Feminist Community Research Articles

All I Need Is One Mic”: A Black Feminist Community Meditation on theWork, the Job, and the Hustle (& Why So Many of Yall Confuse This Stuff)

All I Need Is One Mic”: A Black Feminist Community Meditation on theWork, the Job, and the Hustle (& Why So Many of Yall Confuse This Stuff)

Gendering Value Change: Domestic Violence and Feminism in 1970s West Berlin*

Abstract Feminist domestic violence activists in 1970s West Berlin sought to create a community of women helping women. This was key to feminist work in challenging patriarchal citizenship norms and male violence against women. Tracing the evolution of feminist domestic violence activism in West Berlin, this article argues that feminist ideals and critiques were deradicalized as they were taken up in political and public discourse. Rather than being a political project of creating feminist community or challenging gendered concepts of citizenship, domestic violence activism was entrenched as a women’s issue that women were responsible for addressing. Indeed, examining official public and media support for domestic violence projects exposes how the state leant on women as the drivers of gender equality, in ways that were often unpaid and unacknowledged. Far from contesting patriarchy, popular support for domestic violence initiatives went hand-in-hand with a reinscription of a deeply rooted sexual-moral order that entwined liberal development in Germany with paternal and patriarchal authority since the nineteenth century. In making this argument, this article demonstrates that value change was both limited and functioned within normative boundaries. What change did occur was contingent on the labour of women and feminists, whose activism challenged the power structures and norms that left women vulnerable to abuse. Moreover, in the context of the global economic downturn of the 1970s, grassroots feminist activism held even more importance as it offered West Germany a cheap solution to a systemic issue that could no longer be ignored.

Better than Orgasm: Sex, Authenticity and Intimacy in the New Women's Movement in Norway

ABSTRACTAuthenticity and intimacy have become key expectations in contemporary romantic relationships. At the same time, it is taken for granted that sex forms a part of such relationships. This article explores how the relationship between sex, authenticity and intimacy was written about and negotiated in the Norwegian community of lesbian radical feminists in the 1970s and 1980s. The construction of male sexuality as fundamentally and inherently different from female sexuality in the periodicals of the lesbian movement made thinking and writing about women's sexual desire and genital sex difficult. This article further argues that the concept of genital sex potentially conflicted with the notions of authenticity and intimacy pursued by the lesbian radical feminist community. While authenticity and intimacy were constructed as preferable companions to sex in the New Left and in large parts of the women's movement, the Norwegian lesbian radical feminists often constructed authenticity and intimacy in opposition to genital sex.

Gendered labour and work, even in pandemic times.

Gendered labour and work, even in pandemic times.

Remodelling Barbie, making justice: An autoethnography of craftivist encounters

I provide an autoethnographic account of “craft activist” workshops wherein I facilitate participants to remodel dolls to reflect their feminist or other social justice concerns, and describe one specific workshop with a powerful, personal impact in relation to childhood sexual exploitation. In drawing a connection between the vulnerabilities of one workshop participant and my own, I reflect upon our responsibilities as ethical feminist researchers. The larger function of the workshops is thereby argued as a co-created feminist space whereby we attend to the needs and desires of our intersectional feminist community. I draw upon material from diverse fields, such as art therapy, ethnography, and cultural studies, to flesh out a consideration of how to transform difficult emotions and experiences into useful “equipment for living”, and to contribute to a scholarly conversation about the intersections of autoethnography, craftivism and feminism. The central questions answered by the work are, firstly, how representations of stigmatised identities or experiences have impacted upon me as workshop facilitator, and, secondly, how we can continue to come to voice with, and support, each other in our making of a more just world.

The ontological woman: A history of deauthentication, dehumanization, and violence

Trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) make use of an ethical, moralistic framework to support specific rhetoric and behavior. Taken together, these form a self-referential ideology that functions to protect an essentialist ontology, which reliably harms cisgender, transgender, and feminist communities. Through an examination of the historical record of US radical feminist and TERF discourses, including first-hand accounts, this article considers how the ontological framework that inspires TERF rhetoric and behavior has functioned as a cycle of moral fulfillment, even as it necessitates the eradication of trans bodies. The article analyzes how TERF morality, rhetoric, and action construct social forms through a sexed binary by relying on an appeal to the natural, which serves to objectify ontological embodiment. It also foregrounds the different historical and contemporary positionalities of trans-exclusionary and trans-inclusive radical feminisms, and concludes with a reminder of the complementary attributes of trans feminism and radical feminism that are evidenced by decades of cooperation.

“They Should Have Never Given Us Uniforms If They Didn’t Want Us to Be an Army”:The Handmaid’s Taleas Transmedia Feminism

Even prior to its premier in April 2017, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale inspired a series of cosplay protests against antiabortion legislation at the Texas State Capitol. The red robes and white bonnets have since been popularized by the critically acclaimed series, and handmaid-style cosplay protests have continued transnationally, with the handmaid heralded as what the BBC calls “an international protest symbol” against heteropatriarchal oppression. Due to a surge of visible feminisms in popular media, it has become good business to create such female-centric, avowedly feminist texts. As the television industry has evolved from a broadcast network to a subscription market, content options have emerged that have both cultivated and responded to a feminist niche audience. Industry interests and feminist interests have seemingly aligned, with the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale representing a pertinent example of the popular and the political intersecting. The Handmaid’s Tale has been positioned by both industry and audience as a transmedia text that bridges fiction and reality to become part and parcel of contemporary feminist movements. This article will thus make an argument for how the shifting television landscape might enable new forms of public feminisms. Through a case study of The Handmaid’s Tale, I will examine how transnational feminist communities might mobilize around such texts and how fiction and fan activities might be used to embolden feminist political action.

My Sister, My Enemy: Using Intersectional Readings of Hagar, Sarah, Leah, and Rachel to Heal Distorted Relationships in Contemporary Reproductive Justice Activism

Using a feminist hermeneutic, Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson attempts to set out in this article how a third- or fourth-wave intersectional reading of the stories of Hagar and Sarah and Leah, Rachel, and their maids can become a source of both truth and healing within feminist activist communities today, particularly those working for reproductive justice. Reinhardt-Simpson identifies several issues within the stories such as societal acceptance of women who seek power only within patriarchal constructs or to benefit the aims of patriarchy, as well as issues that divide women both then and today such as class, race, and status and the way that women relate to each other within a patriarchal structure. Reinhardt-Simpson concludes that a liberatory reading of these stories can point us toward reconciliation with our sisters.

Redefining the Work of Feminist Praxis: Making Space for a (Rebellious) Undergraduate Feminist Research Group

ABSTRACT This article traces the practices and outcomes of an undergraduate research group that began organically to foster research and activist collaborations in a small group setting and without the rubric of a structured course, formal lab setting, or formal institutional backing. We consider several outcomes of this group: (1) Graduate school entry and preparation for graduate school; (2) The importance of feminist friendships and feminist community among students; (3) The fusion between scholar/activist identities, with clear emphasis on de-centering whiteness, challenging patriarchy, and undermining homophobia and transphobia; and (4) The investment in mentoring and nurturing relationships with students across race, class, gender, and sexual identity lines. In particular, we argue that students of color, gender queer/trans/LGBT students, and students from working class backgrounds are especially served by such models of mentoring and community, particularly as feminist mentoring can contribute to the work of social justice for underprivileged students.

Voice, technology and feminist community: An interview with NYX

The role of vocality in the field of techno-feminism in performance is undertheorized. The latest takes in posthumanism and eco-feminism wish for a more inclusive, less capitalo-utilitarian use of new technologies. Through the motto ‘make kin, not babies’, the new frontiers of techno-feminism address the anthropo-heterocentric concept of family, hoping for different agglomeration of creatures. Following these stances of feminist and queer critique, it is possible to assume that the work of NYX – an electronic drone choir – addresses vocal composition from an inclusive and posthuman point of view. Through the interview conducted by Francesco Bentivegna with Sian O’Gorman, this voicing explores how the NYX experience might fit in the latest feminist waves, being a shout for a more inclusive, less patriarchal and non-exploited use of technologies.

"All I Need Is One Mic": A Black Feminist Community Meditation on the Work, the Job, and the Hustle (& Why So Many of Yall Confuse This Stuff)

"All I Need Is One Mic": A Black Feminist Community Meditation on the Work, the Job, and the Hustle (& Why So Many of Yall Confuse This Stuff)

Le mouvement des femmes de Léningrad (1979­1982) : un phénomène qui dépasse les frontières

The Léningrad women ’ s movement was founded in 1979 by four womenre-presentatives of the so­called “ second ” culture of Léningrad with the samizdat publication of the almanac “ Woman and Russia ”. The KGB persecutions followed immediately , and Léningrad feminists had to change the form of their publication . The samizdat revue “ Maria ” was published in 1980 , but it distinguished itself from the almanac by a strong spiritual and religious tendency . However , the feminists ’ publications remained rather marginal in the milieu of the non­official Léningrad culture . In 1979 , the almanac was transferred to France via the French consulate in Léningrad , and it immediately found itself within the context of the western feminism of the second wave . Translated and published in Paris by the publishing house Éditions des Femmes , the Léningrad women ’ s samizdat did not succeed in meeting symbolic criteria of a feminist publication and was rejected by the French feminist community . The present article aims at analyzing the crossing of the geographical borders as well as the exceeding of symbolic limits by the phenomenon of the Léningrad women ’ s movement (1979­1982).

“My zines, so far, aren't as political as other works I've produced”: Communicative Capitalism Among Queer Feminist Zinesters

AbstractSelf-published zines have been celebrated by some feminist communication scholars for offering an emancipatory outlet for women and queer people. But under the logics of late capitalism, zines cannot reach truly transgressive potentials. This study situates zinester politics within a framework of communicative capitalism: the current era of command individuality and “woke” representational politics. I also historicize zines’ proliferation through punk, do-it-yourself (DIY), and White, feminist communities. Using critical discourse analysis as my analytical approach, I illustrate the interpellation of capitalist ideology in online questionnaires completed by 11 queer, White, feminist zinesters from Chicago. By harnessing a DIY production model, respondents said they resisted mass-mediated expectations of normative sexuality and gender identity, but zinesters also reflect and reify the systems they attempt to transcend.

Lemons or Lemonade? Beyoncé, Killjoy Style, and Neoliberalism

This article focuses on the controversy surrounding bell hooks and Lemonade to contend with the neoliberal constraints of digital, feminist, public intellectual argumentation. I argue that hooks’s critique reveals her killjoy rhetorical style. Drawn from Sara Ahmed’s theorization of the feminist killjoy, hooks’s killjoy style provides a rhetorical interruption that reshapes the affective orientations of feminist communities. Its snappy affect opens up the potentiality for critical feminist theory amid the challenges of neoliberalism.

Why femme stories matter: Constructing femme theory through historical femme life writing

We argue that historical femme life writing forms a rich resource for femme theory that contributes to, challenges, and extends contemporary academic femme literature. We focus on the experiences of femmes during the second-wave feminist movement, specifically within the context of 1970s and 1980s U.S. lesbian feminism. The texts we examine include My Dangerous Desires by Amber Hollibaugh (2000), A Restricted Country by Joan Nestle (1987), Minnie Bruce Pratt’s (1995) S/he, and selections from The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader, edited by Nestle (1992). Informed by Clare Hemmings’ (2011) and Victoria Hesford’s (2013) critiques that past feminisms are often retold using reductive narratives, we (re)read this femme life writing to foreground the ways in which femmes have historically troubled and resisted monolithic accounts of lesbian feminism, lesbian identities, femininity, and sexuality. By centering queer feminine voices from this period to highlight major themes of this life writing, and drawing on Andi Schwartz’s (2018) positioning of femme cultural production as a basis for theory, we argue that earlier iterations of queer femininities are relevant to and important for contemporary femme theory. Ultimately, we analyze what historical femme life writing reveals about the place of femininity within the lesbian and feminist communities of their time, how these dynamics inform current perceptions of queer and femme politics, and how femmes resist their cultural and critical marginalization.

The Guilty Feminist Army

Abstract IN THIS PAPER, I DISCUSS THE AFFECTIVE POTENTIAL OF LAUGHTER IN THE HUGELY POPULAR COMEDY PODCAST SERIES; THE GUILTY FEMINIST. SPECIFICALLY, I EXPLORE HOW THE SOUNDS OF LAUGHTER – AS DISSEMINATED BY THE PODCAST – CAN LEAD TO EXPLOSIONS OF EMOTION IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE; SETTING THE BODY IN MOTION AND LEADING TO NEW WAYS OF THINKING, FEELING AND BEING. WHILE THESE PUBLIC EXPLOSIONS OF EMOTION CAN BE TRANSGRESSIVE, I POSTULATE THAT THEY CAN ALSO RELIEVE SOME OF THE TENSION CREATED BY THE NEGATIVE AFFECTS SWIRLING AROUND FEMINISM, WHICH, ACCORDING TO AHMED, “IS ALWAYS ASSUMED TO BE BRINGING OTHERS DOWN” (AHMED, 2010:65). USING GUATTARI’S IDEAS ON THE PRODUCTION OF SUBJECTIVATION, I ARGUE THAT THESE EXPLOSIONS CAN INTENSIFY THE EMERGENCE OF A GLOBAL, INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST COMMUNITY, PROVOKING A CONSIDERATION OF HOW PODCASTS SUCH AS THE GUILTY FEMINIST COULD EXTEND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE ACTIVISM WITHIN CONTEMPORARY FEMINISMS.

28 times feminist joke lists were real AF: feminist humour and the politics of joke lists

ABSTRACT Despite the pervasive visibility of joke lists in online popular culture, the latter remains a surprisingly neglected site of scholarly inquiry. Feminist joke lists represent the concerted efforts of online content producers to curate a wide range of feminist humour—content that is expressly feminist in political orientation and/or sympathetic to highlighting feminist issues and sensibilities. These lists offer a compelling point of departure for interrogating the uses, limitations, and possibilities of joke lists for feminist communities of practice and how this cultural form enacts or inscribes feminist politics online. In this essay, I theorize the political significance of feminist joke lists through an examination of 20 distinct lists featuring over 350 jokes spanning a six-year period (2013–2019). Through an examination of general curated feminist joke lists, as well as humour lists produced in the wake of the 2017 and 2018 Women’s Marches, I argue that these broader activities contribute to the visibility and validation of feminist humour, the sharpening of feminist critique, and the solidarity of feminist communities.

Resistencias sumergidas. Cartografía de la tecnopolítica feminista en México

En este artículo se analizan las redes heterogéneas de actores clave implicados en los procesos de aprendizaje sobre el uso y apropiación de tecnologías digitales entre las mujeres. Mediante una propuesta teórica llamada tecnopolítica feminista, aunada a un abordaje metodológico que entrelaza el Análisis de Redes Sociales con la Teoría del Actor Red, se muestran los alcances y desafíos de las comunidades feministas para activar escenarios, herramientas y redes derivados de las tecnologías digitales.

“Say ‘hi’ from Gaia”: women’s travel guides and lesbian feminist community formation in the pre-internet era (1975-1992)

ABSTRACT This article is concerned with the question of how American women, particularly those who identified as lesbian, questioning, or queer found information about where to locate other lesbian, questioning, or queer women in a pre-internet era. The women’s travel guide, Gaia’s Guide, communicated information about “safe” and women friendly spaces during the early to mid years of American women’s and lesbian and gay liberation movements (1975–1992). The creation of lesbian feminist communities was bolstered by the production of these guides and other women’s guidebooks; however, the guides promoted a lesbian feminist community that centered whiteness and middle-class identity. Sandy Horn’s role as editor of Gaia’s Guide influenced the representations of what was “safe,” desirable, and enticing to readers. The guides also reflected prevailing structural inequalities during the period. This article shows that the technology of the travel guides shaped lesbian feminist communities through intentional and unintentional exclusion.

Bound in the Spiral Dance: Haraway, Starhawk, and Writing Lives in Feminist Community

This article uses the figure of the spiral dance to draw out biographical, theoretical, and political similarities and points of friction between Donna Haraway and Starhawk. It suggests that Haraway’s assertion that she would rather be a cyborg than a goddess foreclosed possibilities in feminism which have taken decades to reconstruct.