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Gender & Society
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Mobilizing Mothers for War

Cross-National Framing Strategies in Nicaragua’s Contra War

Lorraine Bayard de Volo

University of Kansas

Studies document that in wartime, states often employ maternal imagery and mobilize women as mothers.Yet we know relatively little about when and why states and their opposition do so. This study seeks to build theory for this phenomenon through frame analysis of the Nicaraguan Contra War. The author proposes that maternal framing, aimed at mothers as well as a broader national and international audience, benefits militaries in at least three ways: (1) channeling maternal grievances, (2) disseminating propaganda through "apolitical" mothers, and (3) evoking emotions and sympathy nationally and internationally. This study furthermore explores three underexamined features of both gendered studies of war and frame analysis: (1) It applies frame theory to states, (2) it develops our understanding of crossnational gendered framing strategies, and (3) it introduces gender framing to the study of war.

Key Words: mothers • women • war • framing • Nicaragua

Gender & Society, Vol. 18, No. 6, 715-734 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0891243204268328
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