Gender and Social Movements

Review
“With great clarity and insight, Reger traces how gender influences all aspects of social movements: who joins, who leads, how agendas get defined, how activists frame social problems, and the very impacts movements have on society. Reger’s crystal clear account reveals that gender is present everywhere in movement activism. This is a ‘must read’ account for anyone who participates in, studies, or cares about social movements.”
Holly McCammon, Vanderbilt University
“This accessibly written book is both eminently teachable and a must-read for scholars. Using a wide range of engaging examples and centering intersectionality, Reger brilliantly synthesizes the most current research and unpacks how major processes in social movements are gendered.”
Nancy Whittier, Sophia Smith Professor of Sociology, Smith College
How does gender influence social movements? How do social movements deal with gender?
In Gender and Social Movements, Jo Reger takes a comprehensive look at the ways in which people organize around gender issues and how gender shapes social movements. Here gender is more than an individual quality, it is a part of the very foundation of social movements, shaping how they recruit, mobilize and articulate their strategies, tactics and identities. Moving past the gender binary, Reger explores how movements can shift understandings of gender and how backlash and countermovements can often follow gendered movement successes. Adopting both an intersectional and global lens, the book introduces readers to the idea that gender as a form of societal power is integral in all efforts for social change.
With a critical overview across different types of movements and gender activism, such as the women’s liberation, #Metoo and transgender rights movements, this book offers a solid foundation for those seeking to understand how gender and social movements interact.