Women's Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean - by Elizabeth Maier & Nathalie Lebon (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

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 Quotes

"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" (6/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"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" (11/1/2010 12:00:00 AM)

"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" (6/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)

"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 "editor of Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America " (9/3/2009 12:00:00 AM)