| Past research has indicated that both women and men perceive feminism and romance to be in conflict. Some researchers have even suggested that feminist women might be more likely than nonfeminist women to have troubled intimate heterosexual relationships. A growing body of research indicates that identifying with feminism is actually beneficial for women overall and beneficial for their romantic relationships. Using grounded theory as a method, and interviewing 16 spiritual, feminist women about their self-identified successful romantic relationships with men, this study sought to theorize about how feminist identity impacted heterosexual romantic relationships. The results showed that feminist identity provided many benefits to the feminist women and their relationships, including positive consistent communication, self-awareness and growth, egalitarian gender roles, and relationship stability. Feminist identity in this study appeared as a continuum with 3 phases; an initial adoption phase, a period of maturation, and a final integration phase where the identity influences all aspects of life and identity. The feminist women of this study created benefits for heterosexual romantic relationships through a process of feminist expression, enacting choice and voice. They sustained well-being in their relationships by the active cultivation of feminist values and cultivation of the relationship. The results indicated that the daily expression of feminist identity within romantic relationship was ultimately a form of feminist activism. By embodying feminist values and feminist identity in all their personal and professional relationships, the women of this study were both stimulating and maintaining changes in heterosexual norms and in the definition of contemporary feminism. Spirituality added benefits to the relationships through connection, shared rituals and values, including introspection, building community, mindfulness, and compassion. This research may contribute to the discourse on women, feminism, and romantic relationships in ways that value and empower women. Connecting spirituality with feminist identity might encourage feminist psychology to commit to more research about the beneficial aspects of spirituality for women. |
