Normative violence and the terms of recognizability as 'woman' in Chilean Catholic schools
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge
Abstract
In this article, we analyze our individually written testimonios and group conversations about our experience as 'woman' in Catholic schools in Chile, using Butler's concept of performativity and Braidotti's concept of nomadic subjectivity. We argue that some Catholic schools in Chile reproduce the category 'woman' as a pure, selfless, sexy, heterosexual mother who is an inferior and erasable being that is frequently discounted. This reproduction is done via different procedures of shaming, silencing, and even sexual violence. We experienced the telling of these testimonios as troubling but productive. First, this paper addresses the ideologies, values, and practices that Catholic schools construct around gender. Second, it suggests that the telling of and engagement with stories of embodied experiences is a beneficial strategy to battle gender oppression and work through productive discomfort and affects. Finally, the article considers the importance of dismantling subjectivity formation processes that consider some bodies as disposable.
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Keywords
Catholic schools, Testimonios, Gender education, Chile, Collective self-study