Under different umbrellas: intersectionality and alliances in US feminist politics

Abstract

Macro-level forms of inequality work intersectionally to establish democracy normatively, as well as shape its institutions. Liberal democracies, once revolutionarily new political formations, rest on an equally revolutionary understanding of male domination based not on descent, but on economic arrangements (the new ‘breadwinner’ role) and political institutions (the ‘brotherhood’ national state). Over time, social movements have diminished liberal democracy’s original exclusions of women and minority ethnic men so that many citizens’ daily lives now contradict this once hegemonic normative order. The US party binary pushes contemporary movements to transform or restore this understanding of democracy under the political umbrellas of the competing Democratic and Republican parties. This polarisation then contributes to the gendering of movement claims and political representation. Gendered polarisation creates opportunities for cohesion among movements on both sides and yet blocks more fundamental reforms of US democracy.