Feminist approaches to constituent power

Gendered stereotypes permeate the metaphors of constituent power. From constitutional moments giving “birth” to the nation or state (Karwa 2023, 407-408), to Carl Schmitt’s assertion that ‘the people’ is its “own midwife” (Arato 2016, 278). These metaphors are tied to gendered personifications of states, they minimise the role of women in constitutional change, conjuring passive roles (Epstein 2021, 259), while evoking a masculine heroic protective role for male citizenry (O’Donoghue 2018). These metaphorical constructions tell us about the perceived roles for men and women as constitutional actors. In this chapter, we consider how feminist approaches to constituent power disrupt these ideas.