“That feminism doesn't represent me”: how to bridge ideological divides

Abstract

n recent years, a phrase has been repeated ad nauseam in the media, social networks and in everyday life. Such expression is used as soon as any demonstration or event about gender or feminism takes place. “They don't represent me” can be read (and heard) constantly. Always (or almost always) accompanied by other derogatory phrases. But there is something else behind it. Perhaps this “lack of representativeness” is announcing a conflict within the feminist movement, at least as far as it can be observed in Argentina. This problem is not only a question of right-wing sectors or followers of any religion: people who accept the need to defend women's rights declare themselves anti-feminism for fear of being pigeonholed into certain stereotypes.

This is why it is necessary to review the practices within these movements in order to evaluate the reasons for this situation. Since Latin America is a diverse and heterogeneous place, perhaps the key is to address this issue. In this sense, Postcolonial Feminism studies become relevant in order to achieve, at least, conciliation between the different parties in conflict.