Engendering Social Movements

Abstract

The fields of gender and social movements have traditionally consisted of separate literatures. Recently, however, a number of scholars have begun a fruitful exploration of the ways in which gender shapes political protest. This study adds three things to this ongoing discussion. First, the authors offer a systematic typology of the various ways in which movements are gendered and apply that typology to a wide variety of movements, including those that do not center on gender issues in any obvious way. Second, the authors discuss the process by which movements become gendered. In doing so, they go beyond current scholarship by bringing “others” (e.g., opponents and the general public) squarely into the gendered analysis. The article concludes by speculating about the outcomes of these processes and suggests that movements that draw on feminine stereotypes face a double bind that hampers their success. Illustrations come from movements in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.

Grassroots engagement with transition to sustainability: diversity and modes of participation in the international permaculture movement

“…Recent studies have highlighted the complex relationship between race, gender, and socioeconomic status, and nonmovement forms of engagement including landuse planning (Villamor et al 2014), relational activism, which might in another context be called social innovation (O'Shaughnessy and Kennedy 2010), and eco-innovation (Pansera and Owen 2014). This quantitative survey-based research is complemented and challenged by qualitative research that takes the engagement of women and people of color as a starting point and explores the ways in which identity shapes participation (Taylor 1997, Einwohner et al 2000, Culley and Angelique 2003, Rainey and Johnson 2009, Bell and Braun 2010. Taken together these studies suggest that as we identify the forces of exclusion shaping forms of action associated with elites, we should also expand our conceptions of participation to encompass multiple dimensions of bottom-up engagement.…”

Mobilizing motherhood: The gendered burden of environmental protection

“…I then explore the politics of motherhood in social movements, and how the maternal role serves both as an impetus for action and as a frame through which mobilization occurs. A key insight offered by this literature is that movements with feminine identities face a “double bind” (Einwohner et al., 2000), in that while such identities may help movement participants establish legitimacy, they may not provide long‐term political effectiveness and agency. I then examine how this double bind has played out in women's environmental activism, while emphasizing that maternalist framing has been a consistent part of a long history of powerful, often successful organizing for environmental protection and justice.…”

“…Recent scholarship has increasingly revealed the various ways in which gender and social movements intersect. I join others in starting with the assumption that social movements are inherently gendered, whether or not they explicitly or intentionally focus on gender‐related goals (Einwohner et al., 2000; Taylor, 1999). Various features of movements may invoke gendered meanings, including composition, goals, strategies, identity, or the perceptions of the movement by outsiders.…”

“…Extending this logic further, Einwohner et al. (2000) argue that ultimately, movements with feminine identities face a “double bind.” On one hand, representations of femininity and adherence to traditional gender norms that resonate with established cultural beliefs may help movement organizations and actors establish legitimacy and provide a nonthreatening front. Yet on the other hand, such identities may not help them sustain long‐term political effectiveness and agency, due to the deeply ingrained association between political power and masculinity.…”

“…Yet there remains a paradox for women activists and feminized movements, in that feminized gender identities can be used to the detriment of movement participants. As Einwohner et al (2000) point out, culturally available gender constructs are at the disposal of not only social movement actors but also other actors, and thus gendered meanings may be attributed to movements by outside observers and opponents. Gender representations are available as a "means of evaluation," and thus gender can be "manipulated strategically by all actors in a political arena, not only by movement participants themselves" (Einwohner et al, 2000).…”