Gender and Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean Region

This section aims to continue previous discussions on gender and politics in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a key region for understanding these issues in the Global South and beyond. We aim to foster debates among different stakeholders in the field, and therefore welcome contributions from scholars, activists, and policymakers to build a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities for promoting and protecting gender and sexuality rights in the region. Considering the ingrained connection between gender and other dimensions of oppression in LAC (especially class and race), we will also prioritise intersectional approaches that critically engage with Black feminist, decolonial and anti-racist epistemologies, and other indigenous, queer and colour perspectives. As a Section exploring the intersectional aspects of politics in Latin America and the Caribbean, we embrace the region's linguistic diversity by welcoming contributions in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Potential topics for papers and panels: 1. New perspectives on LAC gender and politics research Considering the challenges and ethical considerations involved in researching gender and sexuality in the region, we welcome works that contribute to the development of theoretical, methodological, and epistemological innovations that expand knowledge of politics and gender through Global South frameworks, particularly when these challenge conventional Northern epistemologies. This includes research that: • Integrates feminist, queer, Black, and indigenous theories to reconceptualise key political categories (e.g. representation, citizenship), expanding the conceptual and methodological toolkit for gender and politics analysis; • Theorises the limits of liberal democracy through decolonial and intersectional epistemes, also considering the African diaspora’s constitutive role in shaping Latin American identities, institutions, and their interconnection; • Promotes methodological reflections in contexts of political repression and epistemic extractivism, which includes empirical studies employing innovative methodologies (e.g. participatory, collaborative, arts-based research). 2. Promotion and resistance to gender and sexuality rights in LAC Although the LAC has been recognised as a region that supports gender and sexuality rights, it also faces specific dynamics related to resistance, backlash, and backsliding. Based on this, we are particularly interested in research that: • Analyses how gender and sexuality rights were promoted throughout time, in tandem with (and compared to) the expansion of other intersectionally connected rights; • Explores the growing resistance against feminist and LGBTQIA+ agendas, tracing how religious, moral, and nationalist narratives are mobilised within democratic settings; • Investigates how state institutions engage with gender and sexuality agendas in divergent or complementary ways, and how activists navigate these arenas to promote and protect rights. 3. Gendered participation and representation in LAC politics “Gender” has been heavily politicised in the region, either as a concept (e.g., gender ideology), or as shaping how gendered actors engage with politics. This section will explore how gender and sexuality shape political institutions in LAC, and we are particularly interested in research which: • Examines how quotas, parity measures, and Black feminist electoral projects navigate state structures shaped by gendered dynamics and coloniality; • Analyses how anti-gender campaigns are reshaping the region’s political action, either during elections or during term time (e.g. violence against women in politics); • Investigates whether representative institutions and actors are prepared to deal with growing anti-gender mobilisation, and the role men and masculinities have in the promotion and the resistance of anti-gender trends. Building on Lélia Gonzalez’s groundbreaking framework of “Améfrica Ladina”, we centre the African diaspora’s constitutive role in shaping Latin American and Caribbean identities, institutions, and resistances. This lens challenges Eurocentric narratives that marginalise Black and indigenous epistemologies, instead foregrounding how African civilizational legacies, survival strategies, and feminist praxis redefine the region’s political landscapes.