A Radical Feminist Diaspora: Speaking of IMELDA, reproductive justice and Ireland

Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A. discuss how they counter restrictive Irish legislation on reproduction from their location in London. Analysing the use of performative resistance, they firstly situate their work within the legacies of 1980s London-Irish feminist activism to reflect on the radical aspects of diasporic communities. I.M.L.E.D.A. then consider the ‘performative activism of “loose” women who both violate and affirm social constructions and projections of “normative” femininity’ (Gale, 2015: 314). Subsequently they argue that I.M.E.L.D.A. actions are a messy alliance between art and politics when a loosely framed DIY aesthetics spills out from artistic representation into crude political propositions that demand a response.

This chapter is authored by Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A. of which Dr Lynne Mccarthy is a member, along with Helena Walsh, Ann Rossiter, Marian Larragy, Treasa O'Brien, Tina Ní Bhloscaidh and Anna Carnegie. Cite as: Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A (2019) 'A Radical Feminist Diaspora: Speaking of IMELDA, reproductive justice and Ireland'. in: Kinna, R. and Gordon, U. (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics Routledge.