Craftivism in the time of Covid: resisting toxic masculinity through feminized labor

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the social media discourse of craftivism between March 2020 and December 2020, coinciding the Covid-19 lockdowns across the United States and the US Presidential Election. The timeframe under examination also includes some of the most extensively covered Black Lives Matter protests to date in the United States, thus requiring an intersectional lens and attention to whose crafts are circulated and lauded. These three deeply intertwined events raised tensions on social media platforms to new extremes, resulting in shifting moderation policies, and reflecting the increased significance of online communities to sustaining all relationships and movements. During this time, we argue that a fundamental shift in the discourse of craftivism has occurred, rejecting previous assumptions of ”gentleness” while demanding a public recentering of the domestic and ”femininized” labor. We contextualize this shift through three case studies: global memorial project Covid-19 quilt; political art project Tiny Pricks; and activist mask-making collective Auntie Sewing Squad. At the same time, this revision must be understood alongside collective failures of labor valuation and widespread economic crisis disproportionately impacting women (particularly women of color). In these cases, we see important intersectional resistance, even as white femininity in craft continues to be centered.