Resisting But Embracing Fragility.

Exploring Prominent Themes Emerging From Online Feminist Activists and Advocates’ Posts Addressing Conditions Characterized by Chronic Pelvic Pain on Instagram

Abstract

The proposed research will explore how Italian feminist digital activists and advocates address issues surrounding endometriosis, adenomyosis, vulvodynia and painful bladder syndrome on Instagram. It emerges that activists and advocates aim to foster the circulation of counter-discourses on these conditions, which we identified as explicitly or implicitly informed by feminist practices and discourses with the purpose of tackling the institutional and mainstream dismissal of their pain and experiences. This is by simultaneously distancing and resignifying the notion of fragility in relation to their identities and bodies through mutual support and information sharing.

Keywords: digital feminist activism, social media activism, chronic pelvic pain, fragility, inclusive healthcare.