Feminist Approaches to Peace: Another Step for Peace Studies
Burguieres, Mary K. (March 1990) Millennium 19, no. 1
Burguieres’ article is a seminal work in establishing the cultural underpinnings of the relationship between women and the “feminine” in peace studies. Burguieres tackles the issue of women’s centrality in peace studies not as active and conscious participants, but rather as naturally inclined towards peace because of their motherly instinct. Ultimately, as Burguieres argues, while this stereotype might come across as not necessarily negative, it is not only inaccurate(as women have been promoters of war in the past), but also harmful to the agency of women in peacebuilding. However, deconstructing this assumption requires for the role of the masculine in peace studies to be reconsidered as well. The publication of this article was therefore instrumental in initiating the debate over a gendered approach to peace.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298900190010201