Gender, political citizenship and intersectional feminism in Australia : #MeToo and the March 4 Justice

This chapter explores the changing dynamics of gender and political citizenship in Australia through the lens of the 2021 March 4 Justice, which saw over 110,000 women and supporters attend rallies across the country to demand justice for survivors of sexual assault and an end to gendered violence. Partially inspired by #MeToo, the movement targeted the failure of the Australian Federal Parliament to adequately respond to high-profile allegations of sexual assault, abuse and misconduct within parliament. The March 4 Justice reflects important continuities with the historical trajectory of the women’s movement in Australia which has tended to focus on female participation and representation in the state and formal political institutions. At the same time, it reveals the emerging influence of intersectional and transnational feminisms in the contemporary Australian women’s movement. First, the chapter shows how the March 4 Justice explicitly sought to recognise how multiple identities and multiple intersecting oppressions shape experiences of gendered violence and consciously aimed to move beyond the historical dominance of white women by incorporating concerns related to race, class, religion, dis/ability, gender and sexuality. Second, the chapter highlights how transnational developments and movements such as #MeToo can reinvigorate and rejuvenate local struggles and activism.

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG