Lysistratus, Lysistrata, Lysistratum

Abstract

Instances of women's involvement in politics are prevalent both in the historical and cross-cultural literature. However, as we know, the involvement of some women in political life has not always produced greater access to political power for women in everyday life. This article aims to examine how the identities of mother and activist have been produced and brought together, or coconstructed, in published texts and in interviews conducted with women activists. The analysis aims to illustrate the usefulness of looking at contexts and relationships for empirical work in this area. In doing so the article unpacks the concepts of “mother,” “woman,” “politics,” and “activist” to argue that we can reach a more useful understanding of identity if we address these not as stable and pre-existing, but rather as shifting and multiply-determined, products.