Feminist Research Articles

Praxis of compliance: feminist solidarity for women tech workers in India during Covid-19

ABSTRACT Feminist activism persisted even in the isolating times of the COVID-19 pandemic. But how did the crisis shape feminist solidarity, especially for subjects facing multiple marginalities? In this article, based on in-depth interviews and participant observation, I examine how women tech workers in India – as gendered labour in the Global South – participated in various online groups to overcome their isolation. These women ostensibly acted as compliant neoliberal and heteronormative subjects, but their compliance paved the way for feminist solidarity. I theorize this paradox as the ‘praxis of compliance.’ As a theoretical framework, ‘praxis of compliance’ foregrounds the structural barriers to women workers’ participation in collective feminist activism. It also reveals some alternative strategies of building feminist solidarity within the constraints of the neoliberal economy as well as local and global crises that deepen inequality. I identify three potential areas of praxis of compliance for women tech workers in India: professional, personal and labour activism.

Gendered disinformation in Spanish-language fact-checking: origin, methodology, and perspectives

The recent surge in disinformation targeting gender themes poses a substantial threat to women’s equality in democratic systems. This study investigates the efforts of three fact-checking platforms prominent in Ibero-America (Maldita.es and Newtral in Spain and Chequeado in Argentina) in countering antifeminist fake news. Employing a dual methodology, we conducted a content analysis of pieces published on gender issues over one year and semi-structured interviews with representatives from these platforms. The findings unveil a consistent production of texts addressing contemporary feminist affairs. Disinformers target both the feminist movement and its historical grievances, including gender-based violence. Fact checks emerge as the primary format for combating these hoaxes, with explainers gaining against increasingly complex disinformation narratives. The verification methodology emphasizes consulting official sources and expert testimony. Interviewees acknowledge that there is still much progress to be made in gender-related fact-checking.

Intellectual Property Rights in Polish Feminist Activism: Navigating Identity, Values, and Commodification

Intellectual Property Rights in Polish Feminist Activism: Navigating Identity, Values, and Commodification

The reception of feminist ideas about gender and gender equality in Simone de Beauvoir’s “The second sex” in Vietnam

In recent decades, as the world strives toward a democratic, just, equal, and progressive society for all, significant progress has been made in global gender equality. However, gender-based discrimination regarding fundamental human rights still persists in many places, particularly in poorer countries. These gaps or discriminations stem from gender prejudices that value men over women, and from a lack of profound and comprehensive understanding of women's roles and positions in society, often disregarding the principle of gender equality. Notably, gender equality is one of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, to which Vietnam has committed, aiming to achieve gender equality in key areas of social life. Currently, feminist theories and gender equality concepts are diverse and abundant, encompassing various perspectives. Nevertheless, in practice, women still do not enjoy true equality. In Vietnam, the feminist movement is not a protest against unjust laws or gender-discriminatory institutions, but rather against deeply rooted prejudices and norms that have disadvantaged women for centuries. In the feudal society, the image of women was incredibly diminutive, wholly dependent on men: “Preference for males over females.” These sayings caused women to forget their intrinsic value. Achieving the aforementioned goal requires the realization of freedom for women, progressing toward women's liberation and achieving gender equality. Based on these considerations, this article analyzes the reception of feminist ideas about gender and gender equality in Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" in Vietnam. By examining the historical and social context of Vietnam, the author aims to demonstrate how feminist ideas on gender equality in Beauvoir's work have influenced the perception of women's roles in contemporary Vietnamese society. The reception of these feminist ideas in Vietnam, whether positive or negative, contributes to a clearer understanding of the development of gender equality thought in the history of humanity in general and in Vietnam in particular.

The Contemporary Transformation of Mythical Women: Helen and Penelope in Margaret Atwoods Reconstruction

The feminist movement has driven the reinterpretation of classical texts such as Homers epics, with Margaret Atwoods works exemplifying this trend. Atwood has created poetry and novels rooted in the tradition of feminist rewriting, utilizing mythological female figures like Helen and Penelope to explore their inner worlds and unveil the long-concealed mechanisms of patriarchal power. Employing techniques such as multiple perspectives and nonlinear narratives, she disrupts the constraints of a singular authoritative discourse. By merging the ancient with the modern, Atwood highlights the shared experiences of women while portraying the awakening of female consciousness. She transforms the stereotypical images of the whore and the virtuous wife into complex, autonomous individuals, challenging traditional gender role definitions. Atwoods rewritings are not merely retellings of the original stories but also explorations of the deeper structures of gender power. She weaves a rich cultural network of women, opening new frontiers for literature of their own.

Siti Walidah and her contribution to Islamic women's movement

Siti Walidah and her contribution to Islamic women's movement

Centering the Most Marginalized: Black Women Movement Actors and Misogynoir in the Movement for Black Lives

This research evaluates the extent to which 30 Black women movement actors (e.g., leaders, organizers, and protestors) narrate their intersectional experiences in the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) in the District of Columbia and Maryland. Specifically, through the narratives and experiences of Black women movement actors (BWMAs) within contemporary social movements, this work uses sociological intersectionality as a theoretical conceptualization and analytical method to link misogynoir to movement literature. Misogynoir was a recurring, embedded concept that had a sustaining effect on movement goals. Also, the amount of time in movement acted as an important identifier of a structural analysis for BWMAs intersectional interpretations. Joya Misra, Celeste Vaughan Curinton, and Venus Mary Green proffer six tenets of sociological analysis that help to illuminate the tools BWMAs use to challenge local organizations to decenter male-centric goals and center women, queer, and differently abled needs for liberation, toward a more comprehensive movement. Implications for future research are discussed.

Conservative Muslim and textual interpretation of the hadiths in polygamy propaganda in Indonesia

The pro-polygamy movement in Indonesia demonstrates not only Islamic doctrine and identity but also the rise of conservative Islam which is legitimized by an understanding of particular hadiths. This article aims to describe polygamy propaganda carried out by conservative Muslim groups on social media which is based on a literal textual understanding of religious texts. This qualitative research used gender analysis to investigate male dominance in polygamous propaganda employing hadith to recruit polygamous class participants. Data for the study were gathered from social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) as well as online news about polygamy mentoring programs. The polygamous traditions employed by two mentorship communities in Indonesia such as Dauroh Poligami Indonesia (DPI) and Forum Poligami Indonesia (FPI), were used in this study. Polygamy traditions have been selected and interpreted to support polygamy, viewed as mandatory for men, with conservative narratives that support the propaganda of how to marry four wives. It is regarded as a symbol of individual piety and an Islamic lifestyle, inextricably linked to the materialization of religion, which provides polygamy with social and spiritual bliss. Therefore, polygamy propaganda initiated debate among Muslim feminist movements to advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment in modern Indonesia.

‘The problem is the system’: Luis Rubiales, Jenni Hermoso and the sound of sealed lips

In this contribution, I explore the affordances of videographic criticism for feminist activism by dissecting a specific incident of power imbalance and toxic entitlement: the non-consensual kiss that the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, inflicted upon player Jenni Hermoso during the official ceremony for Spain’s victory in the Women’s Soccer World Cup in August 2023. Through a supercut set to the romantic song ‘As Time Goes By’ from Casablanca, mimicking the fanvid format, the video essay—”A Kiss is Not Just a Kiss” ( https://vimeo.com/908473856 )—juxtaposes footage of Rubiales’ kiss with representations of non-consensual kisses in mainstream films, where the woman reciprocates the kiss after a brief resistance. Slow-motion, zooming-in and repetition of the same narrative disrupt and challenge the normalization of sexual aggression. By selecting films, including animation features, that span seven decades (from 1937 to 2007), I aim to highlight the persistent nature of the issue. The superimposition of Jenni Hermoso’s voice interrupts the kisses, and a glitch with the text ‘System error’ obscures the action, arguing that the incident is part of a broader systemic problem of entrenched naturalization of sexual violence.

Patriarchy, Power and Prostitution in Lahore’s Red Light District: A Feminist Study of Fouzia Saeed’s Taboo

In her 2002 book Taboo: The Hidden Culture of Red Light Area, Fouzia Saeedexplains how patriarchal norms in Pakistani society rigidly categorise women into‘pure’ and ‘polluted’, shaping perceptions of prostitution and human trafficking. This article argues that patriarchy has its roots in materiality, and plays anindispensable role in pushing many women into the dreadful practice of prostitution or trafficking for sexual slavery through the structural andinstitutional flaws threaded within Pakistani culture. Women in Pakistan yet alsohave internalised the deep-rooted patriarchal ideologies and sexism that lead to a holistic understanding of what this patriarchal culture entails. Focusing on HeeraMandi – Lahore’s traditional red light district as depicted in Saeed’s ethnographic book, this textual cum descriptive analysis contributes to unveil the dilemmas of women engaged in prostitution who are constantly under threat frompatriarchyand other institutions. While unfolding men formulated cultural norms throughradical feminist analysis of Taboo, this article concludes that the patriarchal metamorphosing of women into valueless commodities perpetuates the practice of prostitution and trafficking in Heera Mandi. The study also suggests that, toeliminate female inferiority, feminist activism in Pakistan requires measures torestructure patriarchy together with consciousness-raising and political educationof women in all respects.

Perceived Discrimination among Muslim, Muslim Feminist, and Feminist Women in Türkiye

The current study aims to explore the perceived discrimination among three women groups in Türkiye: Muslims, Muslim feminists, and feminists. Four hundred fifteen women aged 18-76 (M = 40.6, SD = 16.5) participated in the study. The sample included 177 Muslim women, 92 Muslim feminists, and 146 feminist women. We found significant differences in perceived individual and group discrimination in three women groups. While at the individual level, all groups differed from each other, at the group level discrimination, self-labeling feminists did not differ, yet Muslim women perceived the lower levels of discrimination. Feminists indicated experiencing discrimination mostly from their close ones and outgroups/others. At the same time, Muslim women specified discrimination mostly from religious people, and Muslim feminist women indicated discrimination mostly from outgroups/others and school/work environments. The findings were discussed in terms of the literature on the subject. Future research is encouraged on the authentic identities of women in Türkiye and their discrimination experiences.

“The Sun Doesn’t Shine Like in ’85”

Abstract The legacy of Yugoslav music re-emerged in Serbia and in the wider post-Yugoslav cultural space during the 2000s, as the historical distance and growing dissatisfaction with capitalism led artists to reach out to the Yugoslav socialist past. This has taken many directions, from the reigniting of fandom of ex-Yugoslav music stars and the creation of tribute bands, to the renewal of interest in songs from World War ii and the composition of new music echoing Yugoslav memories and re-framing Yugoslav popular songs in the broader field of contemporary artistic practices. Most socio-musical formations and cultural scenes that have been fashioned after the break of Yugoslavia either rearticulated and incorporated particular sound legacies strongly associated with Yugoslav socialism or emulated its ‘ethos’ by contrasting the present with ideas and practices of Socialist Yugoslav society. The author will focus on female performers and authors, as well on the smaller socio-musical and artistic contexts related to the feminist movement. By acknowledging, comparing and interpreting the contributions of female and feminist artists / activists in Serbia who use music as a tools for social critique, the article offers an insight into a complex intersection between gender, ideology, and politics of remembrance ‘after Yugoslavia’.

Reality of Women in Indonesian Society: A Feminism Approach

Issues regarding gender in Indonesia are still ongoing, which cannot be denied that the patriarchal system is still very strong. Feminist law is based on feminist sociology, feminist philosophy and feminist history expansion of women's attention later in life. At the end of the 20th century, there were many feminist movements seen as a splinter of the Critical Legal Studies movement, of which there are many in essence provides criticism of the legal logic that has been used, its manipulative nature and legal dependence on politics, economics, the role of law in forming patterns social relations, and the formation of hierarchies by legal provisions is not fundamental. Feminist theories often ignore women's contemporary position, focusing on women historical past or utopian future. Focus on praxis often about creating revolutions, egalitarian reforms, or cultural utopias. Much of sociology is based on what are known as individual relationships with the world as it is and as it is maintained.

Transmitting stories of the longest revolution. Notes from Italy

ABSTRACT Building on a digitally mediated autoethnography within a contemporary Italian feminist movement, the paper analyses the transformations of feminist media practices in Italy since the start of the 20th century. If during the 1960s and 1970s Italian feminism reached its higher visibility as one of the largest in Europe, since the 1980s, it continued to operate in submerged ways through the creation of feminist bookshops, publishing companies, women’s archives and centres while engaging with practices, ideologies and texts that were circulating transnationally. Since the early 1990s Italian feminist groups started engaging with digital technologies, creating new virtual spaces of dialogue, an autonomous internet service provider, an alternative search engine, digital literacy programmes and practical laboratories. Over the past two decades, the online space became the privileged sphere for activists to challenge the hegemonic gender discourse, debate topics otherwise suppressed or misrepresented by traditional media and create a record of struggle. Expanding from a conceptualization of feminist activism as a process of transit, in this paper, I analyse how feminist media practices gradually transformed, shaped by historical and contextual specificities.

ARTISTIC AXIOLOGY OF THE IMAGE OF THE «NEW KAZAKH WOMAN» IN ABAY’S POETRY

The main leitmotif of this study is the artistic existence of the "new kazakh woman” in the creative context of Abai, their features and axiological character, which have their own gender consciousness. In addition, the content and semantic meaning of the category “value” is analyzed in revealing the axiological facets of Kazakh women, embodied by the poet. The author draws attention to the spiritual world of the kazakh woman and the ontological aspect of female consciousness, which first appears in Abai’s discourse, beyond the stereotypes and cultural clichés of women that once existed in kazakh literature. For centuries, beauty, grace, and external portraiture have been glorified as a way of conveying individuality, personal facets of a kazakh woman and mental phenomena in her spiritual world. Also in the national literature, the emancipatory point of view of Abai, who was the first to sing of women's liberation and women's happiness, is considered. In the literary, cultural, historical context, the asocial realities of kazakh women and their “changed” behavioral strategies are considered, which violate the generally accepted standards of traditional society in Abai’s poetry and introduce new views, new values. It also formulates the artistic world of female characters who openly express love passions and intimate desires in Abai’s works, and a poetic position illustrating feminist traits in accordance with the female worldview. The “new kazakh woman” created by Abai boldly challenges the established conventions of patriarchal society, protesting against the stereotypical views imposed on him (everyday, family, life). Realizing the meaning of her life, her “I,” she manifests herself in the image of the desire to act, to live as she wants for herself. The purpose of the study was also to determine the women's problem in Abai's work, which was previously considered in various aspects, the evolution of their social, psychological, aesthetic and artistic image and the novelty of the poet in interpreting the female theme. Therefore, the article consistently differentiates a new image of the Kazakh woman, who in the previous literary discourse has transformed from a spiritually weak, passive personality into a versatile, mature, active personality.

Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842-1906): The Pioneer of Women's Medical Education.

Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842-1906) was an integral figure in the fight for women's rights to medical education and a pioneer in the debunking of prevailing menstruation myths. Her experiences being denied adequate medical education in the United States led her to pursue medical education in Paris, where she learned the importance of laboratory experimentation and was first introduced to the political discourse surrounding women's rights. She founded the Women's Medical Association and created a medical curriculum for women that paralleled the standards of Harvard Medical School. Her research publications proved that women could conduct work with the same rigor as men and advocated for women's integration into workplaces and educational spaces exclusive to men. Mary Putnam Jacobi's contributions to the women's suffrage movement created new opportunities for women to attain high levels of education that otherwise would not exist today and continue to inspire women to push the limits placed on them solely due to their gender.

Time as a Resource for Constructing Long-term Visions among Two Generations of Feminist Activism in Peru and Ecuador

Time as a Resource for Constructing Long-term Visions among Two Generations of Feminist Activism in Peru and Ecuador

Sustained Women Movement through Women Self Help Group in Uttar Pradesh

Sustained Women Movement through Women Self Help Group in Uttar Pradesh

Exploring the development of Female Subjectivity through Eco-Feminism: An Analysis of the film Out of Africa

Eco-feminism has creatively merged feminism and environmental protection, highlighting the close connection between women and nature. While there are internal disagreements, eco-feminism emphasizes women's liberation and environmental protection as intertwined goals. The development of eco-feminism is linked to the awakening of female self-awareness, which provides a foundation for environmental efforts. The film Out of Africa depicts the protagonist's self-discovery in the natural environment, inspiring viewers to reflect on its relationship with nature. Ultimately, achieving ecological balance requires equal cooperation between genders and a new model of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

From Me-Search to We-Search: (Re)Imagining Mentorship and Intergenerational Relationships for Black Women in Leadership

This article examines the process of forming an intergenerational mentoring relationship among three Black women scholars at different levels of academic leadership in higher education. Over the course of a summer, we came together to critically examine how our collective journey as leaders shifted from “me-search” to “we-search.” In the spirit of Ubuntu or “I am because we are,” our we-search centers Black indigenous knowledge that honors a communal destiny and legacy where leadership and mentorship must be done in a collective. Thus, we used Black Feminist Action Research as a critical methodology that disrupts hegemony in inquiry, mentoring, and leadership. In a four-phased approach, we analyzed personal artifacts and narratives, grounded in radical Black feminist honesty. By conducting such qualitative “we-search,” we co-construct sites of healing and sanctuary and provide valuable insights and strategies for Black scholars and leaders.