European Women's Movements and Body Politics

Taking a long-term historical view, this book examines how women's and feminist movements have contested the dominant discourses and state politics that have impeded women's autonomy over their bodies since the late 1960s. Citizenship is usually understood as guaranteeing political, social and econo [...]
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Taking a long-term historical view, this book examines how women's and feminist movements have contested the dominant discourses and state politics that have impeded women's autonomy over their bodies since the late 1960s. Citizenship is usually understood as guaranteeing political, social and economic rights, but women's movements have sought to extend it to include women's rights to bodily integrity. This book examines two important facets of this struggle, namely prostitution and the right to abortion, as they relate to four countries- the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden- with special attention paid to how migration and Europeanization has affected political debates and policies. The authors show how policy legacies from the past partly determine outcomes, but also how women's groups have been key to policy change. They also make the case for expanding how we define citizenship to include bodily integrity, reinforcing women's right to autonomy in this new era of biotechnological revolution.