Challenging the Argentine conservative gender regime: The multi-scalar politics of biological reproduction after democratization

This thesis explains the causes of a gender regime change in Argentina, with a focus on the politics of reproductive rights developed after democratization. The findings suggest that changes in the area of biological reproduction are a departure from the traditional conservative gender regime. Though important aspects of the old regime are still in place, new policies of birth control have been adopted. This gender policy and regime change is occurring in a multi-scalar manner, highlighting the relevance of international, national and sub-national involvement. To understand changes in reproductive policies this thesis examines the role of the Argentine women's movement and how it has been empowered by international developments related to reproductive health and rights.;This thesis critically engages with gendered welfare regime theory in order to place Argentina in a comparative framework. Building on the current literature of the welfare and gender regimes of North America and Western Europe, it applies the concept of gender regime to capture the crucial relationship between social and biological reproduction, and the implications for women and gender in/equality. The comparative framework can then be used to analyze the current dynamic situations of other Latin American and/or conservative familial gender regimes.;The gender regime is composed of three elements: social reproduction, which includes paid and unpaid work and women's welfare; biological reproduction, including sexuality, fertility and body rights; and women's agency, which is central to understanding the changes associated with the gender regime. It is argued that changes in the Argentinean gender regime are the result of the combined effect of three measures: the 1983 democratization, which allowed for the mobilization of the Argentinean women's movement; the negative impact of welfare state retrenchment on women, brought on by structural adjustment policies; and the international gender equality regime that emerged over the course of the last few decades. Changes in the national gender regime are not only the result of domestic politics and policies, but of international politics as well. This is due to the emergence of the global gender equality regime, which allows extended discourse and new scales of political action.