Other identities in ethnofederations : womens and sexual minorities advocacy in Belgium

Abstract: This article considers the experience of the impact of ethnofederations on social identities that cut across such an ethnic divide. Based on a series of in-depth interviews focusing on the structure and operation of womens and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender movement organizations in Belgium, we demonstrate that these groups experience constraints of the dominant ethno-linguistic identity. These results in a federalism disadvantage for identities cross-cutting the ethnic divide, the result of which is a neglect of policy competencies situated at the federal level.