Emotions and Women Empowerment: the Experience of Two Self-organized Feminist Collectives in Oaxaca, Mexico.

• In Event: 474 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Emotions in Social Movements

Abstract

The aim of the paper will be to present our proposal of analysis that highlights how protest changes people and the role of emotion in this change. Aware of the emotional intensity of the experiences of protest, our objective will be to show how emotion gives a new meaning to these experiences. In order to do this, we will analyse the role of emotions in the transformation of consciousness and behaviour, showing how collective emotions can strengthen people and how the experience of protest changes the emotions towards State and authority. To conclude, we will be presenting the emotion work that women are doing in their process of emancipation. Based on previous empirical research where we have studied the experience of women from Oaxaca (Mexico) who participated in the insurgency in 2006 to then create two self-organised women collectives, we propose an analysis that proves that the emotional dimension is vital to understand and analyse protest as a way to emancipation. The methodology that we have developed throughout our research is based on depth interviews and focus groups.

Authors

• ALICE POMA

• Tommaso Gravante, CEIICH UNAM