Contributions of Women Political Scientists to a More Just World

This roundtable was originally presented as a panel at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the APSA in Philadelphia that was sponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession

Queering Anarchism : Addressing and Undressing Power and Desire: preface

Queering anarchism? What would that mean? Isn’t “anarchism” enough of a bogeyman in this country that any effort to “queer” it would only make it appear even more alien and irrelevant to mainstream culture than it already is? Why do it? And why now? Because-- as this excellent anthology makes evident in its multifaceted exploration of the many dimensions of both anarchism and queer—we have only just begun to understand the many possibilities offered by a queered anarchism, both with respect to critiques of existing institutions and practices and with respect to imagining alternatives to them

Activism, Revolution and War: Mujeres Libres Addressing the Personal and the Political

Mujeres Libres, an organization of anarchist women established during the Spanish Civil War, was characterized by a dual focus on capacitación (empowerment) and captación (mobilization): (a) empowering women to enable them to recognize and act on their own potential and (b) mobilizing them into the organizations of the broader libertarian movement. An exploration of the activist biographies of two of its three founders (Lucía Sánchez Saornil and Mercedes Comaposada), as well as of two of its younger activists (Soledad Estorach and Sara Berenguer), makes clear how reflecting on personal experience within a larger political frame led to the creation of the organization and to its appeal to its base of (largely) working-class women. Although it did not frame its analysis in these terms, Mujeres Libres effectively prefigured mid-twentieth century feminist analyses of the social construction of women’s subordination as well as feminism’s claims about the relationship between “the personal” and “the political”. Founded officially as a federated organization in Valencia in 1937, Mujeres Libres’ roots were laid in small gatherings in different parts of the country in the preceding years. In this paper, I explore those roots through attention to the personal histories of these four activists, drawing on their writings, memoirs and personal interviews. The paper argues that, although Mujeres Libres did not define itself as a “feminist” organization, many of the writings of its founders—and, in particular, their analyses of the nature and causes of women’s subordination that appeared in journals both before and during the Civil War—would find echo in later 20th and 21st century feminism. Especially significant was Mujeres Libres’ insistence on the relationship between anarchist analyses of relations of domination and subordination in the society at large and the specific subordination of women, both within society and in the movement, itself. While it addressed problems that women confronted as individuals, Mujeres Libres was not interested in individual solutions. Rather, its goal was to develop programs that would empower women to take their places alongside other women (and men) in workplaces and in movement activism, while, at the same time, supported by other women, to take more effective charge of their lives, their households, their sexuality, and the education of their children. In doing so, they reflected not only the overall commitment of the libertarian movement to the inseparability of war and revolution, but also their own recognition of the inseparability of personal and collective liberation, the interweaving of “the personal” and “the political.

Anarchism and Gender

As both political theory and social movement, anarchism challenges hierarchical authority relationships in all their forms, aiming to establish a society grounded in equality, reciprocity, and mutuality. In its commitment to a multidimensional understanding of power and oppression, and in its insistence on the need for consistency between means and ends in the revolutionary process, anarchism offers important resources to those engaged in challenges to gendered hierarchies. At the same time, few anarchist movements have actually lived up in practice to the ideals of gender equality to which their writings have given voice

Discrimination and Inclusivity: Why APSA Should Not Meet in New Orleans

The American Political Science Association (APSA) should move the site of its 2012 Annual Meeting from New Orleans for two reasons: first, because the legal recognition and protection of same-sex unions is an issue of human rights and equal citizenship, and second to fulfill its own long-stated commitment not to go to localities with policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. As a professional organization, it has a responsibility to ensure that every member of the association enjoys the full benefits of membership and an inclusive environment at meeting

Gay and Committed, But Against \u27Coupledness\u27 Norm

While wincing at the Republican Party\u27s vehemence against gay marriage, one lesbian couple in Massachusetts explains why they are choosing not to marry. An intimate arrangement, they say, should not be tied to federal and financial benefits

The Role of Social Anarchism and Geography in Constructing a Radical Agenda: A Response to David Harvey

David Harvey’s response to Simon Springer (2014) raises important questions about the places from which to draw ideas for a radical geography agenda. Nevertheless, Harvey ignores critical contributions that social anarchists (including social geographers) have made to understanding both the theory and practice of social transformation. We draw on studies of the anarchist movement in Spain before and during the Spanish Civil War to explore some of what social anarchism has to contribute to geography and contemporary struggles for a more equitable society