Citation

Risley A. Int. Fem. J. Polit. 2006; 8(4): 581-609.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14616740600945164

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article analyzes civil societal discourses on violence in contemporary Argentina and identifies a gender ‘gap’ therein. I argue that class-based interpretations of violence have frequently eclipsed gendered understandings, even though the two perspectives are not mutually exclusive. Through an examination of the collective action frames that human rights advocates use, I demonstrate that activists often politicize two forms of violence that disproportionately affect Argentina's popular sectors: police brutality and the neoliberal economic model. The neoliberalism-as-violence frame in particular has resonated broadly due to the high rates of unemployment and poverty that are characteristic of the country's recent economic and social crisis. The article then proposes several factors that contribute to the predominance of class and the disjuncture between gender-based and class-based perspectives on violence. The analysis concludes with some reflections on the potential consequences of under-gendered discourses.