Vulnerability and Emotions

Feminist movements have argued for decades that supposedly private issues cannot be discussed without the context of society as a whole. We relate to this feminist tradition of the private being political as we engage in exchanges about feelings, vulnerability, psychological crises, and emotional labor. We raise the question of why "sensitive" and "emotional" as terms continue to evoke such strongly gendered associations and who actually decides when a feeling is "too much". We pose the question which individuals are particularly easily attributed or denied certain feelings because of their roles/identities. We critically discuss who in this society takes more responsibility for listening and supporting in emotionally challenging situations. With all these questions, we want to open a space that not only strengthens our theoretical understanding of how society deals with emotions, but above all allows us to address our personal questions and concerns.

Examples of workshops in this area: