TY - JOUR
T1 - Transcending polarization? Strategic identity construction in young women's transnational feminist networks
AU - Hunt, Theresa A.
N1 - Funding Information:
In explaining FRIDA's conceptualization, coordinator Amina notes that a small group of young activist women were motivated to create the fund when discovering the struggle to find funding for young women's advocacy work was pervasive and ongoing. Several young women involved with creating FRIDA participated in a 2008 “Young Women's Dialogue” in Marrakech focused on resources and convened as part of a larger women's rights funding meeting sponsored by AWID and the Global Fund for Women. While the young women's dialog took place one day prior to the start of the official meeting, representatives were given an opportunity to report on their discussions during the main proceedings. As AWID (2008) notes in its report on the meeting, the representatives expressed a collective concern that intimidation can keep young feminists from pursuing funding in cultures “where older always knows better”. Documenting such observations generated more conversations among young women about resource mobilization, explains Amina. However, outside of a growing collection of anecdotes, FRIDA organizers lacked more extensive data about the experiences of other “youth” seeking funding.
Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - This article explores the phenomenon of young women organizing in and building "youth-only" transnational feminist networks. Qualitative data gathered during a 2010-2011 study of activist women under 30. years old in the MENA region, Central and Eastern Europe, and North America suggests the choice to organize as "youth" is often presented as strategic, with members of young women's transnational feminist networks advancing two interlinked claims. The first is that young women in global social justice movements have similar experiences in feeling marginalized when compared to their male and older-generation counterparts. The second is that coalescing in response to this "universal" marginalization creates opportunities for young activist women to transcend the "identity politics", class divides and philosophical differences historically plaguing transnational feminist organizing. Ultimately, study participants argue this strategic choice of organizing as youth will enable the building of a more democratic transnational feminist movement.
AB - This article explores the phenomenon of young women organizing in and building "youth-only" transnational feminist networks. Qualitative data gathered during a 2010-2011 study of activist women under 30. years old in the MENA region, Central and Eastern Europe, and North America suggests the choice to organize as "youth" is often presented as strategic, with members of young women's transnational feminist networks advancing two interlinked claims. The first is that young women in global social justice movements have similar experiences in feeling marginalized when compared to their male and older-generation counterparts. The second is that coalescing in response to this "universal" marginalization creates opportunities for young activist women to transcend the "identity politics", class divides and philosophical differences historically plaguing transnational feminist organizing. Ultimately, study participants argue this strategic choice of organizing as youth will enable the building of a more democratic transnational feminist movement.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.wsif.2013.06.004
DO - 10.1016/j.wsif.2013.06.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84880391906
SN - 0277-5395
VL - 40
SP - 152
EP - 161
JO - Women's Studies International Forum
JF - Women's Studies International Forum
ER -