The Gender of Democracy (Routledge Research in Gender and Society) Book

As developments in the European Union and elsewhere make the re-examination of citizenship a pressing issue, this book reflects on the persisting "masculine" character of contemporary democracy and the measures taken in the EU to combat it. Combining a theoretical approach with a specific critique of EU gender policy The Gender of Democracy argues that substantial democracy as a social project cannot co-exist with the existing system of gender relations which are inherently dichotomous and thus demarcate social categories of superior and inferior status. Drawing on utopian thought Maro Pantelidou Maloutas proposes a re-examination of the notion of the gendered subject and a revision of the dominant perceptions of the relations between sex, sexuality and gender. The book contains a critique of specific EU gender policies and shows how in seeking to do away with gender inequality simply formulating policies that are pro-women is not enough, and that in order to realize democracy's emancipatory component far-reaching policies which deconstruct rather than modernize gender relations are needed.Read More