Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2013, 14 (1): 52-63

The Landscape of Contemporary Czech Feminism

Blanka Nyklová

Over the course of the past twenty years, a diverse feminist and gender scene has formed in the Czech Republic. It contains academic institutions (Gender & Sociology at the Czech Academy of Science, FSS MU in Brno, FHS UK in Prague), a plethora of NGOs (Gender Studies, o.p.s., Fórum 50%, o.s., proFem, o.p.s., etc.) as well as solitary thinkers and associations (anarchofeminism, DIY culture, zines). The scene engages with feminist theories often coming from a different historical and social context. While this engagement has been partly mapped out (e.g. Kapusta-Pofahl 2002, Kodíčková 2002, Chaloupková 2006, Oates-Indruchová 2011) many topics remain unaddressed. This paper offers a comparison of claims made in literature on the scene with insights from twenty-seven semi-structured interviews with representatives of the Czech feminist scene concerning mainly the theories used and preferred by the research participants interviewed. The goal of the research is to map out topics concerning theories the scene uses. Five of these, the ones most resonant with the literature reviewed, are presented in the paper - self-identification with feminism, typology of feminisms, heterogeneity and a missing debate, sociological mainstream, and provincialism.

Published: March 1, 2013  Show citation