Informing Activists: “What are the challenges and opportunities that girls and young women should consider when getting involved in social movements?”

Nancy Whittier:

 

“What are the challenges and opportunities that girls and young women should consider when getting involved in social movements?”

 

Classic:
Taylor, Verta. 1999. “Gender and social movements: Gender processes in women’s self-help movements.” Gender & Society 13(1): 8-33.

Robnett, Belinda. 1996. “African-American women in the civil rights movement, 1954-1965: Gender, leadership, and micromobilization.” American Journal of Sociology. 101(6): 1661-1693.

Review:
McCammon, Holly J., Taylor, Verta, Reger, Jo, & Einwohner, Rachel L. (Eds.). (2017). The Oxford Handbook of US Women’s Social Movement Activism. Oxford University Press.

Contemporary:
Yang, Chia-Ling. 2017. “The political is the personal: women’s participation in Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement.” Social Movement Studies 16(6): 660-671.

Minding the (racial) gap: Complicating the narrative about the “women’s vote”

By Zakiya Luna

No matter what happens at the polls, scholars and activists and those in between will be telling a story about the significance of the results. With the nail biting and revelry, it will be imperative we not succumb to historical amnesia and instead to face the role of race and racism in social movement organizing and in electoral politics. Further, narratives in which a woman winning means all women win is historically inaccurate.  Women in formal politics differ: Senator Hillary Clinton is a woman. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is a woman. Stacey Abrams, the Georgian gubernatorial candidate, is a woman.  But they clearly have different life experiences and political commitments. The long-studied gender gap in voting is not a story about all women, but rather it is, like many other unmarked stories, a submerged story of White people. To understand the relationship between movement organizing and formal politics we need to expand intersectional analyses of identity and power in our research and how we tell the stories of movements.

The Role of Women in Mobilizing Participation in Electoral Politics

Although the 2018 midterm elections have not yet been held, it is already clear that one of the biggest stories that will be in the headlines on November 7th will have to do with women’s engagement with the political process.  Voter turnout is expected to be unusually high among women, and the “gender gap” in party preferences—with women being much more likely than men to favor Democratic candidates—seems to be wider than it has ever been.  What’s more, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women running for office. In fact, more than 40 percent of Democratic nominees for seats in the House of Representatives are women (compared to about 10 percent of Republican nominees). The essays in this dialogue offer insight into some aspects of women’s increasing involvement in the political process. What factors led so many women into politics (drawing them to the voting booth as well as leading them to run for office)? How may women’s increasing representation in political office reshape relationships between social movements and institutionalized politics in the years to come?

This month, we have a great assortment of essays and videos from scholars, activists, and scholar-activists.

Thanks to our wonderful group of contributors on this topic:

• Dé Bryant, Indiana University-South Bend, Social Action Project (SOCACT) (video)
• Jorden Giger – South Bend, IN activist (essay)
• April Lidinski, Indiana University-South Bend (essay)
• Deana A. Rohlinger, Florida State University (essay)
• Zakiya Luna, University of California, Santa Barbara (essay)

Editors in Chief,
Grace Yukich, David Ortiz, Rory McVeigh, Guillermo Trejo

 

Women Define Northern Indiana Electoral Resistance

By Jorden Giger

The emergence of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, the ascendance of Donald Trump to the Presidency, and the boldness and novelty of the Women’s Marches across the U.S. have thrust many more women into political life. Since returning home to South Bend, Indiana just over two years ago now, I have seen the impact of these phenomena. Yet, throughout the 2018 Midterms, political organizing amongst women in my area has reached uncharted heights. Or, to be fair, at the very least it has reached such heights that I have not seen in my lifetime.

Constructing Narratives about the Political Fortunes of Women in 2018

By Deana A. Rohlinger, Ph.D.

Journalists and data junkies alike are gleefully dissecting the gender gap and what it potentially means for the mid-term elections generally and the political fortunes of women specifically. Number-cruncher extraordinaire, FiveThirtyEight, labelled the 2018 midterm election as “potentially record-breaking,” noting that women are poised to gain 100 Congressional seats this year. If they win, there will be 100 women in the House, and 24 in the Senate come January 2019.

Dark Skin, Dangerous Vision: Black Women in the Political Realignment (Video)

By Dé Bryant Ph.D.

“Grab ‘Em by the Midterms” — A South Bend, IN View of Women’s Voices in Activism and Electoral Politics

By April Lidinsky Ph.D.

“Grab ‘em by the Midterms.” That now-iconic rally sign efficiently compresses both women’s activist rage at Donald Trump’s attitude toward women’s bodies and women’s commitment to the power of the ballot.

Ours is a contradictory moment for U.S. women. On the one hand, the repressive policies issuing from the Trump-Pence administration have catapulted many women into social justice and electoral activism. On the other hand, we are reminded, repeatedly, that women’s voices are still often dismissed. Witness the testifying of Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford and the ultimate dismissal of her claims as Brett Kavanaugh took his seat on the Supreme Court. I draw optimistic lines between women’s leadership in “Resistance” organizations and the uptick in women running for office or actively working to elect those women. This swelling of women’s activism can help address the “ambition gap” that may, in part, explain why fewer women have gotten involved in politics.

The Role of Women in Mobilizing Participation in Electoral Politics

Although the 2018 midterm elections have not yet been held, it is already clear that one of the biggest stories that will be in the headlines on November 7th will have to do with women’s engagement with the political process.  Voter turnout is expected to be unusually high among women, and the “gender gap” in party preferences—with women being much more likely than men to favor Democratic candidates—seems to be wider than it has ever been.  What’s more, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women running for office. In fact, more than 40 percent of Democratic nominees for seats in the House of Representatives are women (compared to about 10 percent of Republican nominees). The essays in this dialogue offer insight into some aspects of women’s increasing involvement in the political process. What factors led so many women into politics (drawing them to the voting booth as well as leading them to run for office)? How may women’s increasing representation in political office reshape relationships between social movements and institutionalized politics in the years to come?

Thanks to our wonderful group of contributors on this topic:

• Catherine Bolzendahl, University of California, Irvine (essay)

Editors in Chief,
Grace Yukich, David Ortiz, Rory McVeigh, Guillermo Trejo

 

The Election of Women and Women’s Political Empowerment

By Catherine Bolzendahl

The U.S. is poised to witness unprecedented numbers of women engaging in electoral politics in general, and running for political office in particular. By the April 6, 2018 filing deadline, 309 women filed to run for the U.S. House, at a 90% increase since 2016, and a notable uptick in minority women candidates. Although the actual numbers elected are likely to be much lower, these figures are nevertheless remarkable and suggest the potential of one of the wealthiest capitalist democracies in the world to finally join counterparts with 40% or more women in legislature, such as France (39.6%) and Norway (41.4%) or at least to match the European average at 27.7%. The historical reality of American women’s political office holding is, however, quite bleak. Of all the countries in the world, the U.S. is 103^rd in women’s legislative presence with 19.6% women, behind Indonesia, Uruguay, and Pakistan. Furthermore, it is particularly important to disaggregate among women elected or running for office, given that reasons for involvement and the possible influence on policy may be highly dependent on how gender intersects with other minority statuses. As a leading advocate for equity, human rights, and democracy, political outcomes in the U.S. elections rarely reflect the diversity of our citizenry. Thus, the recent news is exciting for scholars like myself, who study and support gender diversity in electoral politics, but a lot of work remains.