ABSTRACT
In Latin America contemporary feminism emerged during the dark years of military dictatorship and authoritarian “democracies” in the 1970s, when all progressive movements faced severe repression. Feminism drew attention to power relations in daily life and to the dark “private” area the patriarchal academy had systematically made “natural,” “biological,” and thus ignored. The mechanisms for the cultural formation of opposed genders were taken apart piece by piece, and feminism’s greatest theoretical effort was aimed at historical analysis of developments in the private sphere. Feminism must also directly attack the central mechanisms that influence and colonize women. Political feminism attempts to integrate into formal political life the problems that arise from the private sphere, to incorporate gender demands into the programs and doctrines of political parties. It is necessary to influence political discourse, mentalities, and political psychology; take on the parties and other political groups in all their complexity.
