Power and gender: lacks and dilemmas

Abstract

For feminism, the issue of power has been a central piece. However, until now, the main meaning given to the term has to do with the control and dominance exercised by men (individu-ally, institutionally, organized or discursively) over women (as indi-viduals and as a collective). This situation has led to the difficulty of analyzing some phenomena; for example, what is the meaning and the results of women occupying positions of power? (at the level of heads of state, parliaments, etc.); how to assess that women’s movements have influence in decision-making? (approval of laws, creation of public policies); how to understand the men who indi-vidually or collectively question their position of privilege and de-fine themselves as anti-patriarchal? This text argues that feminism is already an expression of power that disputes decision-making spaces in various fields, and that the strengthening of its political influence requires the formation of a cohesive group that is capable of setting an agenda and building the necessary alliances to dispute the hegemony of discourse and political organization.