Navigating Socio-Spatial Difference, Constructing Counter-Space: Insights from Transnational Feminist Praxis

Authors

Sarah E. Dempsey, University of North CarolinaFollow
Patricia S. Parker, University of North CarolinaFollow
Kathleen J. Krone, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

8-2011

Citation

Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 4:3 (August 2011), pp. 201–220.

doi: 10.1080/17513057.2011.569973

Comments

Copyright © 2011 National Communication Association; published by Routledge/Taylor and Francis. Used by permission.

Abstract

In recent years, feminist activists have increasingly transnationalized their struggle against local forms of oppression. Our study explores the contentious nature of feminist transnationalism, asking how transnational feminist networks (TFNs) navigate socio-spatial inequalities within their own practices and as a wider social movement. We argue that: (1) TFNs make socio-spatial differences meaningful in part through their constructions of regional, international, and trans-local imaginaries; and (2) TFNs construct resistant feminist counter-spaces through dialogue and strategies aimed at destabilizing dominant structures. Our findings highlight the central role of spatial praxis within transnational feminism.