Women's Activism and Conservative Backlash in the Southern Cone

这个项目关注的是南锥体的“性别反弹”，那里正在经历一场女权主义活动的新浪潮。它指出了这种反弹的原因，并探讨了女权主义者如何动员起来反对它。最近的文献已经确定了一场以性别为核心的全球文化战争。性别反弹被认为是对传统和家庭价值观的“维护”，导致“个人权利、审查和针对少数群体的暴力受挫”（Biroli, 2020，第25页）。虽然这种情况在全球范围内都在发生，但在正在经历女权主义活动新浪潮的南锥体，这是一个特别紧迫的问题。提高妇女在政治中的可见度；例如基层行动主义在阿根廷堕胎法进展中的作用（Poblete Ibanez, 2020）；博尔索纳罗的言论和玛丽埃尔·佛朗哥在巴西的遗产（卡马拉新闻通讯社，2020年）；智利历史性的宪法改革，更加注重性别敏感的政策（Montes, 2020）；而在本地区最安全的国家乌拉圭，性别暴力的发生率高得令人担忧，这一切都加剧了人们对一种新型性别政治动荡的认识。但是，尽管存在明显的政治紧张局势和保守派与进步派之间文化战争的轶事证据，但目前还没有大量文献专门关注南锥体的性别反弹。我认为，这里经历的反弹源于该地区独特的传统，即社会保守的军事独裁统治和国家与教会之间的紧密联系，与民主转型时期引入的开创性性别政策形成鲜明对比，为更广泛的全球趋势提供了一个特别有趣的视角。因此，我计划通过以下问题来调查女权主义活动的重新关注以及活动家与该地区政治气候之间的关系：是什么导致了广泛的性别反弹，以及南锥体的女权主义活动家如何动员起来反对它？我以Biroli（2020，第22页）的观察为基础，认为南锥体的性别反弹起源于20世纪80年代和90年代的民主转型时期，当时妇女获得了新的权利，包括离婚法的改革和性别配额，以确保更多妇女进入民选公职。事实上，在那个时候，Safa （1990, p. 367）认为，当“女性试图在男性权力结构中获得杠杆作用”时，她们对现状构成了明显的威胁，引发了反弹。该项目还将调查Vaggione（2017）的主张，即民主所带来的新的公民自由促进了保守派活动家将生殖和性行为政治化，鼓励他们的追随者抗议关于性教育的新法律，讨论性别平等，学校中的性别多样性以及同性婚姻和收养。我希望这项研究能够对女权主义运动在社会层面的影响以及为记录基层运动在形成南美性别政策方面的作用所做的工作做出原创性的贡献。该项目也有可能促进阿根廷、巴西、智利和乌拉圭等国各种运动的活动人士之间的团结，并分享经验和专业知识。

This project focuses on the 'gender backlash' in the Southern Cone which is experiencing a new wave of feminist activity. It identifies the causes of this backlash and explores how feminist activists mobilise against it.Recent literature has identified a global culture war with gender at its heart. Gender backlash is identified as the "preservation" of traditional and family values leading to "setbacks in individual rights, censorship and violence against minorities" (Biroli, 2020, p. 25). While this is occurring globally, it is a particularly pressing issue in the Southern Cone which is experiencing new waves of feminist activity. Increased visibility of women in politics; such as the role of grassroots activism in the progress of abortion laws in Argentina (Poblete Ibanez, 2020); the rhetoric of Bolsonaro and legacy of Marielle Franco in Brazil (Agencia Camara de Noticias, 2020); the historic constitutional change occurring in Chile, with more focus on gender-sensitive policy (Montes, 2020); and the worryingly high levels of gender-based violence in what is otherwise the region's safest state, Uruguay have all contributed to heightened awareness of a new kind of gendered political upheaval. But despite the clear political tension and anecdotal evidence of a culture war between conservatives and progressives, there is not yet a significant body of literature focusing specifically on gender backlash in the Southern Cone. I propose that the backlash experienced here stems from the region's unique legacy of socially conservative military dictatorships and strong ties between state and church, contrasting with pioneering gender policies introduced during the democratic transition periods, presenting a particularly interesting perspective on a wider global trend. I therefore plan to investigate the renewed focus on feminist activism and the relationship between activists and the political climate of the area by asking: what causes widespread gender backlash and how do feminist activists in the Southern Cone mobilise against it? I build on Biroli's (2020, p. 22) observation that gender backlash in the Southern Cone originated in the democratic transition periods of the 1980s and 90s when women gained new rights including reforms to divorce laws and gender quotas ensuring more women reached elected office. Indeed, at that time, Safa (1990, p. 367) argued that when "women attempt to gain leverage in men's power structures", they pose a clear threat to the status quo, provoking backlash. The project will also investigate Vaggione's (2017) claim that the new civil liberties presented by democracy facilitated conservative activists in politicizing reproduction and sexuality encouraging their followers to protest against new laws on sex education, discussions of gender equality, sexual diversity in schools as well as same-sex marriage and adoption. I expect this research to produce an original contribution to knowledge about the impact of feminist activism at a societal level and the work done to document the role of grassroots movements in shaping South American gender policy. This project also has the potential to facilitate solidarity and the sharing of experiences and expertise between activists from a range of movements across Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.