Patricia Sharp has grown weary of identity politics prognostication.

Whether it's the cable news pundits and pollsters, bloggers or the newspaper op-ed pages, she is tired of being told for whom she will or should vote in the presidential primary.

"You're this, so you must vote this," says Ms. Sharp, 40, of Regent Square.

She's a self-described lifelong Democrat and moderate feminist from a working-class, labor background.

"So, as I am sure you must know by now, there is no question I will vote for [Sen.] Hillary Clinton, right?" she says. "EXCEPT, I am TOTALLY voting for [Sen.] Barack Obama. ... If one more pundit or analyst tells me how I must surely be one of these 'silent' Clinton supporters who will make states like [Pennsylvania] a lock for her, because, after all, I AM a woman -- my head will completely explode."

Race and gender, which started out as 800-pound gorillas in the Democratic presidential campaign room, now are regularly hashed and rehashed, debated and parsed.

After each primary and caucus, cable news pundits armed with pie charts, polling statistics and touch-screen maps analyze and re-analyze how older women, younger women, blacks, whites, Hispanics, college-educated people and non-college-educated people voted.

"Exit polls in particular, which are very reliable in this election cycle, show what these demographic groups are doing," says G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor and director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. "We're attaching a percentage to it. It doesn't mean there's a presumption that everyone [in a certain demographic] will vote a particular way or that there aren't tremendous exceptions."

A Franklin & Marshall College Poll conducted Feb. 13-18 showed Mrs. Clinton leading Mr. Obama 44 percent to 32 percent in Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Clinton led Mr. Obama among women (48 percent to 28 percent), whites (47 percent to 28 percent) and those without a college degree -- 49 percent to 28 percent among people with some college and 50 percent to 22 percent among people with a high school diploma or less. She also had a slight lead over Mr. Obama among the 18-34 age group, 45 percent to 41 percent.

Mr. Obama bested Mrs. Clinton among minorities (55 percent to 25 percent) and people with college degrees (42 percent to 38 percent).

The margin of error for the 303 registered Democrats included in the sample is plus or minus 5.6 percent.

Ms. Sharp, who was supporting former Sen. John Edwards before he dropped out of the race, took great exception to Gloria Steinem's Jan. 8 op-ed piece in The New York Times. In the column, Ms. Steinem said gender is a greater barrier to the Oval Office than race and that women should support Mrs. Clinton because she's qualified and because she's a woman.

"I don't know if I want to say that I'm offended or hurt by figures who are considered to be leaders in women's rights basically calling me a traitor if I don't vote for this candidate," she says. "I don't think it's fair."

She believes one of the tenets of feminism is a woman's right to make her own decisions and not be told how to vote or how to think. Ms. Sharp has nothing against Mrs. Clinton, is glad she's running and thinks she's a qualified candidate.

"I'm [just] more inspired by Obama," she says. "I'm so tired of the politics of fear ... want a president that empowers me, too, and inspires me to do something and not just sit back and assume they're going to handle everything."

As a black woman, Deesha Philyaw, too, finds the cast-a-vote-for-the-feminist-sisterhood mentality espoused by some distasteful. A proponent of equal rights and equal opportunities for women, she considers herself a womanist -- a term coined by author Alice Walker describing someone concerned about oppression due to racism and classism as well as sexism. The term feminist isn't inclusive enough, she says.

"Why are black women expected to vote solely on the basis of either our uteruses or our skin?" says Ms. Philyaw, 36, of Edgewood. "Is it so hard to believe we might vote with our brains?"

Media repeatedly have reported that many black women are torn between voting for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.

However, Ms. Philyaw's loyalties initially were split between Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama, with her leaning toward Mr. Edwards because of his focus on poverty. Now that his bid is over, she's supporting Mr. Obama. She didn't like former President Bill Clinton's race-baiting in South Carolina, and she views Mrs. Clinton as tainted, part of the old Democratic political machine.

"I like the idea of someone fresh ... Barack Obama has a clean slate for me," she says. "That's not my primary motivation -- to see a black man in the White House -- though that would be nice to see."

Rocco Giammaria, president of the Beaver County Young Democrats, supports Mrs. Clinton. He views her as a candidate of substance and likes her plans to strengthen the middle class and make college accessible and affordable.

"I'm familiar with the polls and know the numbers don't generally come out of thin air, but you can also skew numbers to make them prove the point you want," says Mr. Giammaria, 29, of Center. "From participating in our [Young Democrats of America] national conventions, I've noticed a lot of young people for Obama, but I've seen also as many supportive of Hillary Clinton."

Polls indicate trends but can't predict the behavior of every person within a particular demographic, Mr. Madonna stressed. What's key is how large a particular demographic is in a particular election. The Hispanic vote in Pennsylvania, where Hispanics make up only 3.2 percent of the population, according to U.S. Census figures, probably will be very small in the April 22 primary, Mr. Madonna said. However, in Texas, where 35 percent to 40 percent of Democratic primary voters are Hispanic, that faction could be the swing vote in the March 4 contest.

"What we're doing, rightly or wrongly, is slicing and dicing the electorate to help us explain why people do what they do and who does what," he said.

Elaine F. Lee, a 72-year-old African-American woman from Homewood, is angry with the MSNBC political pundits for their endless voter predictions and what she considers their "Hillary bashing."

Never in her lifetime did Mrs. Lee expect to see a black man and a woman running as serious candidates for president.

"I'm so happy that an African-American man and a female are in this position," she says. "We need to look beyond 'we're happy and we're thrilled because he's black.' "

Mrs. Lee staunchly supports Mrs. Clinton, whom she believes has the experience to be president. "Black people, ever since we've come over here, have had hope," she says, alluding to Mr. Obama. "Tell us how you're going to translate that hope into help."