Synopses & Reviews
Women's Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean brings together a group of interdisciplinary scholars who analyze and document the diversity, vibrancy, and effectiveness of women's experiences and organizing in Latin America and the Caribbean during the past four decades. Most of the expressions of collective agency are analyzed in this book within the context of the neoliberal model of globalization that has seriously affected most Latin American and Caribbean women's lives in multiple ways. Contributors explore the emergence of the area's feminist movement, dictatorships of the 1970s, the Central American uprisings, the urban, grassroots organizing for better living conditions, and finally, the turn toward public policy and formal political involvement and the alternative globalization movement. Geared toward bridging cultural realities, this volume represents women's transformations, challenges, and hopes, while considering the analytical tools needed to dissect the realities, understand the alternatives, and promote gender democracy.
Review
"This is a very exciting collection that will fill an important gap in what has emerged in comparative studies of women and Latin American democracies. Maier and Lebon provide provocative overview essays, and the chapters trace a range of cases from Argentina and Brazil to Nicaragua and Venezuela, showing how institutions, leaders, and culture all shape the opportunities and challenges women face." Jane Jaquette
Review
"Maier and Lebon have assembled an outstanding collection of essays on women's activism in Latin America and the Caribbean. The result is a refreshing work that will become a landmark study and a comprehensive resource that researchers and students will consult for years to come. Essential." Choice
Review
"The book offers rich empirical detail and sharp insight into the ways in which gender and sexuality are profoundly implicated in the political and economic trends of a region permeated by global forces."
Signs
Review
"Although the editors, feminist studies professor Elizabeth Maier and anthropologist Nathalie Lebon, celebrate the achievements of feminist struggles, they also examine the challenges ahead. Several chapters analyze the consolidation of anti-choice movements in some countries, including Nicaragua under the left-wing pro-life president Daniel Ortega.The book offers insight into feminist movements in the region, threats to weaken their radical politics, and the backlash from conservative groups."
NACLA Report on the Americas
Synopsis
In Women's Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean a group of interdisciplinary scholars analyze and document the diversity, vibrancy, and effectiveness of women's experiences and organizing in that area during the past four decades. Most of the expressions of collective agency are analyzed within the context of the neoliberal model of globalization that has seriously affected most Latin American and Caribbean women's lives in multiple ways. Geared toward bridging cultural realities, this volume represents women's transformations, challenges, and hopes, while considering the analytical tools needed to dissect the realities, understand the alternatives, and promote gender democracy.
About the Author
Elizabeth Maier is a professor at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Colef) in Mexico and former chair of the Gender and Feminist Studies Section of the Latin American Studies Association. Nathalie Lebon is an anthropologist and assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies at Gettysburg College, affiliated with the Latin American Studies Program.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Part I: Setting the Stage
Introduction
Chapter 1: Accommodating the Private into the Public Domain
Part II: Women, Work, and Families
Chapter 2: Women's Work and Neoliberal Globalization
Chapter 3: Female-Headed Households and Poverty in Latin America
Chapter 4: A "Top-Down" & "Bottom-Up" Model
Part III: Women's Agency for Plural Democracy and Full Citizenship
Chapter 5: The Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo Speak
Chapter 6: Feminism, Antifeminism, and the Return of Daniel Ortega
Chapter 7: Haiti: Women in Conquest of Full and Total Citizenship in an Endless Transition
Chapter 8: From Urban Elite to Peasant Organizing
Part IV: Broadening the Circle of Women's Activism
Chapter 9: Women's Movements in Argentina
Chapter 10: Advocating for Citizenship and Social Justice
Chapter 11: Itineraries of Latin American Lesbian Insubordination
Chapter 12: Respect, Discrimination, and Violence
Part V: Shaping Public Policy with a Gender Perspective
Chapter 13: Peace Begins at Home
Chapter 14: New Challenges in Feminist Practice
Chapter 15: Women's Struggles for Rights in Venezuela
Chapter 16: Trickling Up, Down, and Sideways
Part VI: The Politics of Scale
Chapter 17: From Insurgency to Feminist Struggle
Chapter 18: The Latin American Network of Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir
Chapter 19: Constructing New Democratic Paradigms for Global Democracy
Part VII: Concluding Considerations
Chapter 20: Concluding Reflections