The analysis of 1972 data on political participation levels of 629 women investigates the impact of feminism on the political attitudes and behavior of its supporters, and the direction of that impact. Feminism is interpreted as a social movement which combines a focus upon individual change with political and systemic change. Major hypotheses were that feminists would: (1) express low political trust; (2) have a higher level of life satisfaction than non-feminists; (3) be more politically efficacious than non-feminists. A three-part political participation index was constructed to statistically analyze voter turnout, traditional political participation, and community organizational activity. Variables investigated include life satisfaction, political trust, political efficacy, protest approval, perception of government responsiveness, employment and marital status, and age. Findings indicated statistically significant differences between feminists and non-feminists with all variables except political trust--which does, however, decrease in feminists as political participation increases. Most strikingly, the socioeconomic profile of feminists indicates higher educational attainment, income, social class, and employment status. The conclusion is that the impact of feminism is not a random one, and that the feminist movement encourages political participation. (Author/DB)