Constructing Gender, Social Movements and Changing Security Concerns

Louise Weiss and other
Parisian suffragettes 1935 

Politics, security and international relations are fields which the concerns of women have traditionally been ignored. The first wave of feminist movements aimed to give women a voice in politics by granting women the right to vote. While this was a tremendous moment in history, the right to vote was granted within a structure built around dealing with traditionally masculine issues. Thus, while women could participate, the issues of security that were considered feminine were ignored.

In recent years there has been a growing push to include ‘feminine’ issues into the realm of security, politics, and international relations. If the logic of realism, militarism and ‘hard power’ are inherently masculine; the expansion of politics to include feminine issues has come to include human security, gender emancipation, and a greater emphasis on diplomacy. I believe this push for expansion comes from two sources, the contributions of post structural feminism explaining that gender is a socially constructed idea and the popular woman’s movements which have emphasized the insecurity of women because of the effects masculine security politics have had on their lives. These social movements and recent scholarship challenge traditional notions of security and gender identities

A mother runs into a soldier of the \
Jorge Rafael Videla dictatorship during a protest in 1977 

          

Members of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo at a march

 Examining the stances taken by women’s movements over the years, we can see how gender identity has undergone several changes through ought the years and the effect these changes have had on security issues. Protesting the abduction of their children by the Argentinian government, the ‘Madres de Plaza de Mayo’ represent a group of women who have embraced traditional ides of femininity by protesting under the identity of mothers looking for their missing children.

 These women provide an example of traditionally feminine attributes, (motherly, non-militant, and emotional) being been brought into the realm of security as a security issues. This represents an expansion of the security agenda beyond traditionally masculine issues. As it was the Argentinian government that was the source of the insecurity of these women, the ‘Madres de Plaza de Mayo’ also exemplify the insecurity that masculine centered security policies can have on women. Furthermore, the context of the ‘Madres de Plaza de Mayo’ demonstrate an instance in which the feminine identity of mother was used because of the security it offered. Had these women joined the rhetoric used by their children, they would have likely been arrested, and possibly killed, by the Argentinian government.  

Women's March in Washington DC, January 21, 2017

  In contrast, on January 21^st, 2017, millions of people took to the streets around the world in support of the ‘Women’s March.’ While including a number of interest groups, (the LGBTQ community, Black Panthers, Indigenous Rights and many more) this march ran under the banner of ‘Human Rights are Women’s Rights and Women Rights are Human Rights.’ In response to the sexist rhetoric of Donald Trump, this movement demanded ‘feminine’ issues be included as a security concern. 

Poster from Women's March

                    What we can see with these two movements is a push for women and feminine issues to be included in the realms of security, politics and international relations. The ‘Women’s March’ shows how popular this push has been. Looking at post structural scholarship we can examine the construction of gender identities and see how the feminine identity has expanded from that of mother (as seen in the ‘Madresod the Plazo de Mayo’) to include human security, environmental security and countless other issues and identities. In turn this has reconstructed the identity of security; expanding it from traditionally ‘masculine’ issues, to those affecting all people.        

 As a final note, there is wide consensus that gender is a socially constructed idea which lacks any inherent value. The demands made by social movements provide examples of various feminine and masculine identities. Examining these identities we can see that both masculine and feminine identities are continuously expanding and changing. In turn, this has challenged traditional ideas of politics and security, forcing both fields to deepen and broaden to include these new identities.  

If the issue of gendered security and the insecurity of people because of their own government follow this link to Amnesty International, an organization which has continuously fought for the universal human rights of all people. 

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