Sarah Bracke

Editorial Crossing Gendered Borders

“‘We are all migrants” holds a kernel of truth (if we go back far enough)’, one of our editorial board members remarked in our discussions in the run up to this special issue. Perhaps this explains why the call for our previous issue on Gendered Fortress Europe, a topic closely intertwined with the issue of migration, hit home with so many. We received highly topical and interesting abstracts from around the world – too many for one journal issue. This edition of the Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies can, therefore, be seen as a continuation of our previous issue on Fortress Europe, yet here we shift the attention to ‘crossing borders’, a topic that struck a chord with the members of the editorial board. Many of us have embodied experiences of crossing (gendered) borders, which lead to lively discussions during our preparations. Two central themes emerged from our chat and e-mail sessions: the instability of categories such as ‘autochtonous’, ‘allochtonous’, ‘migrant’, and ‘native’; and the way in which privileges shape our border crossings. Since these themes run through the entire issue, we thought it worthwhile to share with you some of our reflections and personal stories regarding crossing (gendered) borders, before introducing this issue’s articles.