Loyalism, Women and Standpoint Theory

Abstract

Most recent studies of Loyalism in Northern Ireland have focused on the nature and development of Loyalist paramilitaries and their methods, ideology and attitudes to the peace process. This article argues that the nature of Loyalist paramilitarism is primarily masculinist and that there is a perspective that has gone generally unheard from women in Loyalist communities. Using standpoint theory, evidence from interviews with women in Loyalist communities associated with Belfast is analysed and a picture is formed that suggests that there are gendered attitudes towards women who become involved in the conflict through paramilitary organisations and that paramilitaries are not representative of their communities. It is concluded that researchers need to bear in mind the gender dimensions of their work and be aware of who is present and who is absent when research is being carried out.

To settle for a gendered peace? Spaces for feminist grassroots mobilization in Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina

“…Some were actively involved in protests, marches and more overt forms of political activism. Others explicitly engaged in the conflict as combatants in republican/nationalist paramilitary groups, and through supportive/less visible roles in loyalist groups (Alison 2009;Potter 2014). Some women were involved in community groups and grass-roots organisations that emerged predominantly in working-class areas as a response to the deficiencies of direct-rule government in dealing with the social and economic needs of communities fractured by conflict and deprivation (Ward 2005).…”

Gender and Politics in Northern Ireland: The Representation Gap Revisited

“…This achievement should not be underestimated, for, as O' Keeffe (2012) and Potter (2012) compellingly show, the structural recognition of ethno-national identity pervading political and public discourse in Northern Ireland suppresses the articulation of other differences, including gender roles and the subject positioning of women (Coakley, 2012:46). Fifteen years on from this significant moment in the politics of Northern Ireland, the promise of women's full and equal political participation is largely unfulfilled.…”