Work

Social Reproduction as Resistance: Abortion, Refugees, and Illegitimate Care

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: 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.

Source: Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society

DOI: 10.1093/sp/jxag014

Authors: Marta Rawłuszko, Magdalena Grabowska

Institutions: University of Warsaw, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Feminism, Gender, and Intersectionality

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities, Gender equality

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,631