How to Become a Feminist Activist after the Institutionalization of the Women's Movement: Young Feminists in Mexico

The institutionalization of the women’s movement in civil society (in such organizations as feminist NGOs) and the academy (for example, gender studies majors at universities) offers a new context for the development of feminism. The main question of this paper is: how do today’s young women develop their feminist consciousness and become activists within this new context? The study investigates the consciousness building and political activities of young feminists in Mexico City through qualitative analysis. The results reveal that the feminist institutions established in the academy and in civil society are crucial references for the development of young feminist activists in a controversial way: on one hand, they provide the field for feminist consciousness building, but on the other hand, they don’t offer sufficient space for young feminists to play leadership roles in organization and political action. The inter-generational tension in the background of this context is also discussed.

La presentación oral puede ser en ambos idiomas, inglés o castellano