Political Ideology, Sociobiology, and the U.S. Women's Rights Movement

An analysis of ideology in the United States reveals a major barrier to political and economic equality, where previously excluded groups are found to be characteristically different from historical and current participants in the area of political or economic access. This analysis is used to describe why sociobiological research threatens U.S. women's rights advocates (reform feminists) pursuing equality with men. It is argued, however, that by providing a contrast to the dominant ideological assumptions about human nature, and by providing supporting arguments for some reform feminist proposals, sociobiology merits the attention of reform feminists.