Women and Police Forces in Argentina and Brazil: Debates on Gender and Professional Performances. Introduction

Abstract

Even though the exact dates could vary depending on geographies and institutions, it is undeniable that the incorporation of women to the regional security forces is a recent and even late process, comparing it to the extensive history of Latin American police agencies. The same could be said regarding the academic approach to these subjects. The following papers pretend to examine this vacancy: which institutional spaces (and how) could be inhabited by the real bodies of women inside the security forces? Which modes of insertion and performances are activated for them? Which semantic fields and which actual behaviours are available and/or in dispute for their professional development?