Articulating Activisms, Structuring Political Subjectivities: Feminist Movement “Brokers” in Argentina

• In Event: Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 3: Global Cases of Gender Based and Feminist Movements

Abstract

Among the powerful collective disrupters of the status quo from the 2010s’ cycle of worldwide feminist mobilization, Argentine movements stand out for their intersectional, plural, and massive dimensions. With some of the largest, most sustained, and arguably most successful feminist movements in the Latin American region, Argentina offers insights for theories of movement building and maintenance. Given the rise of deep-seated global challenges to an expansive “gender agenda,” addressing such theoretical challenges is more important than ever.

Through a qualitative study, we examine the largest segments of Argentine feminism: the anti-violence Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) and the abortion rights Marea Verde (Green Tide). Previous research suggests a key explanation for their development and impact: a “well-networked feminist praxis” known as “productive mediation,” across generations and activists from various walks of life (Friedman and Rodríguez Gustá 2023). Such successful bridging points to the protagonism of the mediating actors (Sutton 2020). Although the region is known for its deeply networked movements, previous research rarely centers the networkers.

To fill this gap in understanding, we draw from the social movement “brokers” literature. As revealed in previous research, brokers occupy specific roles within networks, engage in concrete actions that shape meaning and mobilization, embody distinct types of brokerage that cut across movements and cultures, hold structural positions and linkages that enable (or constrain) their influence, and have biographical trajectories that shape who they are and what they can do. In this paper, we contribute two cross-cutting dimensions. The first, “structuring” brokerage, points to an element missing from the literature: how brokers’ dynamic interventions help constitute the very fields in which activism unfolds, and the actors who take part. The second, “articulating” brokerage, draws attention to the fact that brokering is a more fluid and even collective endeavor than previous literature suggests.

Citations:
Friedman, Elisabeth Jay, and Ana Laura Rodríguez Gustá. 2023. “‘Welcome to the Revolution’: Promoting Generational Renewal in Argentina’s Ni Una Menos.” Qualitative Sociology 46:245–77. doi:10.1007/s11133-023-09530-0.
Sutton, Barbara. 2020. “Intergenerational Encounters in the Struggle for Abortion Rights in Argentina.” Women’s Studies International Forum 82:1–11.

Authors

• Elisabeth Jay Friedman

• Ana Laura Rodriguez Gusta, Universidad Nacional de San Martín

• Barbara Sutton, University at Albany-SUNY