Flirting with feminism: The state and the battered women's movement in Massachusetts

In the 1970s, feminists in the United States mobilized around the problem of domestic violence. In their view, gender inequality was both a cause and a consequence of domestic violence. Activists had two goals: to aid battered women and to disrupt the social and cultural systems that supported violence against women. While not contradictory, these goals involve different activities and divide a movement's attention and resources. Additionally, these tasks imply different orientations to the state. Consequently, the battered women's movement has had a complicated relationship to the state in which it struggles to maintain its social change agenda while relying on the state to support the organizations it created to provide safety and support to battered women.; Despite this tension, activists in Massachusetts engaged with the state and played a critical role in the development of domestic violence policy. Using social movement theory, this dissertation explains how activists in Massachusetts were able to influence the state's policy response. Based on in-depth interviews and archival analysis of official documents and news reports, I argue that the battered women's movement engaged in a strategy to build relationships with individuals located within different state offices. These relationships aided them when external events prompted an expansion of the political opportunity structure. The creation of a policy machinery specifically targeting domestic violence provided feminists access to decision-makers and helped feminists promote their preferred policy responses. Finally, I argue that the way in which an issue is culturally constructed affects social movement outcomes. In contrast to the battered women's movement, the anti-rape movement in Massachusetts has been far less influential. This disparity can be attributed in part to different movement characteristics and fewer political opportunities, but anti-rape advocates also experienced different cultural constraints in framing their issues. I conclude by suggesting that the outcomes of any given social movement are contingent and context-dependent. Outcomes will vary depending on the openness of the political environment, the strategies of activists, and the cultural contexts in which the movement operates.