ABSTRACT
Feminist linguists generally assume that language is not a neutral and transparent means of representing social realities, but rather one that is inextricably implicated in the socio-political systems and institutions in which it functions. The assumptions informing early research in feminist linguistics took 'difference' between men's and women's linguistic behaviour as axiomatic and as the starting point for empirical investigations. It is hardly possible to define a single feminism in a region of over twenty countries with diverse histories and identities. For this reason, women in Latin America prefer the plural term 'feminisms'. Latin American feminisms emerge from this historico-political backdrop and consequently, despite some early commonalities with western feminism, fundamentally unique features have developed in the region. Feminist practice in Latin America is historically linked to grassroots organising and service provision in poorer neighbourhoods. Latin American feminists' praxis offers insights for understanding and contextualizing multiple and intersecting oppressions and proposes useful strategies for feminists around the world.
