Under different umbrellas: intersectionality and alliances in US feminist politics

Macro-level forms of inequality work intersectionally to establish democracy normatively, as well as shape its institutions. Liberal democracies, once revolutionarily new political formations, rest on an equally revolutionary understanding of male domination based not on descent, but on economic arrangements (the new ‘breadwinner’ role) and political institutions (the ‘brotherhood’ national state). Over time, social movements have diminished liberal democracy’s original exclusions of women and minority ethnic men so that many citizens’ daily lives now contradict this once hegemonic normative order. The US party binary pushes contemporary movements to transform or restore this understanding of democracy under the political umbrellas of the competing Democratic and Republican parties. This polarisation then contributes to the gendering of movement claims and political representation. Gendered polarisation creates opportunities for cohesion among movements on both sides and yet blocks more fundamental reforms of US democracy.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Gendered democracy is undergoing transition from breadwinner-brotherhood.</li><br /><li>The binary US parties have become gendered antagonists.</li><br /><li>Agendas are restoration vs transformation of the brotherhood-breadwinner model.</li><br /><li>Social movements clustered under Democratic or Republican party umbrellas align with each other.</li></ul>

Gender, socio-political cleavages and the co-constitution of gender identities: a multidimensional analysis of self-assessed masculine and feminine characteristics

This study offers a multidimensional analysis of individuals’ self-assessments of their masculine and feminine characteristics to better understand variation from more to less binary gender identities. Through gender’s co-constitution along with various social localities, we expect that a number of socio-political factors differentiate individuals’ gender identities through self-assessments of their masculine and feminine characteristics. Using data from a 2013 Swedish survey, our results show that men and women tend towards traditionally polarised gender identities and that social location is a particularly influential correlate of men’s claims of feminine characteristics and women’s of masculine characteristics. Individuals from younger generations and individuals who are more educated are consistently more likely to ascribe to less binary feminine and masculine characteristics. This suggests that generational replacement and higher education may increase the tendency of populations to ascribe to less binary gender identities.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Measuring individuals self-assessed masculine and feminine characteristics.</li><br /><li>Exploring the influence of social location on gender identity.</li></ul>

‘Together we stand’: coalition-building in the Italian and Spanish feminist movements in times of crisis

We analyse coalition-building in feminist mobilisations in times of crisis in two similar cases: Spain and Italy. Based on social movement literature, we develop two key arguments. First, in austerity-ridden scenarios, connecting socio-economic grievances and feminist demands is key for the feminist mass mobilisations to follow. Second, anti-austerity struggles must resonate across different dimensions of coalition-building, both within the feminist movements and across feminists and other actors, such as LGBTQ collectives and anti-austerity challengers. The data used throughout the article come from semi-structured interviews with activists in Italian and Spanish feminist grass-roots organisations. Our results suggest that times of neoliberal crisis may present opportunities not only to advance the feminist agenda, but also to foster alliances within the feminist milieus and between feminists and other relevant collective actors. These alliances might well extend beyond the period of greatest hardship.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>This article explores coalition-building in feminist movements in times of neoliberal crisis in Spain and Italy.</li><br /><li>The ability to bridge socio-economic grievances and feminist demands is key for successful feminist mobilisation.</li><br /><li>Grievances shape coalition-building both within feminist milieus and between feminist and other struggles.</li></ul>

Gendered path dependency: women’s representation in 20th-century Brazil

This study investigates women’s under-representation in national legislative elections and the gendered legacies embedded in Brazil’s electoral system and party dynamics. Focusing on the historical period prior to the 1996 implementation of a quota law, this article applies a feminist historical institutionalist approach to identify institutions and actors influencing women’s representation. Brazil’s electoral rules for legislative elections, that is, an open-list proportional representation system, remained surprisingly stable throughout periods of regime change and institutional uncertainty in the 20th century. It was not until the return to democracy and the 1986 constituent election that women were able to carve some space in Brazil’s National Congress. This research argues that the relaxing of rules dictating the creation of political parties and the strengthening of women’s movements in the prior decade were influential in creating a propitious moment for increasing the presence of women in national legislative politics.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>There is a historical legacy of political institutions that influences the evolution of women’s representation.</li><br /><li>Brazil’s dictatorships influenced the stunting of women’s representation in elected positions.</li><br /><li>Women’s movements and electoral uncertainties allowed women to gain political space in political parties prior to the 1986 constituent election.</li></ul>

The feminist and domestic workers’ movements: disconnected practices, discursive convergences

The article explores the relationship between women’s rights and feminist and domestic workers’ movements by drawing on qualitative data gathered in a comparative study on domestic workers’ rights in Italy, Germany, Spain, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador (2016–21). Despite the frequent disconnection between the two movements at the practical level, a possible convergence may be identified in the discursive frames that domestic workers’ rights activists make use of. The analysis focuses on two feminist anti-capitalist frames recurring in mobilisations for domestic workers’ rights, addressing the valorisation of reproductive labour and the transnational commodification of care. Domestic workers’ activism tends to build on these frames beyond their mainstream forms and to expand them in intersectional ways, enlarging their capacity to include racialised, low-class, migrant and other minority groups. This becomes a creative force at the level of discourse, where different alliances may take place in a less visible way.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>In many countries, a large gap exists between the feminist movement and the movement for domestic workers’ rights.</li><br /><li>Activists for the rights of domestic workers often base their claims on feminist arguments on care and reproductive labour.</li><br /><li>Domestic worker activists expand feminist discourses along intersectional lines to include not only gender, but also class, caste and race perspectives.</li><br /><li>The alliance between the feminist and domestic workers’ movements can be facilitated by converging around issues of social reproduction addressed in an intersectional perspective.</li></ul>

Where is the party? Explaining positions on same-sex marriage in Europe among would-be members of parliament

The rapid adoption of marriage equality legislation for non-heterosexual individuals in Europe is attributed to many factors, including dramatic shifts in public opinion, the work of transnational activists and changing international norms. Usually, these factors must be filtered through the halls of parliaments where most policy change happens. Given the importance of parliamentarians’ attitudes, it is surprising that we know so little about how attitudes towards same-sex marriage are distributed across political candidates in Europe and what factors shape them. This article fills that gap by using an underutilised dataset on the political preferences of candidates for parliamentary office. We find that beyond attachment to party families, a candidate’s religiosity and practice has a greater effect on a would-be Member of Parliament’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The findings suggest that the success of parliamentary action on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights depends not on the partisan composition of the legislature, but rather on the representation of secular candidates.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Support among parliamentary candidates aspiring to become legislators is an important prerequisite for the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in polities where institutional equality is brought about via legislative reforms.</li><br /><li>Over and above partisanship attachment and ideological positions, the religiosity of would-be Members of Parliament is important in establishing support for same-sex marriage.</li><br /><li>The secular composition of legislative chambers, rather than its partisan composition, is more likely to predict the success of the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.</li></ul>

‘You can’t repeal regret’: targeting men for mobilisation in Ireland’s abortion debate

This study explores how social movement organisations involved in the abortion debate in the Republic of Ireland attempted to appeal to men in their campaign messages before the 2018 referendum on the Eighth Amendment concerning abortion. We scrape social movement organisations’ Twitter accounts to conduct quantitative and qualitative content analyses of images and videos the organisations posted, and find evidence that social movement organisations sometimes extended their frames to men as voters. Social movement organisations evoked themes of hegemonic masculinity in their imagery and messaging, though these themes were not a large portion of overall campaign tweets and there were distinct differences in how this was done by the two organisations we study. Previous research suggests anti-abortion organisations extend their frames to incorporate ‘pro-woman’ messaging. Our research contributes by exploring the ways that frames may be extended by both anti- and pro-abortion actors to target men and mobilise masculinity in public debates over women’s rights.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Social movement organisations may extend frames to target men and mobilise them as voters on women’s rights issues.</li><br /><li>Image analysis of social movement organisations’ online campaigns reveals how they used male identities to mobilise men.</li><br /><li>Hegemonic masculinity was evoked, though typically in ways that were consistent with social movement organisations’ general campaign strategies.</li></ul>