Transforming Gendered Well-Being in Europe: The Impact of Social Movements (Gender and Well-Being)

European social movements improve the well-being of men and women but need further analysis through a gender-sensitive lens. Taking an international and cross-disciplinary perspective, this book examines the impact of European social movements on gendered political and material well-being. Insights from history, politics, sociology and gender studies help identify how social movements have been instrumental in changing individual well-being through participation and empowerment. These movements have contributed to collective well-being thanks to victories in health, sexualities, political recognition and access to material goods. The contributions pay particular attention to the role of women activists in social movements varying from unions and religious movements to the women's movement itself. The settings range from 19th century Catalonia to Switzerland and Poland, including studies on European transnational movements today and their impact on global gendered well-being. The authors consider how gender has been important in defining the goals, strategies and outcomes of social movements. Thanks to the international spread of contributions a comparative record can be examined. Together the authors provide unique and concrete illustrations of the role of collective action and the participatory process on transforming women and well-being in European societies. The book provides essential insights for students and scholars working on social and women's movements, European well-being and welfare, and transnational action. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 Contributors 14 Acknowledgements 22 Preface 24 1 The Impact of Social Movements on Gendered Well-Being in Europe 26 Part I: The Transformation of Political and Material Well-Being and Power 36 2 Subsistence Movements in Eighteenth-Century Catalonia: Material and Political Aspects in Gendered Food Protests 42 3 Money Matters: The Impacts of Class and Gender on the First Wave Women’s Movement’s Financing Strategies 58 4 Working Women and ‘De-Unionization’: The Struggles for Autonomy 76 5 Second Wave Feminism and the Capability Approach: The Swiss Case 92 6 Anti-Modernist Utopia in ‘New Europe’: Protest, Gender and Well-Being 108 Part II: The Transformation of Intimate Citizenship: Bodies, Personal Capacities and the Intimate Conditions of Life 122 7 Gender, Family Policies and Democracy in Eastern Europe after 1989 126 8 Dutch Women’s Health Care Movement and the Transformation of the Welfare State in the Netherlands, 1975–2005 142 9 Redefining Well-Being through Actions: Women’s Activism and the Polish State 158 10 Not Quite Women: Lesbian Activism in Portugal 176 11 ‘We Can’t Have Men Giving Birth!’ (But We Do): The Impact of the Belgian Transgender Movement on the Well-Being of Transgender Persons in Belgium 194 12 Intimate Citizenship and Gendered Well-Being: The Claims and Interventions of Women’s Movements in Europe 212 Part III: The Transformation of Political Fora and Spaces: Making a Place for Global Issues and the Transformation of Women’s Well-Being beyond Borders 232 13 Women’s Mobilization in Conflicts over Female Muslim Covering: An Opportunity for the Well-Being of Women? 238 14 Minority Inclusion, Self-Representation and Coalition-Building: The Participation of Minority Women in European Women’s Networks 256 15 Care Economies and Collective Well-Being in Contemporary European Feminist Organizing 274 16 Conclusion: The Role of Social Movements in Transforming Well-Being 290 Index 298 The Impact of Social Movements Social movements can improve the well-being of men and women but are frequently analysed through a gender-neutral lens. Taking an international and cross-disciplinary perspective, this book examines the impact of social movements on political and material well-being, self-definition and the capabilities to be gendered political actors in transnational political spaces.