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Abolition feminism

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Writer and activist Angela Davis who helped coin the term Abolition Feminism.

Abolition Feminism is a branch of feminism that calls for the elimination of the prison industrial complex. The term was coined by thinkers Angela Y, Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie in their book Abolition. Feminism. Now.[1] Abolitionist Feminist thinkers promote the idea of prison abolition, and embrace an anti-racism, anti-capitalist, anti-violence feminism.[2] Abolition Feminism is in opposition to carceral feminism.[2][1][3][4] Abolitionist Feminist reject carceral solutions to gender-based violence and propose models of transformative and restorative justice.[2][1]

Terminology

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Abolition Feminism is defined as a "dialectic, a relationality, and a form of interruption: an insistence that abolitionist theories and practices are most compelling when they are also feminist, and conversely, a feminism that is also abolitionist is the most inclusive and persuasive version of feminism for these times.”[1] In order to achieve the goals of prison and police abolitionists, abolitionist feminist argue in favor of eliminating intersecting structures of oppression, like racism, gender violence, sexual violence, and the heteropatriarchy. [1] This vision for an alternative is often referred to as "abolition democracy" which envisions alternatives to militarization and imprisonment through the use of restorative practices. [5]

Abolitionist Feminists view crime as a fluid concept that is socially constructed as opposed to a natural phenomenon.[6] Abolitionist Feminists argue feminism and abolition are required to inform one another in order to allow for a greater critique of the carceral system.[1] For Abolition Feminists, violence is not understood as an individual issue with individual solutions, instead violence must be met with structural reforms beyond imprisonment.[7] The feminist lens allows for issues of gender-based violence to become relevant among abolitionists.

Theorists

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Organizations

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Davis, Angela Y.; Dent, Gina; Meiners, Erica R.; Richie, Beth E. (2022). Abolition, feminism, now. The abolitionist papers series. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1-64259-258-0.
  2. ^ a b c "For Angela Davis and Gina Dent, Abolition Is the Only Way". Harper's BAZAAR. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  3. ^ "Abolition. Feminism. Now. - International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine". internationalviewpoint.org. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  4. ^ Whalley, Elizabeth; Hackett, Colleen (2017-10-02). "Carceral feminisms: the abolitionist project and undoing dominant feminisms". Contemporary Justice Review. 20 (4): 456–473. doi:10.1080/10282580.2017.1383762. ISSN 1028-2580. S2CID 148874479.
  5. ^ Ciolkowski, Laura E. (2023-03-09). ""What to Do with the Dangerous Few?": Abolition-Feminism, Monstrosity and the Reimagination of Sexual Harm in Miguel Piñero's "Short Eyes"". Humanities. 12 (2): 25. doi:10.3390/h12020025. ISSN 2076-0787.
  6. ^ Richie, Beth E.; Martensen, Kayla M. (2019-12-27). "Resisting Carcerality, Embracing Abolition: Implications for Feminist Social Work Practice". Affilia. 35 (1): 12–16. doi:10.1177/0886109919897576. ISSN 0886-1099. S2CID 213976404.
  7. ^ Lo, Bao (March 2023). "Anti-Asian Violence and Abolition Feminism as Asian American Feminist Praxis". Feminist Formations. 35 (1): 221–239. doi:10.1353/ff.2023.a902075. ISSN 2151-7371. S2CID 259929907.

Further reading

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