Some rhizomatic recollections of a feminist geographer: working toward an affirmative politics

Abstract

In celebration of the 21st anniversary of Gender, Place and Culture, I have taken the opportunity to argue for an affirmative politics for feminist geography. I offer a set of rhizomatic recollections of individualized moments of limit experiences that I have encountered in my own academic practice as a feminist geographer. Although perhaps not as transformative as one might expect, the limit experiences I write about are at the very least an attempt to garner attention to those experiences that transform us into academic subjects. As reflections, these recollections are an experiment in the practice of writing as part of an affirmative politics – a collective project valuing potential and possibilities. Through the writing, I assist this collective effort by many colleagues in orienting the wider projects of reflexivity, autoethnography, and autobiographical writing away from the undermining charge of being narcissistic habits borne out of the harsh criticism of not engaging the power that swirls around us toward the affirming claim of being part of a sustainable ethics whereby researchers and scholars can write from an embodied, embedded self through recounting their own intellectual and social practices.

21 años de Gender, Place and Culture – algunos recuerdos rizomáticos de una geógrafa feminista: trabajar hacia una política afirmativa

En celebración del 21^er aniversario de Gender, Place and Culture, aprovecho la oportunidad para argumentar por una política afirmativa para la geografía feminista. Presento un conjunto de recuerdos rizomáticos de momentos individualizados de experiencias límite que encontré en mi propia práctica académica como geógrafa feminista. Aunque quizás no sean tan transformadoras como se podría esperar, las experiencias límites de las que escribo aquí son como mínimo un intento por atraer la atención hacia aquellas experiencias que nos transforman en sujetos académicos. Como reflexiones, estos recuerdos son un experimento en la práctica de escribir como parte de una política afirmativa – un proyecto colectivo que valora el potencial y las posibilidades. A través de la escritura, ayudo a este esfuerzo colectivo de muchxs colegas para distanciar a los proyectos más amplios de reflexividad, autoetnografía y escritura autobiográfica de la acusación socavadora de que son hábitos narcisistas nacidos del duro criticismo de no involucrar el poder que gira alrededor nuestro y orientarlo hacia la declaración afirmativa de ser parte de una ética sostenible donde lxs investigadorxs y académicxs puedan escribir desde un yo encarnadx y insertadx al relatar sus propias prácticas intelectuales y sociales.

批判的城市协力民族志：在印度的加尔各答接合社群与“莎芙女同志平权论坛”

本文透过与加尔各答的女同性恋者一同进行协力民族志研究，反思“社群”的概念。在全球南方从事批判城市民族志，并书写拒绝简单空间分类的性，对于寻求延伸性慾的学术研究、使之超越全球北方“男同志村典范”的研究者而言十分重要。本文聚焦加尔各答的女同性恋者理解社群与行动主义的方式，该城市存在于不断尝试经济復甦和生气蓬勃的生存模式之中。有关社群的问题，在对同性恋关係除罪化和取得该关係社会正当性的政治行动中，仍然悬而未决。我们运用与“莎芙女同志平权论坛” 之协力民族志研究，该论坛係为一项与东印度在性方面受到边缘化的女性的行动式集体合作，以此涉入社群作为女同性恋者接合边缘化并策略性地连结规范性社会机构的空间。我将引介批判协力民族志之概念，作为实践社会研究的可究责性之方法，以此展开讨论。我将接着透过选择民族志的短文，展现“酷儿社群”何以不是预先决定的目标、而总是处于打造的过程——一个在特定物质脉络、行动实践和社会偶遇中形构和消解的过程。

Keywords::

• academic subject
• affirmative politics
• feminism
• limit experience
• nomadic subjectivity
• potential
• sustainable ethics

Palabras claves::

• sujeto académico
• política afirmativa
• feminismo
• experiencia límite
• subjetividad nómade
• potentia
• ética sostenible

关键词:::

• 女性爱女性
• 酷儿
• 社群
• 协力民族志
• 印度
• 加尔各答

Acknowledgements

I am grateful for the two anonymous reviews. Each referee provided a set of inspiring reflections on my original piece. Addressing them through the revision process showed me how an affirming sustainable review process works.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pamela Moss

Pamela Moss is a professor in human and social development, University of Victoria, Canada. Her research coalesces around themes of bodies, power, and knowledge production in numerous contexts. Her work draws on disability studies, social and cultural geography, feminist methodology, and autobiographical writing. She uses feminism and poststructural thinking to develop analyses of diverse topics, for example women's chronically ill bodies via chronic fatigue syndrome, combat soldiers' intense emotional distress via shell shock and PTSD, the making of contested illness, and feminist theories of embodiment. Her most recent book, co-authored with Michael J. Prince, is Weary Warriors (Berghahn, Moss, Pamela, and Michael J. Prince. 2014). She is working on a book project entitled Fatigue.