Publisher's Synopsis
The title provides a theoretical and empirical contribution to the growing field of gender politics. Hilary Footitt argues that there is evidence that women are now, in practice, constituting democracy, citizenship and European identity in ways which are different from those of men. She illustrates her argument with lively discussion on the position of women in the formal political process in Europe, including interview material with women in the European parliament, which has an exceptionally high level of female participation. She goes on to look at what the language of women in the European political arena can contribute to the debates on engendering democracy, drawing on the work of writers including Iris Marion Young, Anne Phillips and Theda Skocpol; and citizenship, drawing on the work of Jean Bethke Elshtain and Joan Tronto.;The author reveals language to be a vital domain of politics. She argues that if we become aware of some of the communities of language practice within politics, we open a wider range of possiblities with which to describe democracy, citizenship and Europe. Gender is only one of the multiple communities of language practice we need to consider, and the transnational space of the EU provides us with major opportunities to reframe the political process.
