Generational Conflict and the Politics of Inclusion in Two Feminist Events

This chapter analyses and conceptualises intersections of gender, age, and generation in the controversies over the politics of inclusion of two related feminist events in the Nordic region that took place in 2014: Nordiskt Forum Malmö (or NF) and Feministiskt Festival (or FF). The last event was organised as a parallel or counter festival to the first. The organisers of the events were Nordic national (NF) and local (FF) umbrella organisations. Hypothetically, the controversies over the politics of inclusion of these events can be explained as a generational conflict between, on the one hand, ‘mainstream’ feminist activists of an older age and generation (NF) and, on the other hand, radical feminist activists from a younger age and generation (FF). But, was this really a generational conflict – what does generation mean? What did age have to do with the controversies? How did intersections of gender, age, and generation matter in the controversies over the respective politics of inclusion? In the analysis we ask how the intersections of gender, age, and generation constructed feminist communication and the politics of inclusion during these events. We end by reflecting on what we can learn about the politics of inclusion by doing an intersectional analysis, which overcomes simplistic understandings of the category of gender, as well as those of age and notably generation.