Feminist geographies in pandemic times: activism and place-making in Buenos Aires

Keywords: feminisms, argentina, Covid-19, geographies of care, activism
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 64

Abstract

In recent years, Argentina has experienced a vibrant feminist movement. One example of this is the Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) campaign that started in 2015 to protest the unusually high number of femicides in the country. Ni Una Menos was the steppingstone for a series of feminist mobilisations incorporating demands ranging from advocating the depenalisation of abortion to objecting to the gendered impacts of public debt. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, these feminist mobilisations were more crucial than ever, with 2020 a decisive moment for the law establishing a right to legal, free and safe abortion, and a moment in which there was a significant rise in gender-based violence. Since self-isolation and quarantine measures made difficult traditional ways of mobilising, activists had to move beyond the field of protest. For example, activists used creative practices such as projections (proyectorazos) in public space and other forms of artivism (Ortega, 2015). However, collectives such as Feminismo Villero still put their bodies at risk (i.e.: providing material healthcare and food) acting as a surrogate for the absence of the state within low-income neighbourhoods. In this context, drawing on participant observation, digital archival research, and interviews, I explore how the different styles of mobilisation of these feminist groups are shaped by the different spaces they mobilise within, while they simultaneously contribute to reimagining and transforming these spaces.