Gun Culture and Symbolism Among U.K. and U.S. Women

Author: Cooke, C.A / Puddifoot, J.E.
Publication: Journal of Social Psychology
Topics: Age Group Gender International Ownership Social Science.
Keywords: Gun culture attitudes symbolism young women
Bibliographic information +

Using data generated from surveying 108 young women in the U.K. and 91in the United States, the authors explore the attitudes of these women toward the possession and use of guns, and the perceived functional and symbolic significance of guns. They find that although neither group strongly equated guns symbolically with power or control nor believed that guns were linked with protection from crime, the U.S. women were more likely to perceive guns as expressions of freedom or independence, and the U.K. women were more likely to view guns as expressions of danger and violence. According to the authors, the findings suggest that an understanding of how guns are symbolically and actually perceived and how their use is legitimized differs by gender and culture.