On Saturday 22nd February, the University of Birmingham’s Gender and Feminist Theory Research Group were delighted to co-sponsor and host the PSA Women in Politics Specialist Group ‘s bi-annual conference.
The conference was oriented around feminist scholarship that has sought to illuminate the ways in which states and bodies are intertwined both in general and in an age of austerity in particular. This research has taken a wide range of forms, from interrogation of the significance of the presence of sexed and raced bodies in political institutions, to the disciplining of bodily ‘deviance’, to the ways in which the state itself has been gendered as masculine. Recent work has also questioned the gendered dimensions of austerity politics, the state’s part in the commodification of bodies and body parts and the politics of the alteration and ‘enhancement’ of bodies (Cameron, Dickinson and Smith 2013)
(Picture courtesy of @PSAWomenPol)
The day-long conference had a rich and varied programme that united a wide range of specialisms including British Politics, History, IPE and Law and Society. Academics from around the country (and from much further climes); met together and shared papers, ideas and expertise in a productive and friendly environment. The panels were ‘Gender and the State’, ‘Gender and British Party Politics’ and ‘Gender, Sexuality and Identity’.
(Picture courtesy of @PSAWomenPol)
Many thanks to Fran Amery and Dr Laura Jenkins for their tremendous effort in organising what was a fantastic and enjoyable day!
For more information on the PSA Women in Politics Specialist Group, please visit their website , Twitter @PSAWomenPol or discussion threads #WOMENINPOLITICS