Democracy in the Country and in the Streets

1. In "Women, Gender, and the State," Pettman criticizes the state's "construction of women as mothers," positing that it "helps constitute women's unpaid work." In Kaplan's "Democracy in the Country and in the Street," however, presents the Mujeres Por la Vida's use of universals such as motherhood as a factor in their success. Is something such as motherhood a legitimate generalization of women, or does it conflict with inherent feminist goals?
2. Do you feel that this case demonstrates that perhaps generalizing may create for more productive situations?