Where are the Leaders?: Emotional Mobilization and Contemporary Feminism.

In this paper, I examine the dynamics of a movement without visible, national-level leaders. By examining who young women and men view as articulating feminism in the 21st century, two themes emerge. First, most activists have difficulty identifying leaders visible beyond their own communities, and second, when asked to identify those who are articulating contemporary feminism many identify music icons who have a presence on a national level. Drawing on these findings, I conclude that what is occurring is a form of "emotional mobilization" that empowers young women and men but does not develop a form a leadership that provides strategic guidance for the movement. This I argue results in an empowered but not collectively mobilized movement that is often not visible on a large-scale or national level and therefore does not have a presence on the larger political scene. I argue that this work has larger theoretical implications for the study of leadership in social movements by examining the absence of what has been qualified as leadership and its outcome on movements. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]