Representing

Communication involves a subtler process whereby United States politicians spend time in their districts to measure and enhance their voting leeway. Representatives know that they will be required sometimes to vote against the wishes of their constituents. Political scientists have even undertaken participant-observation as politicians themselves. Central to feminism is the question of alignment or divergence between the interests of those representing and being represented. The Eurocentric ‘globalised’ generalisations about women that we find in some Western white feminism spill into some donors’ initiatives to increase women’s representation in parliaments. The claim to represent is easily made; to accomplish it literally for all electors in a specific moment is impossible. The work of representation is so much more than a ‘role’ carried out by an individual as if following prescribed duties set out in a Job Description.

Geography · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Gender, Security, and Conflict