The women’s movement is a central, complex, and evolving socio-political actor in any national context. Vital to advancing gender equity and gendered relations in every contemporary society, the organization and mobilization of women into social movements challenges patriarchal values, behaviours, laws, and policies through collective action and contention, radically altering the direction of society over time.

Twenty-First-Century Feminismos examines ten case studies from eight different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to better understand the ways in which women’s and feminist movements react to, are shaped by, and advance social change. A closer look at women’s movements in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, and Uruguay uncovers broader recurrent patterns at the regional level, such as the persistence of certain grievances historically harboured by regional movements, the rise in prominence of varying claims, and the emergence of novel organizational structures, repertoires, and mobilization strategies. Dissimilarities among the cases are also brought to light, including the composition of these movements, their success in effecting policy change in specific areas, and the particular conditions that surround their mobilization and struggles.

Twenty-First-Century Feminismos provides a compelling account of the important victories attained by Latin American and Caribbean organized women over the course of the last forty years, as well as the challenges they face in their quest for gender justice.

Simone Bohn is associate professor of political science at York University.

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Charmain Levy enseigne le développement international à l’Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) depuis 2005. Elle est spécialiste en anthropologie et sociologie politique. L’Amérique latine, et plus particulièrement le Brésil, sont au coeur de ses recherches. Elle est directrice du Groupe de Recherche sur les Espaces Publics et des Innovations Politiques (GREPIP). En 2016, elle est nommée doyenne de la recherche à l’UQO.

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"Bringing together this group of scholars from across the Americas and focusing on a wide range of case studies allows for an interesting explanation of the multiple factors, both local and transnational, that contribute to the wave of feminist mobilization across Latin America over the past decade. This volume offers a panoramic view that is missing in the literature." Sueann Caulfield, University of Michigan, and author of In Defense of Honor: Morality, Modernity, and Nation In Early Twentieth-Century Brazil

"Overall, this edited volume engages thoroughly with a broad range of topics and contexts across the region, while providing a cohesive introduction to contemporary feminisms and women’s movements. It pairs prominent examples with less frequently discussed case-studies of Latin American feminism, such as Haiti and Uruguay. Though each chapter is geographically grounded, all the contributors persuasively expose the regional and transnational connections between and across women’s movements. Thus, the book offers a detailed yet accessible overview of regional feminism(s) in the twenty-first century." International Affairs