| dc.description.abstract | Abstract: Where previous research indicated that many women are dissatisfied with their sexual lives, feminism tries to promote greater sexual satisfaction among women by fighting against the objectification of the women’s body and sexually disempowering gender norms. To further investigate the positive influence of feminism on sexual satisfaction, the present study investigated the association between feminist beliefs and sexual satisfaction, and the mediating role of positive body image and sexual assertiveness. In a cross-sectional design, 150 Dutch women completed an online survey measuring feminist beliefs, positive body image, sexual assertiveness, and sexual satisfaction. Hypotheses were tested using correlation analyses and a mediation analysis with feminist beliefs as predictor, positive body image and sexual assertiveness as mediators, and sexual satisfaction as outcome. Correlation analyses showed that higher feminist beliefs were significantly related to greater sexual satisfaction. The mediation analysis revealed that feminist beliefs were positively related to sexual satisfaction through positive body image and sexual assertiveness. These findings indicated that the awareness and implementation of feminist beliefs in society and among women might play a positive role in enhancing positive body image and sexual assertiveness, which may ultimately increase sexual satisfaction in women. | |
