Marvin McMoore

Have you ever felt the weight of the patriarchal society that we live in, but you werent
able to articulate it in an effective way? It doesnt require a degree in political theory or
quantitative techniques to determine that we live in a world in which your gender largely defines
how you are treated politically, socially, and economically. However, identifying a problem,
finding a political solution, and organizing for a change in public policy, almost always dictates
academic research. In the discipline of political science, scholarly journals provide a forum for
research to be presented and for scholars to interact, mostly through a collection of peerreviewed articles. Public officials are able to pull ideas from these journals and enact them in
public policy. In this essay The Journal of Women, Politics & Policy will be analyzed to show
how it has been figured to progress issues associated with liberal gender politics. This is very
different from its aim when the magazine was first founded.
The journal has been published since 1980 and produced 4 issues every year in print and
online. All articles in the journal undergo editorial screening and are peer-reviewed. According to
the journals mission, The Journal of Women, Politics and Policy explores women and their
roles in the political process, covering voters, activists, and leaders in interest groups and
political parties, as well as office holder in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of
government. It examines the impact of public policies on womens lives in areas such as tax and
budget issues, poverty reduction and income security, education and employment, caregiving,
and reproductive rights (Aim & Scope). Directly from the journals mission one could already
determine that the discourse community being presented is liberal. It is false to say that
conservative women do not seek office, they in fact do. However, if the policy areas that are
outlined tend to be championed by Democrats. If the policy focuses were determined by

conservative women,, it would more likely be a list that included traditional family roles, school
choice, and certainly not reproductive rights.
Analyzing the composition of the editorial board also shows that the journal represents a
progressive discourse community. The editor is Heidi Hartmann, who is also the founder
President of the Institute for Womens Policy Research that has the reputation of being a liberal
think-tank. The journals editorial board consists of 70 academics and public policy
professionals, almost exclusively women. However, it is notable that one of the men on the
editorial board is Robert Reich, form Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton (a
Democrat) and a known voice in the leftist political community.
Although the journal now figures itself as as a bastion for progressive policy, this was not
the case during its inception. In fact, before 2005, the title of the journal was Women and
Politics. To determine how the journal has refigured itself, Ive analyzed two issues from the
journals first year in publication, and the most recent issues. Ive found that originally, the
journal simply focused on strategies to get more women represented in elected office. After
2004, the journal focused on including folks from liberal discourse communities to broadcast
policy ideas.
Titles of articles from the first two issues of the publican in 1980 include:
Institutionalization of Female Participation at the Local Level, Women in the American Political
System, and Sex Differences in Political Activity in Britain. As reflected in the article titles, this
journal was focusing on ways to get women engaged in the political process. The first elected
female senator, Barbara Mikulski, wouldnt be elected to the United States for another 6 years.
The article Institutionalization of Female Participation at the Local Level focused on identifying

strategies to empower womens voices on the local level with the hopes that leadership would be
cultivated and moved up our governments hierarchy.
Since 1980, there has certainly been a shift in women in elected positions (certainly not
enough, but progress nonetheless). However, women have been elected throughout the political
spectrum, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike. This brings us back to the opening
question: Have you ever felt the weight of the patriarchal society that we live in, but you werent
able to articulate it in an effective way? To ask another question, does simply being a women
interested in politics mean that you are also interested in eradicating the traditionalist elementsin
our society that perpetuate gender inequality? The answer to that question is no. There are
currently are plenty of women elected to office who have views that are pro-wealthy, anti-choice
and proponents of conventional gender roles. Furthermore, there are men in elected office that
work tooth and nail to empower women. It is in this light that I believe that The Journal of
Women, Politics, & Policy (as opposed to The Journal of Women & Politics) was renamed and
born.
In stark contrast to the article titles of the 1980 issues, here are article titles fromt the
most recent issues: Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America, Contested
Spaces: Abortion Clinics, Womens Shelters, and Hospitals, and Not-So- Individual Voting:
Patriarchal Control and Familial Hedging in Political Elections Around the World. Unlike the
first issues of the journal, these are articles entrenched with political ideology. It is almost as if
the recent issues (after 2005) is a totally different journal. For example, the article Contested
Spaces: Abortion Clinics, Womens Shelters, and Hospitals is blatantly pro-choice. The article
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America, is based on the book by
Melissa Harris-Perry who is a professor at Tulane University and the host of a MSNBC (one of

the most liberal stations) television. It is clear that this journal now is a space for the progressive
feminist discourse community.
Overall, when analyzing ways in which to progress liberal public policies for womens
rights, it is necessary to not make the assumption that just being a woman qualifies you to do the
job. Women in politics have diverse opinions and beliefs and they act accordingly. The Journal
of Women, Politics & Policy will originally published articles to simply get women involved in
the political process. However, once that began to occur they shifted their focus to published
liberal policies that would empower women.

Works Cited Page

"Aim & Scope." Northeastern University Library. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?
show=aimsScope&journalCode=wwap20#.VRt45fnF-So>.