Social Reproduction as Resistance
Abortion, Refugees, and Illegitimate Care
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24229183 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marta Rawłuszko (0000-0003-0052-1124, University of Warsaw), Magdalena Grabowska (0000-0001-6543-2996, Polish Academy of Sciences) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 250-272 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1072-4745 • E-ISSN: 1468-2893 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/sp/jxag014 |
| OpenAlex | W7202253306 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
This article theorizes social reproduction as enacted by feminist social movements in response to state hostility under neoliberal capitalism and authoritarian regimes. Drawing on empirical research from 2018 to 2024, it examines two case studies: assistance in accessing abortion under Poland’s near-total ban introduced in 2020 and activist support for migrants stranded at the Polish-Belarusian border. We introduce the concept of “illegitimate care” to describe care practices that are criminalized or suppressed by the state, particularly when directed toward marginalized populations deemed unworthy of support. These acts challenge capitalist and nationalist logics by sustaining lives considered disposable. The article argues for a pluralized social reproduction approach that centers empirical realities and blurs the lines between care and reproductive labor. By analyzing activist practices that both reproduce and resist capitalist structures, we demonstrate how social reproduction becomes a terrain of struggle, transforming everyday acts of care into politically significant forms of resistance.
abortion access · Authoritarianism · Care work · feminist movements · Nationalism · Neoliberalism · Polish-Belarusian border · Refugees · reproductive labor · Resistance · Social reproduction · Feminism, Gender, and Intersectionality · Gender and Feminist Studies · Gender, Health, and Social Inequality
The Oxford Handbook of Social Movements
Polycrisis or crises of capitalist social reproduction
Samopomoc i samoobsługa aborcyjna w czasach niepewności
Social reproduction and pandemic neoliberalism
Pirate Care
On the Grounds of Globalization
Defending the unborn’, ‘protecting women’ and ‘preserving culture and nation’
The Hero, the White Savior, and the Smuggler
The ‘migrant other’ as a security threat
Looking Beyond the Spectacle
Depletion
Refugees as Surplus Population
Governing the Economy Under Populist Rule
Refusing and Redressing Gestational Labor
Departing or Being Deported? Poland’s Approach towards Humanitarian Migrants
Postsocialist and Postcapitalist Questions? Far-Right Historical Narratives and the Making of a New Europe
Who Cares for Families? Narrative(s) of Return in Postsocialist Europe
Saving and reproducing the nation
Introduction
Governing new authoritarianism
Coloniality and the Contours of Global Production in the Dominican Republic and Haiti
Insidious Harassment
Bio(necro)polis
The Human-As-Waste, the Labor Theory of Value and Disposability in Contemporary Capitalism
Contradictions of Capital and Care
Vagabond Capitalism and the Necessity of Social Reproduction
Pluralizing social reproduction approaches
Populism and Protest in Poland
The reproduction of reproduction
Rethinking power, production, and social reproduction
The paradoxes of necessity
Introduction
Neoliberalism Redux
Gender, Social Reproduction, and Women's Self-Organization
Migrants, borders and the criminalisation of solidarity in the EU
Europe
Religion-Related Legitimations in Abortion Policy-Making in Poland. What Do They Tell Us About the Public Role of Religion
Criminalization, Medicalization, and Stigmatization
| Highly cited | No |
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