VII. Our place in history: Young feminists at the margins

Abstract

Keywords

Young feminists activism non-governmental organization Portugal historical memory

‘Only from revenge, we do an October, a May, and a new month to cover the calendar. And what of us? What will we do?’ (Excerpt from Novas Cartas Portuguesas, Barreno, Horta, & Costa, 1972, p. 3)

Portuguese young feminists and historical memory

Feminisms in Portugal, as elsewhere, have been shaped historically. From the revolutions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which ended monarchy and established a republican system, women have taken a stand. In the late 1970s, after 48 years of dictatorship during which feminist issues were effectively silenced, feminist groups began to appear in Portugal. It was then, in 1976, that UMAR (União de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta [‘Union of Women for Alternatives and Answers’]) began its fight against discrimination and violence against women.

While the issues that UMAR addressed were relevant throughout the country, their initiatives did not always reach all of the regions of Portugal. In 2008, with the intention of overcoming this deficiency, as well as engaging with contemporary debates on feminism, we joined a group of young women to create an UMAR regional core in Braga, in the north of Portugal. In a clearly conservative region, our group stood out; creating unique dynamics that nevertheless echoed with the historical memory of earlier feminists. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to reflect on the foundations and development of this feminist regional core driven by young women, situating it within the Portuguese context and its peculiarities.

Endeavouring feminist history

Looking back, we took inspiration from a number of earlier Portuguese women fighting for feminist causes. At the turn of the 20th century, novelist Ana de Castro Osório (1872–1935) pioneered the struggles for women’s rights, including the right to vote and equal wages. She also authored Portuguese Women, the first national feminist manifesto, and was the founder of several Portuguese women’s organisations – Feminist Studies Group, the Republican League of Portuguese Women, the Feminist Commission for the Country and the Portuguese Women’s Crusade. Also at this time, Professor Carolina Michaellis de Vasconcelos (1851–1925), the President of the Portuguese Council for Women, became the first woman appointed to a university chair, which had a major impact on public opinion. Another well-known feminist in Portugal was medical doctor Carolina Beatriz Ângelo (1878–1911), the leader of the Women’s Republican League, a founding member of the Feminist Propaganda Association and the first Portuguese woman to vote in the Constitutional Assembly elections. She was able to do so as head of the family, as the law at the time omitted to state the sex of the head of the family; the law was subsequently revised to restrict the right to vote to men only (Tavares, 2011).

Despite these and other efforts, history pushed aside these ‘first wave’ feminist initiatives. The dictatorship of Salazar in 1933 perpetuated this state of affairs with poverty and illiteracy, as well as disenfranchisement, compounding the victimization of women. As Amâncio (2002) wisely concluded:

Second wave feminism in the decades of 1960 and 1970 was the result, on one hand, of women’s educational progress throughout the 20th century and, on the other hand, the enormous dissatisfaction caused by the backlash against women’s emancipation after the demobilization of men after World War II. These factors contributed to women’s growing awareness of the distance that separated the citizenship established by law, from women’s autonomy as individuals. (para. 6, our translation)

This troubled context encouraged the emergence of a new feminist subject capable of representing Portuguese women while acknowledging how differences in education (as most women were illiterate), in access to the labour market and professions (e.g., the judiciary and military were barred to women), and in autonomy from men (generally considered the breadwinners) had shaped a wide range of subjectivities, opinions and feelings (Magalhães, Canotilho, & Tavares, 2006). In 1972, for example, the publication of Novas Cartas Portuguesas by Barreno et al. generated international debates on the conditions of women in Portugal. This rebellious feminist literary work was censored by the dictatorial regime and banned for allegedly abusing the freedom of press through its exploration of sensitive issues such as women's oppression by the Catholic patriarchy. The authors claim that this manuscript cannot be classified as a traditional literary work based on its diverse literary genres (e.g., letters, essays, poems and diverse extracts). Its impact, however, still resonates today as it has influenced several feminist generations.

On 25th April 1974, by peaceful popular revolution, the dictatorship was overthrown and Portugal embraced democracy. This historical event allowed several organisations to promote the pursuit of the now public ‘April ideals’ (democracy, freedoms, decolonization, education/development and equality) and take their place in the on-going construction of a democratic society and citizenship. Many achievements, controversies and struggles followed. UMAR emerged on 12 September 1976, out of women’s active participation and subsequent need for an organisation that fought for their rights in this new, highly politicized context.

Nearly 40 years on UMAR has evolved into a non-governmental organization that reclaims the socially engaged feminism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With a commitment to awakening a feminist consciousness in Portuguese society, it is one of the few organisations in the country that clearly stands as ‘feminist’. In doing so, its agenda swings between ‘new’ and ‘old’ battles. The organisation has grown, restructuring itself into several regional headquarters that have taken up new areas of intervention and broadened action not only into new locations but also into new discussions.

In Portugal, as in many other contexts, since the 1970s feminism has taken a mostly liberal/institutional approach. This ‘second-wave’ ideology generated greater public consensus and benefited from national aspirations for legal reforms that would ensure more equal and fair treatment of men and women. However, nowadays, such feminism is being reinvented in light of social transformations both beyond and within the feminist movement. Tavares (2011) proposes that there has been a redesign towards ‘feminisms of agency or of social intervention’ (p. 652). This proposal advocates for a feminism that isn’t absorbed into liberal/institutional feminism through the combination of distinctive actions from various social actors simultaneously. In what follows, we offer our experiences as young feminists doing feminism within this contemporary redesign.

From the margins

Far north and away from the busy capital, Braga is a young, modestly populated but highly religious and conservative city. These characteristics, while typically thought to discourage people from feminist action, became for us the trigger for change. We felt that there was still much to be done in terms of the ‘April ideals’, namely Freedoms and Equality, and feminisms in Portugal.

In 2008, after the II Feminist Congress in Portugal, I (Carla) joined with three other young women (Anabela Santos, Sylvie Oliveira and Danielle Cappella; aged 22 to 27), to create an UMAR regional headquarters in Braga. The successful start encouraged others to take action, including myself (Sara) who entered the group at the beginning of 2009. In the years that followed, we formed a group of about 10 women who fought to change sensibilities and challenge resistances to gender equality and non-discrimination. Through a multi- and inter-disciplinary perspective, we stood for a plural, multiform and comprehensive feminism that resulted from the confluence of different feminist streams moved by both universal and particular concerns. Unlike UMAR’s pioneer activists, most of us were drawn to the organisation by a need for more activism beyond our academic work. Our personal struggles were being integrated and made more visible to society, especially struggles against violence and social discrimination. We took on projects that were more meaningful and valued by us all – starting with a decentralization of feminisms in Portugal. Our ultimate aim was to use activism to break through some of the boundaries and limits that persist between academia and civil society.

The rigor and strength of our vibrant activism stood out and the receptivity of the city impressed the most sceptical; after all we were all born in the 1980s and long past the April Revolution. We were not expected to have the political consciousness or strength to resist the institutionalized and instituted powers (e.g., religious and patriarchy). At the same time, we achieved some visibility (mostly in regional media), a further reward for our activism.

It was our greatest wish to refresh and revive feminism, to broaden the debate, as well as expand the concept of ‘feminism’ beyond the second-wave framework within which it was broadly seen and represented (Nogueira, 2001). This was a substantial challenge, as we recognised all the struggles and achievements of our second-wave feminist colleagues. It was their work that allowed us to achieve what we have today: freedom of speech, access to education, full citizenship, sexual and reproductive rights, migrant inclusion, access to work, protection against domestic violence and more. We therefore looked forward without allowing the past to be forgotten or our rights to be challenged. At the same time, the fragmented, polyvocal, nature of feminisms today presents further challenges for activism as current political and socio-economic contexts shape our actions, jeopardize past achievements and set us back.

Our first campaign aimed to inform both local citizens and a broader, worldwide community about what it means to be a young, contemporary feminist. Feministiza-te (http://feministizate.wordpress.com) took its name from the conjunction of the (non-existent) verb ‘feministizar’, which meant to become informed about feminism and/or become a feminist. It was constructed upon an open and evolving manifesto with several activities over the period of a year to raise awareness about feminisms. This campaign led inevitably to another important challenge: education. Several local debates and workshops took place in schools with the intention of raising awareness of gender inequalities, with both young people and their teachers, as a means of preventing discrimination, deconstructing stereotypes and promoting gender equality. This community action allowed us to realise our desire to continue the grassroots work of our former colleagues by fighting for equal representation through education.

By the beginning of 2009, while the warm welcome of the previous year’s campaign was still fresh, the local community presented a new challenge. With a fractured agenda, full of opportunities, it was a rich moment, demanding dynamism and fluidity and opening possibilities for us to impact our community and challenge Portuguese society to transform itself. After several debates, and external consultation, two main areas of intervention were chosen as the new priorities: art and media.

In November of that year, we held FeministizARTE – a feminist art festival in Braga, the first of its kind in Portugal. Involving several galleries and exhibition spaces in the city, we hosted over a dozen national and international artists – from dancers to performers, painters to musicians – over three, free access days of gatherings and feminist cultural events. Its success led to a second festival in 2011. This time, diverse publics enjoyed a full month of feminist culture across different local spaces. Like the 2009 festival, the selection of artists combined talent, creativity and innovation. We were especially pleased to show beauty while simultaneously raising awareness about women’s oppression and gender inequalities. This twinning enabled us to challenge and change pre-existing stereotypes on feminisms and feminists as, for example, ‘unattractive’, ‘bra-burners’ and ‘man-hating’. For the first time, the image of feminism locally began to be associated with images beyond these negative stereotypes. Feminist activism’s ability to actively contribute to social change moved to the forefront.

Our second big intervention involved the media. The UMAR regional core in Braga created the Observatory for Gender Representations in Media (www.observatoriogenero.pt.vu) with a double aim. The first was to provide a platform that could receive denounces of media abuses and malpractices, namely negative asymmetric representations between men and women; the second was to conduct a systematic monitoring of feminist content, opinion spaces and advertising. This project aimed to contribute to good practice by drawing the attention of the general public and media professionals to the constant production of representations that reinforce gender asymmetries. Soon we found that the demands of the project required more than could be accomplished through volunteer work, so in 2011, after two years of hard work, the approach was discontinued. Nonetheless, the critical approach based on denunciation moved into a funded research and intervention project focused on advertising, PubliDiversidade: Social Representations and Gender Equality in Advertisements. Despite being far from the mainstream and urban centres, the recognition of our campaign as a valid and unique space for discussion by professionals, academics and activists was one of the greatest rewards we could have received.

Overall, our spirits stay high. However, we have learned to wait and see. As time goes by, our paths have been diverted from activism due to both sociocultural and geographical constraints; our energies have been directed at defying management challenges to women and activists. And our paths have lead us back to the streets – fighting for common rights, and especially women’s rights, that are being challenged. If feminisms have always been made of particular women and their ideals, nowadays, more than ever, we believe they depend on collective action that engages with multiple foci of struggle. We acknowledge an increasingly pressing need to recover the historical memory of the feminist movement in Portugal so that we may continue down the path of those who preceded us. One that has for 40 years been rendering women visible and giving them voice. From our short but full (her)story we savour the wisdom of our first- and second-wave colleagues; resonating in our minds will always be their bequest and challenge: And what of us? What will we do? (Barreno et al., 1972, p. 3).

Footnotes

Author Biographies

Sara I Magalhães holds a PhD in Educational Psychology by the University of Minho. Presently, she works as a Postdoctoral Grantee at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Porto (SFRH/BPD/93654/2013). Involved in different funded research projects her interests combine feminist media studies, age studies and critical social psychology. Feminist activist, she is an active member at UMAR regional core in Braga and member of the board of the general assembly of the Portuguese Association on Women Studies (APEM).

Carla Cerqueira is a Postdoctoral Grantee in Communication Sciences (SFRH/BPD/86198/2012) at the University of Minho and Assistant Professor at Lusophone University of Porto (ULP). She is also a researcher at the Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho, Portugal. She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences, with a specialization in Communication Psychology. Her research interests include gender, media and technologies. She is the vice-chair of the Gender and Communication Section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA). She maintains an active involvement with diverse Portuguese non-governmental organisations that work with feminisms and human rights. She was a co-founder of UMAR in Braga.

References

Amâncio, L. (2002). Feminismo. In Instituto de Filosofia da Linguagem (Eds.), Dicionário de Filosofia Moral e Política. Retrieved from http://www.ifl.pt/private/admin/ficheiros/uploads/7ffec70b3601475f2559ae21979b1faa.pdf.

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