CFP: The Role of Gender in Political and Social Debates in Portugal

Dear all,

I have contacted the International Journal of Iberian Studies about a special issue and they encouraged me to make a call for proposals. The theme of this volume is the role of gender in public debates in Portugal (a more detailed description can be found below). I am looking for papers - in English - that relate gender with the following topics:

-       Nationalism in Portugal

-       Animal Rights in Portugal

-       Immigrants in Portugal

-       The Social Images of Brazilian Women in Portugal

-       Sexual Orientation in Portugal

-       Racism in Portugal

-       Class and Unions in Portugal

 I am special interested in receiving abstracts on these topics, but other topics are also encouraged. In particular, I would like to receive abstracts on the relation of animal rights with gender.

If you are interested, please send a 200 words abstract and cv to [email protected] by the 11th of November:

 Best wishes,

Luís Cordeiro Rodrigues

Proposal Outline

Feminism in Portugal had first the shape of a socialist movement in the 19th century, with activists like Ana de Castro Osório (Owen & Alonso, 2013). During the 20th century, during the fascist dictatorship of the Estado Novo feminism had little or no expression. This was the result of the Estado Novo’s both gendered and patriarchal propaganda but also the institutional barriers to the creation of social movements (Neves & Calado, 2001). After the 1974’s revolution, feminism in Portugal flourished again. In the 80’s, many Portuguese researchers started getting interested in the topic of gender and a variety of studies, conferences and colloquia were organised at universities and foundations. Since this date, until today academics, politicians and the general public have been increasingly interested on feminism. Following the trend of increasing concerns with gender, this special volume of the International Journal of Iberian Studies offers a feminist analysis of contemporary public debates on social and political issues in Portugal. In other words, the papers in this volume try to demonstrate how gender stereotypes have influenced the public debate about social and political issues in Portugal.

There are two main reasons why this feminist analysis of the debates in the Portuguese public arena is possible and pertinent. Firstly, Portugal has a very active civil society; therefore, there is significant available material for this in the social media. Furthermore, the Portuguese constitution and current legal system enable a very lively civil society. In terms of social media, there are a variety of TV shows that invite politicians, activists and members of the general public to discuss social and political issues. For example, the mainstream TV channels have the shows Pros e Contras, Sociedade Civil, Aqui & Agora. Regarding the Portuguese Constitution, there are a variety of principles that enhance public debate. By way of illustration, it is guaranteed in the Portuguese Constitution that all citizens have the right to start a public petition; additionally, it is relatively easy to start a public petition in Portugal, as the platforms are online and available to everyone. With respect to current legislation, this strongly facilitates the formation of political parties and associations. To start a political party, it is only required to have 7,500 voters approving the project (Parlamento, 2008) and there are financial incentives to start and maintain political parties (Parlamento, 2013). Moreover, the bureaucracy and costs of starting an association with public interest are relatively small  (Cidade das Profissões, 2014). To give an example, in Portugal there are 2825 associations of animal rights (União Zoófila, 2014).

The second reason why this analysis is possible and pertinent is because Portuguese culture still has a strong influence of gender stereotypes. In other words, many aspects of the Portuguese culture and institutions are informed by gender stereotypes (Amaral, & Moita, 2004). Furthermore, a recent report from the European Commission has found that gender discrimination is widespread in Portugal. For example, the female employment rate is still 6.2 percentage points below the male employment rate in Portugal. Also, secondary education is attained far less frequently by Portuguese women (42.5%) than on EU-27 average (70.9%), but more often than by Portuguese men (34.9%) (European Commission, 2013).