How Does a Knitted Vagina Work? The Craftivist Response to Current Political Issues through the Utilization of Historically Feminine Crafts
This thesis explores how historically women’s crafts such as needlework and fiber arts have informed acts of political protest with a focus on the craftivist response to contemporary women’s reproductive rights surrounding the Supreme Court Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision (2014). Individuals and organized groups, including Government Free VJJ: Project Snatchel, Knit a Brick, and Wombs on Washington responded to the attempts and legalization of restricting women’s reproductive freedom. I am interested in how contemporary craftivism utilizes the historically feminine mediums of fiber-based craft to further social awareness of political feminine issues. INDEX WORDS: Craftivism, Activism, Knitting, Gender, Women’s Rights, Pro-Choice HOW DOES A KNITTED VAGINA WORK? THE CRAFTIVIST RESPONSE TO CURRENT POLITCAL ISSUES THROUGH THE UTILIZATION OF HISTORICALLY FEMININE CRAFTS
Unravelling the Threads: Contemporary Craftivism and Its Origins
This chapter contextualises the practice of yarn bombing through a discussion of the broader craftivist movement within which it is situated. In a detailed thematic account of contemporary and significant examples of craftivism, the chapter establishes the long history of crafts as tools for activism and advocacy. Advancing the work of Greer (2008, 2014) and Pentney (2008), the chapter also proposes three logics of craftivist practice—personal, community, and political—to argue that craftivist acts, while driven by different motives and objectives, are inherently political, and should be understood as such.
Resisting orientation : on the complexities of desire and the limits of identity politics
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