ABSTRACT
Public opinion research reveals that women tend to be more “dovish” while men tend to be more “hawkish” when it comes to certain foreign policy issues. However, much of our knowledge of the gender gap in foreign policy attitudes is based on data taken from non-Hispanic Whites and therefore it is unclear whether these results can be generalized to other populations such as Latinas. This chapter extends research on the foreign policy gender gap to Latinos and Latinas using data from the 2006 Latino National Survey. Specifically, we analyze Latino and Latina attitudes regarding U.S. military action in Iraq. Our analysis reveals a clear gender gap on this policy issue, with Latinos being more supportive of U.S. action in Iraq than Latinas. Our discussion of the contours of these differences provide a richer understating of the ways in which gender shapes attitudes towards foreign policy, and of the unique perspectives of Latinas and Latinos toward war.
