Who can remember and who doesn’t? These are some central questions that want to answer memory studies. Memory Studies is an interdisciplinary area that combines sociology, psychology, history and cultural studies at its core level. But if it is considered by a feminist and gender -specific lens, memory studies become not only an academic examination, but also a strong form of resistance.
Feminist memory work tells us that forgetting was always intended and was also shaped by strength systems. While his archives have always focused on wars, leaders and institutions, they have often overlooked the daily life of women and marginalized communities. It asks us to rethink how the memory was constructed, who controlled it and what consequences certain white voices are continuously silenced. The feminist approach to memory opened up for the recovery of forgotten stories, confirmation of the experiences of all and build archives of resistance that are more integrative and fair.
Memory is political
It is not just about the past. It is political and shaped by who has power and whose stories are considered important enough to be remembered. What a society reminds and what it wants to forget is almost never neutral. As a theoretician Pierre Nora explained with his idea of Storage placesOr “memory web”, institutions often create physical places, rituals and symbols that reflect the dominant version of their history. These usually focus on political events, wars or national heroes, who are often male, upper caste and upper class.
Source: The New York Times
Feminist scholars have found that mainstream memories often miss the daily life of women, dalits, adivasis and queer. Things such as housework, care, sexual violence and local activism are often seen as “unimportant” or “too personal” in order to be part of public history. For this reason, the collective memory can silence these voices.
Feminist interventions: Recalculation of the forgotten
Feminist memory studies try to recover what is lost, overlook or deliberately hidden. It focuses on personal stories, oral stories, diaries and community traditions, and feminist scholars and activists built what is often referred to as opposing. These are the memories that push themselves back against dominant historical stories and create space for voices that have long been ignored by the mainstream.
A key concept that we will find here is post-memory that is developed by a feminist scholar. Marianne Hirsch. Post-memory describe us how trauma and memory are not passed on through direct experiences, but through stories, photos and often silence to future generations. For example, survivors may not have experienced these events themselves, but they often have a deep emotional connection to these events, which often shape their way in which they see the world.
For example, survivors may not have experienced these events themselves, but they often have a deep emotional connection to these events, which often shape their way in which they see the world.
This idea is very important in feminist work because many women a trauma through silent heirs. Topics such as sexual violence, migration or social stigma are often not openly spoken by our mothers or grandmothers, but their effects are still lingering. Feminist post-memory helps to name, follow, follow and give sense of these calm inheritance that we often see in life.
Gender -specific trauma and embodied memory
The memory is not only saved in the mind, but also kept in our body. Feminist scholars have argued that gender -specific trauma such as sexual violence, domestic abuse or control over reproduction often leaves emotional prints. Survivors can forget or suppress certain events, but the body remembers through fear, chronic pain or emotional triggers.
Source: Amazon
Judith Herman explains to us in her influential book Trauma and recovery This trauma can take away our ability to shape clear and coherent stories. People who have undergone gender -specific violence often have difficulty expressing or understanding what they have gone through. This silence is not a sign of weak memory, but a reflection on how deep this type of trauma can affect both the brain and the body.
On the structure of this we introduced the concept of Cathy Caruth’s unused memory Unused experiences. The unused memory is where traumatic experiences can often occur in fragmented and confusing ways instead of a clear memory. Feminist perspectives on trauma and memory emphasize how important it is to recognize these broken experiences. They argue that even silence, separation or partial memories are important and should be recorded in historical stories and in our personal reports.
Memory and feminist literature
The storytelling is of central importance for feminist memory work. Memoirs, autofiction, protest density and speculative fiction served as an alternative archives that recorded experiences that were excluded by the dominant stories. Authors like Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf and Mahhasweta you owe Have centered voices that were often silenced, such as those of black women, poor women and women under colonial rule.
Authors like Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf and Mahhasweta you owe Have centered voices that were often silenced, such as those of black women, poor women and women under colonial rule.
We also have contemporary writers like Carmen Maria Machado Anyone who examines how memory combines with trauma, sexuality and resistance. This shows us that the memory is not properly organized, but is often messy, emotional and fragmented.
Source: Fii
On the other hand, it also plays a role in maintaining memory. There are practices such as quilt, embroidery, performance and digital storytelling that help us archive our stories and resist the official stories through creative expression.
Survey memory
Feminist memory theory overlaps with queer theory, especially when it comes to challenging heteronormative schedules. Traditional models prioritize heterosexual marriage, birth and national service as milestones in a life that is remembered. The queer life, which often includes selected families, non -linear paths and basic activism, often falls outside of these standards.
Queer memory makes space for the disorder of real life: its silence, emotional layers and fragmented stories. It doesn’t try to fit everything into a decent or traditional story. There are projects like drowning (Queer archive for memory reflection and activism) do the important work to save LGBTQIA+ history in India, stories that were often only ignored, deleted or punished.
There are projects like drowning (Queer archive for memory reflection and activism) do the important work to save LGBTQIA+ history in India, stories that were often only ignored, deleted or punished.
The queering memory is not just about inclusion, but also defines how the memory itself is structured, interpreted and appreciated.
On a feminist archive of resistance
In the end, it is not just about looking back, but also the future. Feminist scholars and activists who uncover the forgotten or silent stories help help to open up for new types of connection, justice and healing. In cultures in which forgetting is often shaped by systems such as censorship and patriarchy, reminders become a mighty and political act.
Source: Fii
In India efforts like that Indian memory project And feminist digital archives show how memory can be a common effort that triggered pain, resilience and voices from official history.
When we think about memory through a feminist lens, we realize that remembering is not just about the past. It is shaped by power, inequality and who can tell the story. What society reminds or wants to forget is not only about how we see the story, but also how we live today and imagine what is possible tomorrow.
Feminist memory work pays attention to stories that are often ignored. It appreciates real and lived experiences, especially of those who have been pushed on the edges. In a world that often says women and marginalized people that they should stay calm or continue, remembering can be a strong act of the defiance and a step towards real change.
Juhi Sanduja is an editorial intern at Feminism in India (FII). It is passionate about intersectional feminism, with a great interest in documenting resistance, feminist stories and identity questions. Previously, she was as a research intern in Delhi in the Center for Political Research and Governance (CPRG), Delhi. She is currently studying English literature and French and is particularly interested in how feminist thinking can influence public order and drive advantage of social change.