Parity and Democracy : A theoretical approach to the compatibility of gender parity with democracy

Abstract

The dissertation elaborates a theoretical approximation to the subject of gender parity and democracy. The study contends that parity serves as an institutional mechanism that helps create a political space for the contestation of gender power relations (génos relations). After examining in detail the definitional borders of democracy and explicating the formation of democratic identity, grounded on Foucault’s notions of power, I analyze génos relations, as social constructions that mold the desires and beliefs of men and women. Accordingly, I explain how democracy needs to provide spaces of deliberation so as to guarantee the possibility for the political discussion of the predominant practices that distinguish male/female interaction. In the conclusion, I make a plea for the essentiality of difference when undertaking the task of analyzing the topics of democracy and gender, supporting the theoretical and practical approaches that propose to create a more democratic world by learning from heterogeneity.