Civil Resistance and Gender Norms in Ukraine

Abstract This article argues that men’s and women’s participation in civil resistance is affected by and affects dominant gender norms in several ways. On the one hand, traditional gender norms impose constraints on patterns of civil resistance by influencing a division of labor within the social movement and shaping the movement’s tactics regarding the enforcement of nonviolent discipline. On the other hand, civil resistance creates opportunities for the contestation of traditional gender roles during and after an episode of contention. Data for this study come from the oral history project “Voices of Resistance and Hope: Kyiv-Lviv-Kharkiv” conducted by the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe and an oral history project implemented by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance. The article contributes to the literature by examining the interplay between nonviolent resistance and gender norms and tracing the impact of civil resistance on the subsequent armed struggle against foreign aggression.