The Revolution Question: Feminisms in El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba

"Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, Julie Shayne's study elucidates the gender dynamics of revolution--with implications beyond her Latin American cases--while also bringing life to the experiences of some extraordinary revolutionary feminists."--Valentine M. Moghadam, Director of Women's Studies and Professor of Sociology, Illinois State University and Chief, Gender Section, Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO "The Revolution Question offers a valuable and compelling examination of the crucial question of why feminism matters to social change. Until we all accept this fundamental truth, there will be no possiblility for real social change."--Margaret Randall, author of When I Look into the Mirror and See You: Women, Terror & Resistance "Julie Shayne has produced a well-written and thoughtful account of the importance of women to the success of revolutionary movements and the (largely inadvertent) role of the revolutionary leadership in creating the conditions for the rise of feminist movements. Scholars and students will find her extensive interviews to be valuable and thought-provoking, making this an excellent resource for the classroom."--Karen Kampwirth, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Latin American Studies Program, Knox College What do women do for revolutions? And what do revolutions do for women? Julie Shayne explores the roles of women in revolutionary struggles and the relationship of these movements to the emergence of feminism. Focusing upon the three very different cases of El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba, Shayne documents the roles of women in armed and unarmed political activities. She argues that women contribute to and participate in revolutionary movements in ways quite distinct from men. Despite the fact that their political contributions tend to be seen as less important than those of their male comrades, the roles that women play are actually quite significant to the expansion of revolutionary movements. Shayne also explains how, given the convergence of political and ideological factors, feminism is often born in the wake of revolutionary movements. As a result, revolutionary feminism is a struggle that addresses larger structures of political and economic inequalities. Based on in-depth interviews with activists in all three countries, The Revolution Question offers new insight into the complex gender relations underlying revolutionary social movements and enables us to re-assess both the ways that women affect political struggle and the ways in which political struggle affects women. Julie D. Shayne is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Emory University.