GENDER, RELATIONAL ROLE-ORIENTATION, AND AFFINITY FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS

Research based mainly on non-national samples reports a greater affini ty for animal rights among women than men, and proposes a greater rela tional role orientation among women that emphasizes caring for others to explain this difference. Using a recent national sample comprised o f 11% African American and 89% white American respondents, we find tha t a relational role orientation fails to account for women's greater s upport of animal rights. lr does provide minor help in distinguishing animal rights advocates from nonadvocates, but only among women and on ly on one of two measures of animal rights support. We conclude by pro posing women's structural locations as well as the interplay between t hese locations and women's role socialization as alternate explanation s for gender differences in affinity for animal rights.