“Our Bodies Are Territories Of Battle”
Experiences of Power and Resistance and the Role of The
Body in The Struggle for Legalization of Abortion in
Argentina
Alice Hansson
Human Rights MR106L / SGMRE16h Bachelor’s Thesis
12 hp
Autumn 2019
Abstract
The denial of the access to abortion has been addressed as a human rights issue. This thesis is based on a MFS- study with the aim to investigate women’s experiences of power and resistance in the movement for legalization of abortion in Argentina. The material for this thesis has been gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews with Argentinian women advocating for the right to abortion. Embodiment theory, Butler’s performative theory on assembly and theories on resistance are used in order to elicit the body’s role in the experiences of power and resistance. It is concluded that the body is not only seen as an object of submission but also understood as a tool for resistance. Power is understood as exercised over women’s bodies. However, when developing collective consciousness on patriarchal norms and structures, women gain power and are able to decide over their own bodies.
Keywords: Abortion, Argentina, Embodiment, Power, Resistance Wordcount: 13.958
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank Malmö University for making me a recipient of the Minor Filed Study scholarship.
I would also like to express my gratitude to María Marta Herrera for being my contact person in Argentina and for always supporting and helping during my stay in Argentina.
Furthermore, I would like to thank my friends in La Plata. A special thanks to Marina, Lucy and Carolina for being my support. This thesis would not have been possible without our dinners, talks and laughs.
Lastly, I would like to send all my gratitude to the women who participated in this study. Thank you for taking your time to talk to me and for sharing your experiences on this struggle. Your courage and the work you do for this struggle is inspiring and so admirable.
Table of Content
1. INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.2 PURPOSE AND AIM ... 2
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION ... 2
1.4 RELEVANCE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ... 2
1.5 DELIMITATIONS ... 3
1.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ... 4
2. BACKGROUND ... 5
2.1 THE CRIMINALIZATION OF ABORTION IN ARGENTINA, THE LEGAL SITUATION OF ABORTION ... 5
2.2 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MOVEMENT FOR LEGALIZING ABORTION ... 6
2.3 MY PERSONAL RELATION TO ARGENTINA AND THE RESEARCH ... 7
3. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ... 8
3.1 RESEARCH ON POLITICS OF WOMEN’S BODIES IN ARGENTINA ... 8
3.2 RESEARCH ON THE ORGANIZATION FOR LEGALIZING ABORTION IN ARGENTINA ... 8
3.3 SITUATING THE PRESENT STUDY IN THE RESEARCH FIELD ... 9
4. THEORY ... 10
4.1 EMBODIMENT ... 10
4.2 RESISTANCE ... 11
4.3EXPERIENCES ... 12
4.4 POWER ... 13
4.5 BUTLER’S PERFORMATIVE THEORY OF ASSEMBLY ... 14
5. METHOD ... 16
5.1 CHOICE OF METHOD ... 16
5.2 METHODOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ... 17
5.3SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS ... 18
5.4 BEFORE THE FIELD ... 19
5.5 OPERATIONALIZATION IN THE FIELD ... 20
6. THE PARTICIPANTS ... 22
6.1 LA CAMPAÑA NACIONAL POR EL DERECHO AL ABORTO LEGAL, SEGURO Y GRATUITO ... 22
6.2 SOCORRISTAS EN RED ... 22
6.3 RED DE PROFESIONALES POR EL DERECHO A DECIDIR ... 23
7. ANALYSIS OF MATERIAL ... 25
7.1 POWER ... 25
7.1.1 The power struggle ... 25
7.1.2 Collective consciousness as power ... 26
7.1.3 Construction of collective experiences ... 28
7.1.4 Abortion as power and resistance... 30
7.2 BODY ... 31
7.2.1 Corporal commitment ... 31
7.2.2 Corporal transformation... 33
Abbreviations
CEDES Centro de Estudio de Estado y Sociedad
CPA Código Penal Argentina (Penal Code of Argentina) ELA Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género
ILE Protocol for the integral attention of the persons with the right to a legal interruption of an pregnancy
MFS Minor Field Study
OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights REDAAS Red al Accesso del Aborto Seguro Argentina
SIDA Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingsarbete (Swedish International Development Coorperation Agency)
1. Introduction
1.1 IntroductionThe denial of access to safe and legal abortions is a violation of women’s right to decide over their own body. International human rights bodies have addressed abortion as a human rights problem because of the denial of its access is discrimination against woman access to other human rights such as health (OHCHR 2015, p. 1).
The right to legal abortion is not protected by the Argentinian State and women are denied safe abortions due to the current legislation. Article 86 of the Argentinian penal code drafted the year of 1921 states that abortion is a crime against life and he who causes an abortion will be punished by law (Código Penal Argentina N° 11. 179). It is estimated that between 370 to 522 thousands of abortions are carried out in Argentina per year. These number are not precise due to the fact that abortion is an clandestine practice (Ministerio de Salud 2015, p. 12).
The struggle for legal abortion in Argentina has gained many supporters during the years. The national alliance La Campaña Nacional Por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito
(hence forth La Campaña) has gathered more tan 500 organizations in the struggle. In 2018 they presented for the seventh time a legal proposal of Voluntary interruption of pregnancy in front to the National Congress of Argentina. The alliance was created in 2005 with the aim to raise awareness and strength and to organize the struggle for the right to legal abortion from various organizations (Campaña Nacional Por el Aborto Legal Seguro y Gratuito).
This thesis is based on a MFS- study, investigating the experiences of women who are active in organizations involved in the struggle for the legalization of abortion in Argentina, Buenos Aires. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted in order to elicit women’s experiences of power and resistance as an activist in the struggle for legalization of abortion.
Moreover, the body is a central aspect in relation to these experiences of power and resistance. Embodiment theory will be used for analyzing the interview material to elicit the body’s role in the struggle. Butler’s performative theory on assembly will also be used in order to understand the assembly of bodies as an argument for the struggle of legalization of abortion in
1.2 Purpose and Aim
The aim this thesis is to elicit the experiences of activists who are a part of the struggle for legalization of abortion in Argentina and analyze the role of the body in relation to these experiences using embodiment theory. The presupposition for this study is that the body is not just subjected to oppression by the penalization of abortion. When bodies are gathered together, they also become a tool for resistance. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate the role of the body in the struggle. By using the expression “poner el cuerpo1” the role of the body is addressed in relation to the struggle and the experiences of power and resistance.
1.3 Research Question
The thesis is based on the following research question;
- What are the experiences of power and resistance from the women active in organizations for the movement of legalizing abortion in Argentina, and what role does the body have in their experiences?
1.4 Relevance for Human Rights
According to OHCHR women’s sexual and reproductive health is related to human rights like the right to life, the right to health, the right to privacy, the right to be free from torture and the prohibition of discrimination (OHCHR). The right to abortion is not explicitly stated as a human right in any of the Human Rights conventions or treaties. However, the access to abortion has been addressed as a matter of human rights by international human rights bodies because of its possible violations of other rights. States have the obligation to ensure access to abortion because of the obligation to eliminate discrimination against women and to ensure other fundamental rights of women such as the right to health. Laws that criminalize abortion have been characterized by the human rights bodies as discriminatory against women and to their access to health care. States are recommended to remove such laws and that punitive actions towards women who have undergone abortions are not effective (OHCHR 2015, p. 1).
1 Poner el Cuerpo is used in Argentina as an expression to evoke political participation in the street. Such an expression is not found in English but literally it can be translated into “to put the body”
The denial of access to safe and legal abortions is also addressed as an violation of women’s right to decide over their body. Violence against women is understood as a problem of human rights that requires an intervention from the state. Control exercised over women’s bodies and lives is a manifestation of such violence and the denial to the access of legal abortion is an evidence of such control (Amnesty 2017, p. 1).
Since 1983, 3.030 women in Argentina died because of unsafe abortion, making it the primary cause of maternal death. In 2013, 49.000 women were hospitalized in public hospitals because of complications related to abortion, which is equivalent to 135 women per day (CEDES, ELA, REDAAS 2018, p. 3).
With the above presented information one can state that the right to abortion is of an relevance for Human Rights. This presented thesis focuses on the struggle for its legalization in Argentina and the experiences of women active in its organization. Investigating the struggle for the access of the right to abortion is important for the field of human rights because of the importance to protect women’s human right. Moreover, voicing the experiences of women is addressed as fundamental in feminist research (Bryman 2016, p. 403). This study is also relevant to Human rights because it is providing knowledge about gender-based oppression and discrimination. 1.5 Delimitations
The field study, on which the thesis is based, focused on the experiences of women from the region of Buenos Aires. Argentina is a diverse country. Even within the same region, individuals do not share the same experiences. Life as an activist in the movement for legal abortion may be different in the capital of Buenos Aires and in the northern and more religious areas of Jujuy. This study does not provide a generalization of the typical experiences of being active in the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina. Instead, it provides a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of the small group of participant in the study.
The study does not seek to investigate women’s experiences of carrying out abortions in Argentina. The thesis will only focus on women participating in the struggle for legalization of abortion, and their experiences as activists are the main focus.
This thesis is based on the preconception that abortion should be legalized in Argentina and that it is a fundamental human right for women to be able to decide over their own body. Hence, this thesis will not present an argumentation for and against its legalization, but that it will be delimited to the context of the struggle for its legalization.
1.6 Ethical Considerations
Many of the ethical concerns are related to the difference in power between the researcher and the researched. The researcher needs to be respectful and sensitive to cultural differences, and the relationships created in the field should be mutually beneficial (Scheyvens etc 2003, p. 139). The research process must consider the participant’s dignity, safety and privacy and ensure that there will be no negative implications for the participants (Scheyvens etc 2003, p. 140). In this study, real names and familiar names of the participants are used. All of the participants approved on the use of their names of family names in the present research. However, their last names are left out because of being sensitive to their privacy.
When entering the research field it was important for me to remember that I might have Western biases. When I contacted participants, I was clear about my aim and the purpose of study, stating that I was doing a field study on the experiences of women participating in the struggle to legalize abortion. A document with the information and the purpose of the MFS- scholarship from SIDA was given to all interview participants before the interview (see appendix 1). That way, the interviews women were informed why I was conducting the field study.
Moreover, an informed consent form was also presented to the interview participants to obtain their consent to participate in the study and to let their personal experiences be a part of my research material (see appendix 2).
Being a Western student conducting a field study on the experiences of women in Argentina, I am aware, that I risk colonizing the experiences of women. This is however not at all my intention with this study. Therefore, during the interviews, room was left for the women to express their narratives and their own concerns. There is always an possibility to exploit the interviewed for the researchers personal gain, this is not my intention. In order to avoid such thing to happen, these possibilities have been central during the whole research processes.
2. Background
2.1 The criminalization of abortion in Argentina
Article 85 of the CPA, drafted in 1921, states that abortion is a crime against life and he who causes an abortion is will be punished by law. Thus, both the gestating person as well as health care professionals involved in the realization of abortion can be punished by the law. Article 86 of the penal code states two exceptions that allow women and persons with the capacity to gestates are able to carry out non-punishable abortion. These are the following; (1) If the abortion is made with the purpose to prevent a risk of the life or the health of the mother and if this risk cannot be prevented in by other means and (2) if the pregnancy is a result of a violation or if it is an indecent assault against an idiot or demented woman (Código Penal Argentina N° 11. 179).
In 2012 the National Supreme Court of Justice established the F.A.L sentence that established that abortions as results of any kind of violation are not punishable by law and that no juridical procedures are dependent on such decision. Moreover, the sentence stated that it is necessary to implement hospital protocols in order for its implementation (CSJN, 2012, F.A.L). In 2015, the National Health Ministry published the ILE protocol. This protocol addresses that casual of health as based on the integral conception of health from the WHO, which implies both the physical, the psychical and the social state of the person. Therefore, if someone wishes to end a pregnancy, healthcare professionals can indict it as a legal termination by using the ILE protocol. If a woman suffers from anxiety due to the pregnancy and wants to end the pregnancy, healthcare professionals can then by the help of the protocol address it as a legal termination. Furthermore, the protocol states that it is the decision of the women to determine what type of health danger that is put at risk in obtaining the realization of an legal interruption of pregnancy (Ministerio de Salud, 2015, p.15).
Even though many women wish to end their pregnancy with an abortion, not all of them access an ILE. This is due to different reasons and fears of which some of them are related to a distrust of the health care system and the fear of shame, judging and maltreatment of healthcare professionals. Therefore, many women seek to access and carry out abortions in other ways (Burton 2017, p. 2).
The criminalization and prohibition on abortion does not stop women from realizing abortions. According to a study from 2006 conducted by the Ministry of Health, between 489.000 and 522.000 abortions are realized per year (Mario & Pantelides 2009 p. 112). The prohibition creates a clandestine market for women to end their pregnancies. Due to the danger of the practice of clandestine abortion, hundreds of economically impoverished women and persons with the capacity to gestate out their lives at risk every year (Anzorena & Zurbiggen 2013, p. 20). The clandestine market generates differences to access safe abortion based on class. More wealthy women are able to seek help to terminate their pregnancies at a private clinic, paying the prices of the market, while economically impoverished women are forced to seek abortion at clinics that cannot provide the standards of hygiene nor qualified professionals (Burton 2017, p. 2).
2.2 The Organization of the Movement for Legalizing Abortion
In the context of clandestine abortions, several feminist organizations started to develop collective actions with the goal to legalize abortion. One of the biggest articulations is the “La Campaña”. The national alliance achieved to place the discussion of abortion in the public and political sphere, thus removing it from the discussion of abortion from clandestinity (Burton 2017, p. 2). La Campaña addresses the demand for the legalization of abortion as a question of public health and as a right of women to be able to decide over their bodies (Burton 2017, p.3). Moreover, La Campaña has developed arguments for legalization of abortion based on human rights, which turned out to be one of the main foundations in La Campaña (Sutton & Borland 2017, p. 2).
In 2018, La Campaña presented for the sixth time the legal proposal of Voluntary interruption
of pregnancy. The Congress voted in favor of the law bill and it was passed on to the Senate, the higher legislative power. The 8th of August 2018, the Senate voted against the law bill but
La Campaña is still fighting for the legalization of abortion and the following year, 2019, for the seventh time, they presented the law proposal again in front of the Congress (Amnesty 2018).
In 2010, in the city of Neuquén, the first experiences of Socorrismo emerged when the feminist collective “La Revuelta” started to provide information on how to terminate pregnancies in a
safe procedure with medication. These collective actions emerged in a context where abortion still exist and the discussion for an legal reform is not advancing (Burton 2017, p. 159).
In 2012, by assistance from La Campaña, feminist collectives decided to develop collective actions and to create the National Network “Socorristas en Red” (Burton 2017, p. 12).
2.3 My Personal Relation to Argentina and the Research Topic
During my second year at my bachelor’s program, I studied abroad at the National University of La Plata in Argentina. Most of the courses I studied at the faculty of humanities. As a result of the education I received at the faculty and thanks to the people I met, I was able to develop an understanding of the current situation of the struggle to legalize abortion in Argentina. I was also able to go to many of the feminist demonstrations and public manifestations for the legalization of abortion. I participated in the mobilization on June the 13th 2018, in front of the Congress when the law proposal of legalizing abortion was voted. One can argue that I am not a neutral researcher because of mu participation in the movement. On the other hand, one can then argue that because of my participation I enabled me to get closer to the research field.
3. Previous Research
3.1 Research on Politics of Women’s Bodies in Argentina
Sutton conducted research on the politics of women’s bodies in Argentina in the context of the economic crisis and political protest in the aftermaths of the country’s economic crisis in 2001 (Sutton 2010). She questions how women in Argentina responds to social regulations of their bodies. She analyzes the embodied practices of activists and non-activists and how they, as embodied beings, resist and cope with the regulations of their bodies (Sutton 2010, p. 2). One of the chapters investigates the significance of women’s bodies in social change. By using the phrase “poner el cuerpo”, she explores the relationship between body and resistance (Sutton 2010, p. 162).
By investigating narratives of experiences of abortions, Chaneton and Vacarezza investigates abortion as a social and clandestine practice in society (Chaneton & Vacarezza 2011). When analyzing the practices of voluntary abortions they explore the relationship of the language, power and subjectivity. Further, they investigate the political control over women’s bodies and how even though abortion is prohibited in Argentina they are carried out outside the control of the state. Thus, abortion is carried out in clandestinity, outside the power and the control of the State (Chaneton & Vacarezza 2011, p. 16).
Mabel Campagnoli analyzes the practices of the Socorristas. She explores how their collective practices have interrupted the social space and how they have promoted women’s participation in biopower. Despite the penalization of abortion, women have installed the practice of abortion and hence they have become agents and not subjects created by biopower (Campagnoli 2018, p. 192). Likewise, Klein explores and the importance of women’s experiences of abortion in relation to the movement for its legalization. She addresses women’s power and women’s involvement in the decision making of abortion and how they in this act are taking power over their own lives (Klein 2017, p. 173).
3.2 Research on the Organization for Legalizing Abortion in Argentina
Julia Burton has conducted several research projects and presented articles on the strategies and organization of the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina. She has had a special focus on the movement of the Socorristas and presented investigations on the importance and their
collective actions. She argues that the feminist collective actions of the Socorristas are fundamental in the construction of new understandings and discourses on abortion as a social reality (Burton 2017, p. 123).
In 2013, La Campaña collected articles and work exploring the thematic of abortion in the
monograph “El aborto como derecho de las mujeres, otra historia es posible” (Abortion as a right of women, another history is possible). The monograph presents discussions on abortion from different disciplines such as philosophy, law, sociology, health and political science (Zurbriggen & Anzorena 2013).
3.3 Situating the Present Study in the Research Field
When analyzing the experience of women active in the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina there are many different theoretical trajectories one can take. However, my aim is to elicit women’s experiences of power and resistance and to seek its relation to the body and is therefore similar to the research of Sutton. However, Sutton’s study is conducted in a different historical context and explores different embodied experience of body politics, not only the case of body in political participation (Sutton 2010, p. 16). Sutton argues that there is a lack of theorizing the body of women in the global south and that most research in the body has been focused on women from Europe and the West (Sutton 2010, p. 7).
The research conducted by Campagnoli and Klein is important in the situating of the study in the research field of Argentina. It is considered important to include research conducted from the context of my field study.
With my aim to elicit embodied experiences and experiences of power and resistance of women involved in the struggle for legalizing abortion in Argentina, I am situating myself in the same field as Sutton. I hope to be able to contribute to the gap to Sutton describes and that the present study can elicit experiences of women in Argentina. Nevertheless, my sampling of interviewees is much more limited and specific than the research conducted by Sutton.
4. Theory
This chapter presents theories that I will use analyze the interview material. This thesis takes a deductive approach. Thus existing theories are the base in developing research questions and the above-mentioned presupposition. In embodiment theory and in Butler’s performative theory of assembly the body serves as the central aspect. Embodiment theory is useful because of the aim to analyze the body’s role in experiences of power and resistance. Embodiment theory is also useful when thinking of its criticism of the mind/body dichotomy and that the body can also serve as an important aspect in resistance. Butler’s theory adds an important aspect in understanding the role of gathered bodies in public assembly and what role the body has in the construction of collective experiences.
Due to the present thesis analyzing experiences of women, theories on experiences are also addressed. Feminist theories of experiences, Mill’s theory of experiences and the theories of experiences explored in the research of Sutton are addressed in this chapter. Campagnoli’s development on Foucault’s theory on power is addressed when analyzing the concepts of power.
These theories have also served as the foundation when designing the interview questions. By help of these given these theories, central to my research question, interview questions have also been designed by the help of these theories. Central concepts of the abovementioned theories; Power, Resistance and Body, served as central questions during the interviews with the participants.
4.1 Embodiment
The theory of embodiment is a central aspect when thinking of the body as a site of power and as a site of the symbolic constructions of sexual differences. These differences serves as the base for political exclusion and inclusion (Threadcraft 2016, p. 207).
Feminist theorists have criticized and problematized the dichotomous mind/body relationship in which women have been identified with the lower term of the body. Wendy Brown identifies how in classical Western thought the conception of a body is seen as a “curse upon the mind” and how men have intended to transcend this body (Brown 1988, p.180). Brown addresses how
women in modern politics still struggle to enter humanity and politics, an arena still confined to the “the cult of manhood” (Brown 1988, p. 185).
Feminist theorists, have argued that the representation of the human body in society is the male body. Feminists researcher have shown that “the neutral body assumed by the liberal state is implicitly a masculine body”. In the political and legal arrangement in society the male body serves as the model and hence issues such as abortion and rape has not been accorded attention. The female body is represented for its reproductive system and has been reduced to its sex” (Gatens 1996, p. 24).
As a result of feminist discussion of the body, such as Butler, the body politic which was based on the male body has change the locus of concern, to the politics of the body (Threadcraft 2016, p. 207). Butler has developed her theory of gender, where gender is “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. Thus, gender is a historic and cultural construction (Butler 1988, p. 519). Therefore, sex difference is then performative to which we have come to see as the mode of believe (Butler 1988, p. 520). According to Butler, the body then is the embodiment of reproducing historical situations, a continuation of ways of performance. Galaraza argues that this thought has helped developed the idea that gender is not what we are but what we do, where corporality is a fundamental dimension that guides our lives (Galaraza 2011, p. 62).
Another feminist theorist out forward in the research by Sutton is Zillah Eisenstein who states that “Sites of power always begin with bodies” and where the body for Eisenstein gives her the possibility to “place-consciousness”. From this consciousness one is able to understand the experiences beyond oneself (Sutton 2010, p. 8).
4.2 Resistance
The theorizing on resistance for this thesis is based on the body’s role in resistance. Petersson provides a discussion on the body and its function in protest and argues that the body is deeply engaged in political resistance. She states that “the body is more than an interface of the power of resistance, the militant body is a power of resistance” and further that “feelings, emotions, lived and living experiences of oppression and resistance are brought directly to bear upon a political struggle” (Sutton 2010, p. 172).
Bodies are not just a site of oppression. As addressed by Connell, power and inequality is not embodied in a one-way direction but that bodies are parties in social life and hence both serve as agents as well as objects (Sutton 2010, p. 9). In the struggle to reach a change in society, there is a need to put the material body in action. Sutton argues, by referencing to research of De Lucca and Peterson, that the bodily experiences of activists, their capabilities and vulnerabilities, are producing social change. Embodied awareness of participants in struggles are shaped when the oppressed bodies confront oppression in political protest (Sutton 2010, p. 161). Sutton argues that the female body is not only subjected to oppression but that it also can serve as a “vehicle for resistance”. Women have put their oppressed bodies on the line in political struggle in order to challenge these bodily oppressions both collectively and individually. Sutton addresses how women have put their body on the line in different situations, for instance when they carry out clandestine abortion and participate in physical protests addressing injustices (Sutton 2010, p. 6).
De Lucca explores the different ways in which the body can be used as an argument in political struggle when using the body to create images that attract media tension (De Lucca 1999, p. 10).
In her article “Protesting like a girl”, Parkins explores feminist agency by developing Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological accounts of the body subject. His theory understands the body as an effective agent and as the basis of human subjectivity (Parkins 2000, p. 60). Parkins argues that we cannot think about agency without thinking of the body and she addresses the historical instance of the suffragette movement in which women’s bodies where central to the acts of protests. When women, due to female embodiment, have been excluded from political participation, the strategy of drawing attention to their bodies has been important. Hence, the body has not been considered a limitation but as a means for contesting political domination (Parkins 2000, p. 73).
4.3 Experiences
Sutton argues that by investigating women’s bodily experiences one can understand the broader, social, political and economic developments, that the body bridges the personal with the political. Bodily experiences of abortion is an example of how women is not only struggling
to self-determination but that these experiences are also related to a discussion of ideologies of motherhood and sexuality (Sutton 2010, p. 10).
When investigating bodily experiences, it is possible to understand the complexities of social issues because, in many cases, bodily experiences are related to experiences of suffering. And when analyzing these sufferings, many different categories of suffering is included and extended through different fields such as health, welfare, or legal issues. Women have been put in a subordinated position due to their biology. Therefore, arguably productive to explore the bodily experiences of women to develop new wisdom that is not interpreted by men in power or from hegemonic institutions (Sutton 2010, p. 11).
Women experiences have also in feminist theory been used as a foundation for analyzing patriarchy and the personal politics. Emerging from Second wave feminist theorists, experiences were addressed as the new locus of interest in developing new feminist theories. The theories should begin from the women’s experiences and hence would be separate from patriarchal theories (Grant 2016, p. 227). Patriarchy was conceptualized as the dominating system of politically and socially structures of male domination. Patriarchy is everywhere and reproduced on all levels such as ideology and institutions. Kate Millet theorized on the patriarchal domination and its sexual politics. She argued that the politics of patriarchy existed on all levels of life. The term of “personal politics” was developed as patriarchy’s power also were effective in the areas of sexuality and of the private sphere (Grant 2016, p. 229).
Mills addresses the importance of understanding the individual experiences as a product of historical context but also of the environment in which the individual exists. He argues that individuals can only understand its individual experiences by being aware of all individuals experiences (Mills 2000, p. 8). Further, he states that what we experience in the milieu we live in is caused by the structural changes. To understand these, we must look beyond them and start reflecting (Mills 2000, p. 10). Hence, individual experiences are connected to social patterns and to hegemonic institutions and circulating ideas (Sutton 2010, p. 10).
4.4 Power
institutions have configurated technologies of biopower that are presented in all social relations. Foucault has argued that resistance is never in an exterior position in relation to power and that “where there is power there is resistance” (Campagnoli 2018, p. 179). This characterization of power sees it as both productive and repressive, where its repressive control of people is carried out a series of powers such as institutions of surveillance.
Campagnoli argues that when the practice of abortion is shared in society through the network of Socorristas and in the sharing of experiences, the practice of abortion constitutes agency of deciding over one’s own body, and that women are able to escape a subjectification of biopower (Campagnoli 2018, p. 191). Hence, when carrying out abortions, women can emerge as agents of their own experiences and it is argued to be an affirmational participation in the biopower (Campagnoli 2018, p. 192)
4.5 Butler’s Performative Theory of Assembly
In her book “Notes towards a performative theory of action”, Butler explores public assemblies as plural forms of performative action. She focuses on the actions of the body in the public space. She states that:
When bodies assembles on the street, in the square or in other forms of public space they are exercising a plural and performative right to appear, one that asserts and instates the body in the midst of the political field, and which, in its expressive and signifying function, delivers a bodily demand for more livable set of economic, social and political conditions no longer afflicted by induced forms of precarity (Butler 2015, p. 11).
She addresses the force of the body when gathered together with other bodies in a place which is made visible for the media. These bodies gathered are the bodies demand social change, that requires shelter and better social conditions. It is these bodies that addresses the consequences of accelerating precarity (Butler 2015, p. 10). This precarity is said to be a result of a biopolitical situation where groups of the population are subjected to this precarization. In neoliberal rationality it is the individuals responsibility to escape this precarization and to maximize ones market value (Butler 2015, p. 15). Public assembly can then serve as an argument against this responsibilization, because it embodies these shared and unjust social conditions (Butler 2015, p. 16).
Butler argues that in political struggle and demonstration it is “the body that is on the line”, a body that is struggling with precarity but at the same time demonstrating its value and claim to the political (Butler 2015, p. 18). Hence when these bodies are gathered they are expressing their existence in the public space and demanding to be valued and to be able to live a livable life (Butler 2015, p. 72).
5. Method
5.1 Choice of MethodQualitative research seeks to understand the social world which we live in. Experiences, context and the details of our social world are recognized as the most important aspects (Stewart- Withers etc, 2014, 59). A characteristic of qualitative research is that the method of inquiry takes place in a naturalistic environment where the researcher is able to collect data in the field. It is argued that conducting the investigation in its natural setting contributes to rich and in-depth knowledge that can help the researcher understand the complexities of our social world (Stewart- Withers etc, 2014, 59).
Qualitative interviews as a data collection method seeks to understand what people think, feel and believe (Stewart- Withers etc, 2014, p. 65). Qualitative interviews has a great focus on the interviewee’s point of view where their answers can contribute to rich and detailed answers of people’s experiences (Bryman, 2016, p. 467).
Thus, since the aim of the presented thesis is to investigate women’s experiences of participating in the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina, the most relevant choice of method is a qualitative interview research conducted in a field study in Argentina, the region of Buenos Aires. Since my aim is to investigate the experiences of women active in the movement for the legalizing abortion in Argentina, the most appropriate way to elicit their experience is by conducting interviews. Thus, it is possible to elicit their experiences of power and resistance, which generates in-depth knowledge of the social phenomena of the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina. It would be difficult to elicit such experiences by using another method since qualitative interviews provides me with first-hand insights in women’s experiences.
Semi-structured interviews provides flexibility, which allows the interviewees to elaborate more on topics of their particular interest. The emphasis is placed on how the interviewee frames and understands the events. The interviewer does not have to follow the interview guide “slavishly” but can use the interview guide to some extent (Bryman 2016, p. 468).
Thus, for the present study semi- structured interviews were conducted. Open ended questions were asked in order for the interviewee’s to be able to elaborate and develop their own answers according to their own experiences of understanding of the role of the body, resistance and power. For the interviews an interview guide was elaborated with questions in relation to the different themes of power, resistance and body. Since women from five different organizations where interviewed, some questions differed in relation to their organizations, but the same theme questions were asked in all of the interviews.
This thesis has a deductive approach, which means that the research is conducted with reference to the theory. Hence, the research draws upon a presupposition made by an relevant theoretical idea which later is translated into concepts (Bryman 2016, p. 21). The themes being analyzed from my interview material has already been decided before conducting the interviews and the questions asked during the interviews are drawn from the existing theories presented in this thesis.
5.2 Methodological Reflections
The problematics of conducting a field study is more extensively elaborated in chapter 1, section 1.6 Ethical considerations. In this section I will consider some of the reflections on conducting qualitative research and qualitative interviews.
In qualitative research, the researcher is considered the central instrument of collecting data (Stewart- Withers etc, 2014, p. 60). It is important that the researcher acknowledges their role and subjectivity in the construction of knowledge. The researcher does not only judge the views of the interviewees. The researcher is an active listener that is able to tell their story in a co-construction of knowledge (Stewart- Withers etc, 2014, p. 61).
As argued by Murray and Overton, research does not take place in a philosophical vacuum (Murray & Overton 2003, p. 20). Therefore, during the research process my views of the world, my ontological assumptions, and biases has to be acknowledged as being part of how I produce knowledge. As a feminist, I share an belief and an ideology that society is built on patriarchal structures of power in society that subordinate women. In my research, I will bring these values of feminism and my ontological position of constructivism.
Moreover it is also important that the researcher acknowledge her/his positionality of gender, class, race, religion and ethnicity in relation to the research and the collection of data (Stewart- Withers etc, 2014, p. 62). In the present research, I believe it is important to reflect on my position as an outsider, as a European white women, and the possible biases and impact on my research and my field study in Argentina.
Conducting a research on experiences of the body in the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina can have some implications. We all have subjective experiences integrated bodily. Such experiences can contribute as a tool for research in the understanding of people’s actions and their perception of action in different contexts, especially in context of power and how such power is inscribed in the body. However, it is argued that a tension exists between the sharing of these experiences and the ability to reflect on these experiences in relation to the aim of the research (Brockington & Sullivan 2003, p. 69). Hence, I have to be aware of this tension and my ability to reflect on the experiences of women participating in my study.
Experiences are also connected to the emotional and psychological perception of the people I interview. Therefore, this study will not focus on analyzing their emotional or psychological experiences from an behavior or social psychology perception. Instead their experiences are analyzed in relation to the feminist theories of embodiment in order to find patterns where common experiences of resistance, power and body could be found.
5.3 Selection of Participants
For the present study 11 women from five different organizations were interviewed. The sampling of participants was made with a purposive sequential sampling approach. Thus, the sampling has a strategic approach where the participants are relevant for answering the research questions (Bryman 2016, p. 408). Thus, the samples where not fixed before starting the research process, but they were a developed over time (Bryman 2016, p. 410).
Since my research question asks for the experiences of women organized in the movement for legalizing abortion in Argentina, I selected the participants from the main actors in the movement for legalization of abortion in Argentina, “La Campaña”, “Red de Profesionales de
One interview was conducted with a woman participating in the political organization, “Mala
Junta”. The organization does not exclusively advocate for the legalization of abortion and they
have a political agenda in various feminist struggles. Nonetheless, I found her interesting to interview because of her participation in a feminist organization that has a focus on public demonstrations. Thus, her experiences are relevant for the study.
Two interviews were conducted with students at Faculty of Medicine, who are active in the organization of the “Catedra Libre, Aborto como problema de Salud Publica”. The medicine students have a close relationship to three main actors. Also, I found their role as students relevant in their experiences of resistance and power as it is taking part in the public institution of education.
When using a purposive sampling method the sample members should differ from another in key characteristics, hence variety is important for the resulting sample (Bryman 2016, p. 408). One of the women interviewed were Colombian and where living in Argentina for the past three years. Therefore, women participating in the present study are diverse in their differences of age, occupation, education, nationality and political ideology. Furthermore, purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling approach. Thus, it is not possible to generalize the sample to a population (Bryman 2016, p. 408).
5.4 Before the Field
As mentioned above an interview guide was elaborated before the interviews (see appendix 3). The interview guide was based on the existing theories mentioned in the present thesis theory chapter. When developing the interview questions it was important to think about how the possible answers could serve as material for answering the research question of the thesis. Therefore, the interview questions were constructed with the aim to let the interview participants reflect on their experiences on power, resistance and their experiences on the body in the struggle. The expression “poner el cuerpo” was used in order to let the participants reflect on their embodied experience in the struggle. Thus, the answers could be analyzed by the help of the theories on embodiment and Butler’s performative theory of assembly. The questions regarding power and resistance were constructed so that they could reflect on their ideas of the concepts relating to the struggle of the legalization of abortion in Argentina. Thus, the theories
on power and resistance could be used in order to analyze the answers from the interview participants.
5.5 Operationalization in the Field
With the help of my contact person in the research field María Marta Herrera, philosophy professor and member of the gender research institute at the Humanities faculty at the National University of La Plata, I was able to get in contact with my first interview participants. Before arriving in Argentina, I had told Herrera that my interest group where women active in “La Campaña” and “Socorristas en Red”. When I arrived, she referred me to women active in those organizations and other contacts that served as the initial link to other activists.
The participants where first contacted by Whatsapp and later personal interviews were carried out. In most of the cases, we meet in public places such as cafés or public libraries. In some cases, I had to travel to the participants’ home. The interviews took 40 to 60 minutes and were all recorded. All the interviews were conducted in Spanish. Since I possess a high level of Spanish, I did not find the need for a translator. The initial plan was for the interviews to be quite open and less structured. However, after the first interviews I noted that the language sometimes made it a bit difficult to keep the interviews as open as I wished and to ask follow-up questions. However, the structure of the interviews where ultimately all semi-structured with room for following up questions but due to language, I kept myself more in line with the interview guide. I have also translated and transcribed all the interviews myself. When translating quotes the real meaning of the participant could get lost in translation. Hence it is also necessary to reflect on my language skills as a possible delimitation for this presented study.
The interviews started with the participants introducing themselves and questions in relation to their personal life and their interest and organization in the struggle for legalizing abortion were asked. This resulted in letting the participants get a chance to open up an to become comfortable. Following, questions regarding the organization to which they belonged were asked. This part was less personal and less focused on their experiences, however it was important for them to talk about the organization and its contribution to the movement. The last section of questions where related to the theoretical framework; the categories of power, body and resistance. It was a bit difficult to phrase these questions in order to make them understandable for the interview
participants. These questions were also the most personal, therefore they were placed in the end of the interviews. However, all the participants were able to answer them with answers that could be related to the theories.
5.6 Data Analysis of the Material
Analysis is thought of as something ongoing during the whole research process (Rallis & Rossman 2017, p. 435). For this thesis, the analysis begun already when arriving to the field, when formulating the interview questions and when developing the conceptual framework. Hence, the categories used when analyzing the interview material were generated from the theoretical framework presented in chapter 4.
It is important to reflect on the categories and themes in relation to the imperialism of the researcher’s view. It is noted that analysist- constructed categories can “impose a word of meaning on the participants” and that they might not correspond to the categories of the participants (Rallis & Rossman 2017, p. 456). Thus, I also worked with categories that the participants themselves brought up during the interviews. Such categories where autonomy, desire, collective conscience and patriarchy. The categories generated from my theoretical framework were power, resistance, and body. When reading the interviews I was not looking for words but for reasonings on their experiences that could be related to the theoretical framework.
6. The participants
In this chapter, interview material is used in order to present a more personal description of their organizations. The organization of Mala Junta will not be presented in this chapter, because it is not one of the main actors in the movement and that it has not emerged solely in the articulation of legalizing abortion.
6.1 La Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito
La Campaña emerges from the National Encounter of Women in 2005. In the Encounter of 2006 they start to collectively prepare the bill for changing the law. Therefore, La Campaña is very tied to the Encounters and it is also from there where the strategies of the struggle for the legalization of abortion emerges (María Julia 2019: Vicky 2019).
La Campaña is a federal alliance which is horizontal, pluralist, and unites different independent
political thoughts participates with the one object to legalize abortion. In the last years La Campaña has expanded with collaboration from many different political sectors, but Chana
claims that the goal is now even more clear, the legalization of abortion (Chana 2019).
The law bill elaborated by La Campaña has been presented for the Congress since 2007. In April 2018, La Campaña presented for the seventh time the law bill which states that all women and other identities with the possibility to gestate has the right to access an interruption of a their pregnancy (Chana 2019).
All interview participants from La Campaña state that the alliance has achieved to bring up the discussion of abortion in society, that they have managed to make visible the discussion of abortion as a human right and that to talk of abortion no longer is a taboo (Vicky 2019: Chana 2019: María Julia 2019: Alejandra 2019).
6.2 Socorristas en Red
The Network of Socorristas is an articulation of a feminist collective that exists all over the Argentina. Today there are 52 collectives that together forms the National Network of the Socorristas en Red. The Network does also functions in accordance with La Campaña and they strive to reach the same goal, the legalization of abortion (Ana 2019).
The work of the Socorristas is to provide information to persons who wish to end an pregnancy and to their help, they use the manual of the World Health Organization (Florencia 2019). Ana, active in the Socorrista collective in La Plata, describes their work as accompanying decisions, to offer the possibility to choose, and says that the Socorristas is an answer to the responsibilities that the state is not taking (Ana 2019).
The Socorristas organize group workshops with 4 to 7 persons that called them during the week. In the workshops, they share the information of how to end pregnancy in a safe way by using the medication misoprostol. During the process of abortion they provide telephonic accompaniments to the women and the persons with the possibility to gestate. They also accompany in the post abortion process when providing information about where to make an echography at a safe place in order to ensure that the pregnancy is terminated (Florencia 2019). The difference between La Campaña and the Socorristas are addressed as the following;
“The Socorristas en Red dedicates more on the field work of the material reality
that there are women who abort and that we have to accompany this. But we have the same aim, we are fighting for the same, but that we dedicate to different things” (Ana 2019).
6.3 Red de Profesionales por el Derecho a Decidir
The network consists of 1000 professionals working within health and social care. It is a horizontal network where the permission to be a part of it is that one works within health care and provide women the access of legal interruptions of pregnancies. In the interview with Mayo, a doctor who works as a midwife, described the emergence of the Red de Profesionales as the following;
“We decided, like we are so many sectors in the country that are helping women to abort, let’s get together, lets reinforce us, and like that the Network emerges” (Mayo 2019).
The network has also created a website where one can find all the hospitals and health care centers where professionals who are part of the network are working.
Furthermore, she explains that the aim of the network is to struggle and to be active in providing legal abortions by the help of the ILE protocol. In the penal code from 1921 abortion is legal in three causals: violation, the predicament of health and the risk of death. By applying the protocol ILE they can apply the integral concept of health. If a pregnancy is generating distress and anxiety, it enters in this causal and it can be marked as a legal interruption. Thus, they can provide the medication for interrupting a pregnancy (Mayo 2019).
6.4 Cátedra Libre Aborto: Un Problema de Salud Pública
In 2017, student at the medicine faculty of the National University of La Plata, got together and formed a secretariat of gender. In their faculty they do not speak of abortions and because of this lack of education they decided that they themselves had to create such kind of space for providing information. As described by Belú;
“Of course the objective is that one day this content will be given obligatory in the syllabus for all students, and that it will not be optional. But well, in the meantime what we can do is to organize this open lectures” (Belú 2019).
In realization of the lectures, they got help from the Socorristas en Red, La Campaña Nacional
and the Red de profesionales in order to address the different themes and problematics in relation to their future professions in health care (Flor 2019: Belú 2019).
7. Analysis of material
In this chapter I will present the analysis of my material. Thus, this will also be the chapter where the material is presented. The chapter is structured with the different themes of my research question; resistance, power and body. The concept of power is first discussed and followed by the analysis on importance of collective consciousness in the construction of power. Subsequently, the role of the body in the political struggle is analyzed by using the expression poner el cuerpo.
7.1 Power
During the interviews the participants where asked what idea or concept of power they had when thinking of the struggle for the legalization for abortion. Different similarities were found in the interview material. It was understood as the kind of power being exercised over women’s bodies (María Julia 2019: Vicky 2019: Mayo 2019). As gained by the activist in producing collective consciousness and by information (Vicky 2019: Alejandra 2019: Belú 2019: Ana 2019: Florencia 2019: Flor 2019: Jazmine 2019). It was also understood as resistance and power when carrying out an safe abortion (Julia 2019: Ana 2019).
7.1.1 The Power Struggle
The concept of power was expressed as a battle of power over women’s bodies, in which being able to decide over one’s body was central. When asked about her idea of power in this struggle, Maria Julia answered;
“Well… it’s just this, to be able to decide over our bodies, we always say “We give birth, we decide”. Moreover she claims that “Our bodies are territories of battle” (Maria Julía 2019).
Similar, Mayo, a doctor involved in the Red de Profesionales, argues that:
“For me, this is a struggle of power, the ones that are against has to do with the control of power that exist over the bodies of women. Women’s bodies were always a territory of dispute…and for me this struggle is to say that well, this is my body, I decide, no institution is going to tell me if I can or not” (Mayo 2019).
“The bodies of women, non-hegemonic bodies or the bodies of transgender
persons are bodies that does not belong to us” (Alejandra 2019).
Further she argues that, to claim the right to abortion;
“is to reject this power of patriarchy and the system. And for this we are
fighting, it is a struggle of power” (Alejandra 2019).
As expressed by these women, the body is thought of as the central site of the subjection of patriarchal power. As stated by Eisenstein, “the sites of power always begins with bodies” and the abovementioned citations expresses such an understanding of power (Sutton 2010, p. 8). As argued by Millet, the patriarchy’s politics exists on all levels of the everyday life and consequently also in the private sphere (Grant 2016, p. 229). Is also effective in the area of sexuality which is revealed and so expressed in the above stated citations. How the body of women has been subjected to the power of patriarchy’s politics. However, as expressed by Alejandra, when claiming the right to abortion one is rejecting the power of patriarchy and is participating in the struggle for power. Hence, power is not only seen as something oppressive but that it is a struggle of power, where one can fight for gaining the power of deciding over one’s own body. As addressed by Connell, power and inequality is not embodied in a one way direction (Sutton 2010, p. 9). The above citations shows an awareness of that power does not only exist as a one way direction but that these bodies do also confront this oppression. 7.1.2 Collective Consciousness as Power
Power and empowerment were also understood as something collective in many of the women’s answers. To gain power and to become empowered, was understood as not an individual process but as something collective. Vicky argues that it is a collective battle that will produce collective empowerment;
“That for the structure of the real palpable power that exercise violence over us, we win this battle collectively. This collective battle do also have to be replicated in a collective empowerment” (Vicky 2019).
Similar Alejandra argues that;
“My militancy with La Campaña empowers me because it empowers all of us” (Alejandra 2019).
In order to reach this collective power Vicky spoke about collective consciousness as gained when “discussing the hegemonic power” (Vicky 2019).
Belú expressed a similar thought of this collective consciousness;
“The fact that we can say that this is bad and this we want to change it, this
is power” (Belú 2019).
Moreover, she argued that to have information on safe access to abortion gives them power;
“This information that we now have, gives us power, whether it is for oneself or to provide to another person like…if you want to abort you can go to this place where there are people that can help you, or you can watch this webpage on how it is safe to use misoprostol… this is power” (Belú 2019).
Further Belú argues that this power to provide information of access to safe abortion is something they already have;
“We need the State to give us tools. But I think that the power is already
there, it’s like give it a legal framework and institutionalize it” (Belú 2019).
Information as power was also expressed in the interview with Ana, activist in the Socorristas network;
“I think that when we speak of power, the information is power, and I do in this sense have more power than others that don’t have this information, and with this power, I have to do something” (Ana 2019).
Jazmine, does not accompany abortions in a Socorrista network but is a member of a political organization that does, argues that;
“Socorrismo is a form of taking power in your own hands. I take this piece of power from the patriarchy that make the women who became pregnant to have the baby, and I say no, I will accompany you to end with the pregnancy if this is what you want. It is 100 % a strategy in taking power” (Jazmine
Collective consciousness is spoken of in the interviews as an important aspect in the construction of power. The concept of power is understood as something created collectively when discussion the hegemonic power (Vicy 2019), but also when having information on how to access safe abortion (Flor 2019: Ana 2019: Florencia 2019). As expressed by Jazmin, obtaining information on how to carry out an safe abortion is a possibility to take power from the patriarchy and decide over ones own body (Jazmine 2019: Ana 2019).
It can be argued that such a taking of power is an alternative for women to participate in the biopower. As explored by Campagnoli the collectivization of the social practices of abortion in Argentina has produced new meanings and narratives of the practice of abortion and consequently the exercise of these liberties is a resistance of the biopower (Campagnoli 2018, p. 179). Campagnoli departs from the concept of Foucault and how the modern sovereign power is exercised in different levels, on the population as a whole and on the individual through mechanisms and disciplines that controls the bodies. This control is illustrated with examples like the Church, education and the military (Campagnoli 2018, p. 180). By collectivizing personal experiences of abortion as a liberation, an exercise of autonomy, a new collective construction will emerge. These experiences will not be captured by the institutional norms of trauma and sin (Campagnoli 2018, p. 185). Campagnoli argues that when we install the practice of abortion, despite its penalization, it constitutes a principle of agency for the women, who by the biopower were seen subjects (Campagnoli 2018, p. 191). This way of thinking of power is expressed in the interviews, that being able to collectivize information and consciousness of the access of abortion is a strategy for obtaining power. Power is seen in the interviews as being able to decide over one’s body. This decision over one’s body is then as stated by Campagnoli a “affirmative participation of biopower”, since they become agents and not subject of such power (Campagnoli 2018, p. 190).
7.1.3 Construction of Collective Experiences
As stated in previous section, the collective consciousness is expressed as important for the struggle to legalize abortion and for the experiences of power. Hence, it is found important to highlight the role of the construction of such consciousness. The National Encounter of Women was addressed as important in the exchange of experiences but also for its role in the feminist movement in Argentina.
Every year since 1986 thousands of women are gather during three days at the National Encounters of Women in Argentina. It has served as an important place for women across the country to meet (Burton 2017, p. 4). Because of the country’s diversity, women living in different regions shared different experiences. As expressed by Chana, the encounters are like the “spinal column of the feminist movement in Argentina” (Chana 2019). Therefore, in the interviews for this thesis women were asked if they had participated in the Encounter and if so, to share some of their experiences.
The exchange of experiences was expressed as an important aspect in the Encounters (Maria Julia 2019: Jazmine 2019). When exchanging personal experiences one is able to understand that the experiences is not individual but also as shared. As stated by Jazmine;
“To put experiences as shared, to come together with each other and to say that this did also happen to me” (Jazmine 2019).
Chana addressed how when meeting in the encounters, it was possible to detect different forms of violence;
“From these discussions with the comrades more impoverished in
Argentina, we questioned male chauvinist violence and how this was expressed” (Chana 2019).
The Encounters was expressed as transformative by several women (Vicky 2019: María Julia 2019: Ana 2019: Jazmine 2019: Alejandra 2019). María Julia speaks of this exchange of experiences as transformative and that it is transformative “not for only you but also for the comrade that told her story” (María Julia 2019).
Julia develops the notion of the encounter being transformative when stating the following;
“For me the encounters are a bit what happens every time us women get together, this of how we transform individually subjective and collectively when being with others” (Julia 2019).
Alejandra also articulates the importance of the Encounter in developing a feminism less hegemonic and more intersectional. She claims that one of the fundamental characters of the
“Challenge/defy the logics of patriarchy, it is a reconsideration of the
practices of the world in which we live in… to think of how to transform it order to make it better” (Alejandra 2019).
Such a transformation can be argued to be a formation of collective consciousness due to it bringing consciousness of logics of patriarchy.
As argued by Mills, it is important to understand the individual lived experiences as a product of historical context, and that we only can understand our lived experiences when understanding those of the individuals around us (Mills 2000, p. 8). In his phenomenology of perception, Merleau-Ponty addresses our experiences as embodied beings in the world when stating that the body is “what opens me out upon the world and places me in a situation there” (Merleau-Ponty 1962, p. 144). Hence, when women come together in the National Encounters they are opened up and placed in a situation of encountering new experiences of other women in order to understand them. When the women come together as embodied beings, they do not only become aware of others experiences but also their own. Hence, they are able to understand the social patterns and hegemonic structures that shape their lives and a development of a collective consciousness of shared experiences emerges. As mentioned in section 7.1.2, to discuss the hegemonic power is to reach collective power and collective consciousness (Vicky 2019). This collective consciousness is expressed by the interview participants as power –power to understand the structures of patriarchy that affects them and their bodies.
7.1.4 Abortion as Power and Resistance
When obtaining such power, when being able to decide over one’s own body, becoming an agent and not a subject of biopower is also understood as an act of resistance against the patriarchal structures and norms of what it entails being a woman.
Julia develops the notion of power when speaking about the access to safe abortion as a form of resistance, a resistance against the social mandates of motherhood, and that abortion was expressed as;
“To abort was to resist all of this that one has to do” (Julia 2019).
“Abortion comes to challenge all of this, throwing overboard the mandates
and everything that weights on the body and on the life of a person, and to say this is my desire” (Julia 2019)
Ana argues that what she most liked with being a part of the Socorristas was to be able to say; “I am going against everything, everything established and here the one who
decides is me, it is only me, I do not care about anyone’s opinion, it is my body and in this moment I asking for help” (Ana 2019).
In this section, power is understood as having the power over one’s own body, to be able to carry out an abortion in a social context where it is criminalized, to go against the established norms and structures created by societies patriarchal domination (Grant 2016, p. 229). Because of the male body having served as the model for humanity, women have been reduced to their reproductive system (Gatens 1996, p. 24). But to be able to go against this is to have power over one’s body. Thus, in the abovementioned citation this kind of power is understood as a resistance against established norms. The body could here bee understood as serving as a vehicle for resistance. Sutton addresses how resistance is to put the body on the line in different situations, one of them is to undergo clandestine abortions (Sutton 2010, p. 6). In the abovementioned citations, to go against the established norms and to undergo an abortion is expressed as a form of resistance.
7.2 Body
During the interviews, participants were asked what it meant for them to “Poner el cuerpo” in this struggle for the legalization of abortion. By using this expression it was made possible to elicit what role the body had for them in this struggle. The answers were phrased differently but similar aspects were found.
7.2.1 Corporal Commitment
“To put the body” were in various of the interviews expressed as to put time and action for the struggle to legalize abortion. It was seen as to put the material body in action, as an corporal engagement;
