The present essay asks how the principle of collective self-determination translates into imagined borders and identities. To this end, we examine, first, gender as an analytical category for border studies; second, the literature on gender and the history of separatism; third, two possible solutions, one historical and contemporary case studies, drawn from the USAmerican Civil War as well as Catalan separatism. We argue that self-defined minorities who present liberal projects pose a gendered challenge for liberal societies, and, often, threaten to turn the liberal script intentionally upon itself. That said, the historical record shows that this mechanism entails neither a destruction of the nation nor the script. Instead, gendered challenges have the potential to become an asset of strength, depending on how actors define, deal with and solve the plot.