Anger and network resistance: Women defying the reproductive mandate

Keywords: discrimination, ethnography, feminism, digital social networks, pronatalism, motherhood
Agencies: University of Costa Rica

Abstract

This paper presents a feminist digital ethnography, grounded in standpoint theory and intersectionality, with the goal of conducting research using information and communication technology (ICT) to analyze the experiences and resistance strategies of childfree women in Facebook groups. After analysing two hundred and two posts from two childfree groups, it can be concluded that participants have established a secure space on the platform for expressing their anger and condemning unjust differential and discriminatory treatment faced for choosing not to be mothers. Interaction within these two groups fosters resistance against pronatalism through critiques of the romanticisation and fetishisation of motherhood as well as the rejection of reproductive harassment.

Author Biography

Carolina Rojas-Madrigal, University of Costa Rica

Bachelor and Magister Scientiae in Social Work from the University of Costa Rica. Associate professor and researcher at the University of Costa Rica: School of Social Work; Academic Master's Degree in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and researcher at the Centre for Research in Women's Studies (CIEM-UCR). Experience in university extension, academic management and curricular consultancy. Topics of work and research: higher education; feminisms; gender; families; clinical social work; narrative therapy.

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Published
2024-01-31
How to Cite
Rojas-Madrigal, C. (2024). Anger and network resistance: Women defying the reproductive mandate. Teknokultura. Revista de Cultura Digital Y Movimientos Sociales, 21(1), 49-58. https://doi.org/10.5209/tekn.90156