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FEMINIST BOUNDARIES IN THE FEMINIST-FRIENDLY ORGANIZATION

The Women's Caucus of ACT UP/LA

University of California, Los Angeles

In this article, I argue that members of the Women's Caucus (WC) of ACT UP/LA (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) formed a boundary between themselves and male members to increase the WC's power within the feminist-friendly organization. The WC's boundary-making strategies—formalizing women's space and reinscribing gender difference—combatted "slippage" of ACT UP/LA's focus away from women's issues precipated by men's greater numbers in the group. ACT UP/LA's feminist-friendly politics, legitimated WC efforts, and caused male members to defer to the WC; the WC became "official women," gaining control over their agenda, over their participation within ACT UP/LA, and over male contributions to the WC itself. Boundary making had an unintended effect, compartmentalization, whereby women's issues became the sole responsibility of the WC. I conclude that the WC's boundary making in ACT UP/LA's feminist-friendly milieu was at once successful and problematic, and that the efforts of feminists in such organizations deserve greater scrutiny.

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