Posters, Handkerchiefs and Murals: Visual Gender Separation During the Troubles

The Troubles in Northern Ireland provide a complex and intriguing topic for many scholars in various academic disciplines. Their violence, publicity and tragedy are common themes that elicit a plethora of emotional responses throughout the world. However, the very intimate nature of this conflict creates a much more complex system of friends, foes and experiences for those involved. While the very heart of the Irish nationalist movement is founded on liberal and progressive concepts such as socialism and equality, the media associated with it sometimes promote tradition and conservatism, especially regarding gender. This critical study examines a sociopolitical struggle through very specific sources not only as evidence of broader implications for gender in Irish society, but also as individual pieces of visual media that can be analyzed on a case by case basis to demonstrate that, despite the supposed progressive nature of the Irish nationalist movement of the 20th and early 21st centuries, traditional conservative gender ideology pervades the media involved, which are artefacts of the Irish Republican movement during the Troubles.