Abstract

While Carole Pateman (1988) states that for feminists democracy has never existed, Julieta Kirkwood (1986) argues that there is no democracy without feminism. Both refer to the debt of the democratic ideal with the emancipation of women and even to the structural role of the exclusion of women in liberal democracy. Based on the encounters and disagreements between democracy and feminism, this article aims to offer a definition of feminist democracy that goes beyond inclusion through affirmative action. That's why we have to address the tensions this creates in the feminist debate of recent decades and the new challenges around policies on redistribution and recognition. Is it possible to overcome oppression and domination through policies focused on group interest? How is this interest defined without essentialising the difference? Answering these questions is key to proposing an effective concept of feminist democracy.