Journal of Resistance Studies (Web); Editors: Tiina Seppälä and Sara C. Motta

Women are increasingly important actors in a broad spectrum of contemporary struggles and social movements in the so-called “global South”. The often cited feminization of poverty in which racialized subaltern women were framed as merely victims of contemporary neoliberalism is being reframed in practice by the emergence of a multiplicity of female political subjectivities and a marked feminization of resistance (Motta, 2013). Women’s political engagement is varied and complex – some fight against neoliberal development projects that displace thousands of poor people, whilst others contest new forms of colonialism that have resulted in conflicts over land, forests and water, causing displacement and forced migration on a massive scale. Many movements work broadly for causes of social justice, equality and dignity. Some concentrate particularly on women’s rights, and struggle against patriarchal capitalist coloniality, sexism and heteronormativity. Importantly, as noted by postcolonial feminists (e.g. Mohanty, 2003; Motta, 2013), racialized subaltern women who simultaneously face multiple oppressions are in a position to create and experiment with new political subjectivities, re-imagine emancipatory politics, and produce and embody multiple grounds of epistemological difference and becoming. Viewed from this perspective, the emergence of female political subjectivities and the feminization of resistance raise many important epistemological and political questions. Read more … (Web)