Escaping the mythical beast: Gender mainstreaming reconceptualised

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, disappointment has grown about the realization of the transformative potential that was ascribed to gender mainstreaming at its launch at the Beijing conference in 1995. The critiques on gender mainstreaming tend to represent gender mainstreaming as a 'mythical beast', and as such take for granted the social change it is intended to produce. This special issue seeks to look both beyond and inside the mythical beast. By approaching policy making as a social practice embedded in discursive politics, we seek to advance the theoretical underpinnings of gender mainstreaming and argue for a rethinking of agency and transformation.