Transforming Gendered Well-Being in Europe: The Impact of Social Movements

Social movements can improve the well-being of men and women but are frequently analysed through a gender-neutral lens. Taking an international and cross-disciplinary perspective, this book examines the impact of social movements on political and material well-being, self-definition And The capabilities to be gendered political actors in transnational political spaces. The capability to participate in and affect public life is often denied women and men in part due To The gendered definitions and structures of political and social action. Insights from history and from the field of social movement studies in varied settings help identify how social movements have been instrumental in changing individual well-being through participation and empowerment as well as contributing to collective well-being thanks to victories in connection to health, recognition and access to material goods. The book also illustrates when social movements have been stalled and relates this to gendered relations. The contributions pay particular attention To The role of feminist movements and of women active in other social movements and social protest including unions and movements of the far right and authors consider the ways in which gender has been important for defining the goals of social movements as well as For The organization of action and their outcomes. Thanks To The international spread of contributions a comparative record can be examined, and many of the contributions provide international comparisons around specific themes. This book is more than an abstract commentary on civil society and democracy over time as it provides unique and concrete illustrations of the role of participatory process on radically changing women as political actors.