Wir bleiben Zuhause
Like the rest of the world, I am also locked up in my home in Berlin. With schools and kindergardens closed since almost a month, my partner and I have two – four children around all day, so there is definitely no boredom coming up. When I talked to a friend from Italy yesterday about the current situation, she pointed out the lack of feminist writing on the crisis, whereas many men seem to have a lot to say about how the pandemic is affecting our lives. Is this due to the fact that women are now either really busy working in system-relevant jobs (which would explain the high number of dads on playgrounds – now closed – at the beginning of the pandemic) and/or taking care of their children at home? Whilst some couples might divide the time equally, others might fall back to more ‘traditional’ models. Or there is no choice, as 90% of all single parents are women (1). Of course, not all women have children of young age, or any at all. In any case, it seems there are a few feminist perspectives on the crisis worth a read:
Arundhati Roy: The pandemic is a portal
Judith Butler: Capitalism has its limits
Rebecca Solnit: The impossible has already happened. What corona can teach us about hope.
And, very nicely, the online source Pirate Care, where you can find all sorts of interesting stuff, including this thread on corona in relation to care. In relation to solidarity, Friederike Habermann started a new blog called ‘Ansteckend Solidarisch’ (contagiously solidary) – thanks to Bianca for pointing this out. I am sure there is more, I need to do some more research on this, but am lacking the time for this at the moment – please don’t wonder why 🙂
Most of the above was found on this really nice etherpad started by Marco Clausen, collecting writings and reflections on the current situation – thanks to him and everyone who contributed! These resources are really valuable in these difficult times to build an understanding of what is going on around the world. Corona really is a moment to learn and unlearn – if we find the time to reflect. Alone and together.
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(1) Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/feminism-womens-rights-coronavirus-covid19/608302/
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