A Case Study Of Local Feminist Mobilization in Eastern Germany, 1990-2000

Abstract

This paper examines the development of the Beginenhof, a women's center in the eastern German city, Rostock, in the years since German reunification in 1990. The recent history of the center, and of the city's women's movement, point to the ways in which feminists engage with the stateand how different branches of the state offer diverse, and often contradictory, opportunities and constraints for feminists working towards improved social services for womenand for more secure rights over their bodies. Furthermore, the experiences of the women involved in the center problematize how women define themselves as citizens and how citizens respond to dramatic and unforeseeable changes in the state and the economy.