Gender trouble(s) : women expressing agency in their everyday lives during the Northern Irish Troubles (1969-1998).

Abstract

The violence of the Troubles has caused intense and diverse reactions from women across the political divide. While some women have made a valuable contribution to the reduction of violence in the region by stepping into the public domaine and cutting across community lines, others have reacted to violence by actively resisting it in gendered ways. Some women have also directly participated in the conflict by means of physical violence and protests. This paper examines the wide range of women’s expressions of agency during the conflict. If anything, these differences show the extent to which women’s experiences of and responses to armed violence are inextricably linked to issues of class, ethno-cultural belongings, political persuasions, and sexuality. It appears reasonable, in addition, to suggest that conflict opens up new spaces where women are able to transgress conservative norms and question their own relationship to political activity.