Feminist solidarity and hopeful imaginings in the MeToo movement in Iceland

Abstract

In this article, we build on feminist scholarship to narrate how the MeToo movement in Iceland was formed through collective reflexivity and resistance, ultimately connecting different groups of women in affective solidarity. In our exploration of how the movement unfolded, we draw on anonymous MeToo testimonies and media discussions. We argue that the feminist lexicon, particularly the notion of ‘returning the shame’, was instrumental in hailing different groups to the movement. We trace how the concepts used restructured the women’s affective relations to their experiences and thus enabled the ‘feminist snap’ that reverberated across and connected different groups. Speaking positions on different social locations revealed the intersectional nature of sexual violations and were necessary for seeing connections between and among different groups and going beyond politics centred on middle-class pain. We conclude that painting a bigger feminist picture of sexual violence is always an incomplete and ongoing process but is necessary for allowing us to hope for a better future for everyone.