They've got an absolute army of women behind them: the formation of a women's cooperative constellation in contemporary Scotland.

Pedersen, Sarah

Abstract

This study argues that a new women's cooperative constellation has been established in Scotland around the issue of the Scottish Government's proposed reforms of the Gender Recognition Act. This constellation includes women politicians, researchers, journalists, writers, and activists from all sides of mainstream political opinion in Scotland. The constellation works together to support its politician members, share information and form a supportive community. The constellation acts together to show support for those in the public eye, such as politicians or members being publicly attacked, to make them aware they have 'an army of women behind them'. The role social media plays has been an important one for the formation and continuance of the constellation, particularly during the pandemic. It has been game-changing in allowing women to identify each other, communicate, arrange to work together and show public support for others. It has also been important in raising awareness of the issues, both with politicians and the general public because, unlike previously identified constellations, this network has needed to generate broad public awareness and support because they have not been working as Government insiders. However, all interviewees were aware that it was not enough to engage in online activism and that they needed to be 'in the room' with politicians in order to make any impact.

Citation

PEDERSEN, S. 2022. They've got an absolute army of women behind them: the formation of a women's cooperative constellation in contemporary Scotland. Scottish affairs [online], 31(1), pages 1-20. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2022.0394

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 23, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Feb 28, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 28, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 30, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 30, 2021
• Journal: Scottish affairs
• Print ISSN: 0966-0356
• Electronic ISSN: 2053-888X
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-20
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2022.0394
• Keywords: Women's cooperative constellations; Velvet triangles; Gender Recognition Act 2004; Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill; Social media; Feminist strategic partnerships; Women and gender identity
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1375349
• Publisher URL: https://www.euppublishing.com/loi/scot