International Studies Compendium Project

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Comment on this article   Feminist research in political science is marked by two major contributions: the concept of “gender” and an expanded definition of “politics.” Although the term “gender” is often elided with “women,” feminist research is careful to distinguish between “sex,” normally taken to refer to biological differences between women and men, and “gender,” referring to the social meanings given to these distinctions. “Politics,” in turn, is often taken to refer to formal political processes related to government and elections. However, feminists theorize at least two further meanings. One group expands its range to encompass informal politics and the dynamics of everyday life. Some scholars insist, for example, that social movements are a form of political participation on par with engagement inside the state. Others draw attention to the power relations that permeate all levels of social life, including relations within the private sphere of home and family. For them, “the personal is political.” A second group, together with postmodern theorists, has adopted a notion of “politics” as any instance or manifestation of power relations. They are thus interested not only in the politics of the state and the politics of social movements, but also the politics of language, the politics of exchange, and the politics of representation, which they have analyzed using a wide ... log in or subscribe to read full text