Standing Still in Feminist Protest

A protest by an individual standing still in a public space is a departure from the framework of a collective street demonstration; that is, movement in space and bodily interaction with others. We investigated aesthetics of this gesture in the context of cultural studies on immobility and individual protests. Our point of reference is the solo protest against the restriction of abortion rights held by female activist Beata Katkowska in the square of the small Polish town of Gryfice, on March 23, 2018. We argue that the aesthetics of standing alone in the public are associated with its spatial context and subversion of constraints in favor of contemplation and conscious disruption of dominant rhythms. Although a single-person protest is usually undertaken in response to systemic violence, one’s decision to stay immobilized is voluntary, evoking the figure of a meditator – an honorable individual consciously defying the rules of everyday life

Aesthetics · Art · Feminism · Sociology · Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Studies · Gender Studies · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Political Economy and Marxism