Political Scientist Cynthia Enloe is, arguably, the reason we’re all here. She was one of the first to explore gender in international relations, and the first to ask, “Where are the women?”

But what she meant when she asked that question? It’s been lost in a sea of nuances around feminism and feminist foreign policy. Leading to misunderstandings like so many we’ve seen this season on Things That Go Boom. 

Misunderstandings like the sense among some that feminism is just about turning things around and subjugating men. Or that a man could never be a feminist, let alone carry out a feminist foreign policy.

On this episode of Things That Go Boom, where are the women, really?

And where do we go from here?

GUESTS: Cynthia Enloe, Clark University

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 

Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, Cynthia Enloe

Twelve Feminist Lessons of War, Cynthia Enloe

The Invisible Frontline: How the Fight for Women’s Rights Changes in Times of War, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe