Feminist Duration Reading Group: The Feminist Practice of Affidamento (Entrustment)

7 April 2018

Sat 7 Apr, 4-8pm
London E2*
Free & all welcome

The relational practice of affidamento, or entrustment, was developed by members of the Milan Women’s Bookshop collective in the early 1980s. Affidamento diverges from the previous second wave feminist focus on horizontality and equality to recognize disparities amongst women, which form the basis for relationships of trust.

The adoption of affidamento represented a move away from mass campaigns for institutional reform and political equality towards the creation of autonomous feminist culture and interpersonal relationships. It responded to an impasse within feminist collectivity, where the denial of difference was felt to promote the dominance of certain voices, the passivity of other group members, and the suppression of desire.

This session will consider the relevance of affidamento for feminist politics, collective organising, and lived practices today. It will highlight tactics of strategic separatism, emphasis on one-on-one relationships, and the political application of affidamento within the legal field.

Texts
We will read selections from the following, out loud, together. Pre-reading is not required. Please bring copies with you.

Milan Women’s Bookshop collective, ‘More Women than Men,’ 1983
Luisa Muraro, ‘Bonding and Freedom,’ 1985
M Grazia Campari, Rosaria Canzaro, Lia Cigarini, Sciana Loaldi, Laura Roseo and and Claudia Shanma, ‘Entrustment Enters the Palace,’ 1985
Ida Dominijanini, Radicality and Asceticism, 1987 

* Venue
The meeting will take place in private home in Hoxton. It will include cooking and eating, as well as reading and talking, together. For the address and details of what to bring please email feministduration@gmail.com 

The Feminist Duration Reading Group focuses on under-known and under-appreciated feminist texts, movements, groups and struggles from outside the Anglo-American feminist tradition. Started at Goldsmiths, University of London, in March 2015, since July 2015 it has been generously hosted by SPACE, 129 – 131 Mare Street in Hackney.

The group generally meets once a month, alternately on the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm at SPACE and the first Saturday of the month at 4pm a non-institutional venue.

Details of previous meetings can be found on the right-hand panel.

The Feminist Duration Reading Group welcomes feminists of all genders and generations to explore the legacy and resonance of art, thinking and collective practice from earlier periods of feminism, in dialogue with contemporary practices and movements. It is led by the Feminist Duration Working Group. Current members are Angelica Bollettinari, Lina Džuverović, Sabrina Fuller, Félicie Kurtado, Mariana Lemos, Roisin O’Sullivan, Sara Paiola, Justin Seng, and Helena Reckitt. 

If you would like to join the Feminist Duration Reading Group mailing list, or propose a focus for a subsequent session, please write to us at feministduration@gmail.com.