Work

At the kitchen table with my ancestors

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This short personal essay focuses on the possibility of passing feminist thought and action from one generation to another within a family. Inspired by Carrie Mae Weems’ Kitchen Table Series , I imagine a roundtable with my matrilineal ancestors. I examine the question of what constitutes feminisms and whether my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother considered themselves feminists in a place where it is not always easy to be a feminist: former Yugoslavia and its diaspora. I argue that the stories about my ancestors that I heard growing up made me a feminist and, alongside my readings and activism, shaped my understanding of feminisms, even when my ancestors themselves might not have considered themselves feminists.

Source: Feminist Theory

DOI: 10.1177/14647001251326448

Author: Ana Nenadović

Institution: SOAS University of London

Language: English

Topic: Feminist Theory and Gender Studies

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Gender equality

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650