed, women who identify as Democrats and Independents blame Harris the least for Democrats’ loss. We also find evidence that the blame gap between men and women in their views of Kamala Harris is significantly mediated by hostile, though not benevolent sexism. The dual finding of a gender gap in blame attribution and the persistence of hostile sexist attitudes among some voters has important implications for the Democratic Party as it processes their loss in 2024 and looks ahead in nominating candidates to run in future elections
Attribution · Blame · Democracy · Narrative · Presidential system · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Social Media and Politics
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The Changing Politics of American Men
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| Highly cited | No |
|---|