Women's Movements and Democratic Transition in Chile, Brazil, East Germany, and Poland

This article focuses particularly on this last point. Womens movements represent many different identities interests and issues. Despite important differences however many womens movements experience a particular moment at which women unite on the basis of their gender identity. At this moment he peak of mobilization in womens movements a diverse array of womens organizations comes together to form a coalition that transcends cleavages along class race or partisan lines. These peak moments typically occur at a rally a demonstration or a conference. They differ from other points in the evolution of a movement in terms of their size breadth and significance. They frequently constitute the largest convocation of organizations in the history of a movement. They represent the acme of unity and the ideal expression of the goals of the movement while at the same time encompassing a wide array of interests and issues. They typically inaugurate a movement in the public eye and introduce womens demands into the public arena. (excerpt)