The Politics of Feminist Translation and Reproduction in Post-socialist Serbia by Anna Bogic A thesis

268 Pages·2017·1.98 MB·English

Our Bodies, Our Location: The Politics of Feminist Translation and Reproduction in
Post-socialist Serbia

by Anna Bogic

A thesis submitted to the
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Doctorate in Philosophy degree in Women’s Studies

Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies
Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Ottawa

© Anna Bogic, Ottawa, Canada, 2017
Table of Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................... iv

Résumé ................................................................................................................................. v

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi

Dedication ......................................................................................................................... viii

Maps of Yugoslavia ............................................................................................................ ix

Timeline of Selected Events ............................................................................................... xi

Timeline of Feminist Movement in Yugoslavia and Serbia .......................................... xiii

Cover of Our Bodies, Ourselves (1992) ............................................................................. xv

Cover of Naša tela, mi (2001) ........................................................................................... xvi

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 1: Our Bodies, Our Location: Historical Context, Theoretical Framework,
and Methodology ............................................................................................................ 13

Historical context: Our Bodies, Ourselves and its global trajectory ..................... 13
Theoretical framework .......................................................................................... 21
Methodology ......................................................................................................... 31
Terminology .......................................................................................................... 53
Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 65

Chapter 2: The Belgrade Feminists and Naša tela, mi in Serbia of the 1990s ............. 66

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 66
Women in the context of transition in post-communist Eastern Europe .............. 69
The political context and the wars of the 1990s in Yugoslavia and Serbia .......... 72
Women in a new nation-state, citizenship regime, and gender regime ................ 77
The Autonomous Women’s Centre in Belgrade ................................................... 82
Another “good story:” Naša tela, mi..................................................................... 97
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 109

Chapter 3: The Politics of Reproduction and Naša tela, mi as an Oppositional
Discourse .......................................................................................................................... 110

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 110
ii
The rise of the politics of reproduction ............................................................... 112
Feminist theorizing on gender, nation, and reproduction ................................... 116
Factors shaping the politics of reproduction ....................................................... 118
Assessing NTM as oppositional discourse to the politics of reproduction.......... 135
Abortion and non-reproductive sexuality as a cultural taboo ............................. 143
NTM as oppositional discourse to cultural taboos around abortion .................... 147
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 150

Chapter 4: Naša tela, mi and Women’s Reproductive Health and Sexuality in
Yugoslav Feminism ......................................................................................................... 151

Introduction ........................................................................................................ 151
Yugoslav feminism of the 1970s and 1980s ...................................................... 154
Early feminist writing on reproductive health and sexuality
in Žena and Bazar ............................................................................................... 162
Women’s health and sexuality literature in the 1970s and the 1980s ................. 172
Naša tela, mi (2001) ............................................................................................ 181
Shame and the female body: Three key words in NTM ...................................... 189
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 198

Conclusion: Some Lessons on the Politics of Translation and Reproduction ............ 199

The politics of translation and reproduction and transnational feminism ........... 204
The “East-West divide” and feminist knowledge production ............................. 206
Choice of translations and the politics of donor funding .................................... 208
The role of English in feminist knowledge production in the 1990s .................. 210

Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 215

Appendix A: Tables of Contents for Our Bodies, Ourselves (1992) and Naša tela, mi
(2001) ................................................................................................................................ 245

Appendix B: Sample Interview Questions .................................................................... 250

Appendix C: Ethics Approval Certificate .................................................................... 251

iii
Abstract

The dissertation studies feminist knowledge production through translation in the context of
post-communist Eastern Europe. It focuses on one case study, the Serbian translation of the
American feminist health classic Our Bodies, Ourselves (OBOS) through the lens of the politics
of translation and reproduction. The translation, Naša tela, mi (NTM), was published by a group
of feminist activists from the Autonomous Women’s Centre (AWC) in Belgrade, Serbia in 2001.
By focusing on this one case study, my dissertation offers an in-depth analysis of the political,
social, linguistic, and feminist dimensions implicated in the transfer of a Western feminist
project from one geopolitical location to another, to a post-socialist, post-conflict Eastern
European country in the 1990s.

Against the background of the Yugoslav wars and the influence of ethno-nationalism in the
1990s, I examine the development of domestic and transnational feminist networking, including
the Belgrade feminists’ work with victims of domestic and sexual violence and refugees. I assess
the extent to which NTM serves as oppositional discourse to the changing politics of
reproduction and pronatalist discourses around abortion and fertility in Serbia in this period.
Furthermore, I analyze NTM’s contribution to local feminist knowledge on women’s
reproductive health, rights, and sexuality. I emphasize the importance of the local context,
including the history of abortion access and traditional gender relations. Methodologically, the
dissertation is based on interview data, archival documents, and comparative textual analysis.

The dissertation draws attention to feminist knowledge production across uneven geopolitical
borders, translation flows across the East-West divide, and the role of English in transnational
feminist networking. The dissertation brings together the politics of translation and the politics of
reproduction and calls for further studies into the role of translation in transnational feminist
patterns of knowledge production.

iv
Résumé

La thèse examine la production des savoirs féministes par le biais de la traduction dans le
contexte de l’Europe de l’Est post-communiste. Elle vise une étude de cas en particulier, à savoir
la traduction serbe du classique féministe américain en matière de santé – Our Bodies, Ourselves
(OBOS) – dans l’optique de la politique de la traduction et de la reproduction. La traduction,
Naša tela, mi (NTM), a été publiée en 2001 par un groupe de militantes féministes, membres du
Centre autonome des femmes à Belgrade, en Serbie. À partir de cette étude de cas, la thèse offre
une analyse détaillée des dimensions politiques, sociales, linguistiques et féministes impliquées
dans le transfert d’un projet féministe occidental d’un espace géopolitique à celui d’un pays post-
socialiste, dans Europe de l’Est post-conflit des années 1990.

Située dans le contexte des guerres en ex-Yougoslavie et de l’influence de l’ethno-nationalisme
des années 1990, cette étude porte sur le développement du réseautage féministe transnational et
national, y compris le travail des féministes de Belgrade auprès des réfugiées et des victimes de
la violence conjugale et sexuelle. Nous évaluons la capacité de NTM de servir de discours
oppositionnel à la politique changeante en matière de reproduction et aux discours natalistes
entourant l’avortement et la fertilité en Serbie à cette époque. Qui plus est, nous examinons la
contribution de NTM aux savoirs féministes locaux sur les droits reproductifs des femmes, la
santé reproductive, et la sexualité. Nous soulignons l’importance du contexte local, ainsi que de
l’historique de l’accès à l’avortement et des rapports sociaux de sexe traditionnels. Du point de
vue méthodologique, l’étude est fondée sur les données récoltées dans le cadre des entretiens, les
archives, l’analyse de discours, et l’analyse textuelle comparative.

La thèse fait ressortir la production des savoirs féministes croisant les frontières géopolitiques
inégales, la circulation des traductions au-delà de la division Est-Ouest, et le rôle de l’anglais
dans le réseautage féministe transnational. La thèse réunit la politique de la traduction et la
politique de la reproduction et invite à la réalisation de plus amples études sur le rôle de la
traduction dans les tendances féministes transnationales de la production des savoirs.

v
Acknowledgements

I would like thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the
Ontario government (Ontario Graduate Scholarship), the University of Ottawa, Monique Lortie-
Lussier, and Nicole Bégin-Heick for supporting my work through generous scholarships.

I am greatly indebted to my thesis committee. It was a great honour to have Dr. Kathy
Davis as my external examiner. Thank you for your incredibly generous comments and very
pertinent questions. Your scholarship continues to inspire me. I would like to extend my
gratitude to the internal examiners, Dr. Luise von Flotow, Dr. Angel Foster, and Dr. Agatha
Schwartz, for their valuable guidance and insightful feedback which steered the dissertation in
the right direction.

I owe deep thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Christabelle Sethna. Thank you so much for your
complete dedication and commitment to this project over the last five years. Your thoughtful
comments and revisions vastly improved the quality of the dissertation. Thank you for coming
up with a great title for the dissertation! I am grateful for your constant care and for the many
discussions we have had over the years which continually pushed my research forward, helped
me get through the tough times, and nurtured a passion for feminism and academic research.

This dissertation would not have been possible without the generous participation of the
interviewees: the Belgrade feminist activists – Dr. Stanislava Otašević, Lepa Mladjenović,
Sunčica Vučaj, and the anonymous activist; Judy Norsigian and Ayesha Chatterjee of the Boston
Women’s Health Book Collective; Laura Busheikin; and Nesrine Bessaih. I am grateful for the
support and assistance of the staff at the Autonomous Women’s Centre in Belgrade, the
Schlesinger Library at Harvard University in Boston, and the Library Matica srpska in Novi Sad.
A big thank-you to Vera Kostadinović, Zoran Kapor, and Milica Jevtić for their assistance with
the materials in Serbia.

I would like to thank the staff and the faculty at the University of Ottawa’s Institute of
Feminist and Gender Studies, for all the support over the years. In particular, a big thank-you to
Sylvie Thériault, Natacha Lemieux, and Margot Charbonneau for their wonderful help with all
the administrative hurdles at very critical times, as well as to Dr. Dominique Bourque,
Dr. Shoshana Magnet, Dr. Mythili Rajiva, and Dr. Agatha Schwartz for rewarding and valuable
research experience. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Orsini for believing in my project
and for offering so many opportunities to develop my academic skills.

A special thank-you is due to Dr. Dominique Bourque whose encouragement and support
at the initial stages made it possible for me to join the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies
and embark on this doctoral journey. Over the years, Dr. Luise von Flotow has remained an
incredible academic force and inspiration as well as a mentor. Thank you for bringing Our
Bodies, Ourselves to my attention and for planting the seed for this dissertation.

Finally, completing the PhD program and the dissertation was a long process which was
made much easier and more enjoyable thanks to the caring friendships and encouragement of
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colleagues: Anabel Paulos, Jelena Holland, Ishrat Ahmed, Marie-Eveline Belinga, Nesrine
Bessaih, Joyce Portilla – Thank you! Boba Rajšić took wonderful care of Katarina at crucial
times and made it possible for me to return to my studies. Hvala!
Thank you to my parents who made it all possible by moving to Canada. I am greatly
indebted to my little family for believing in me: Thank you to my dear Yannick and my lovely
Katarina for bringing so much joy to my life.
vii
Dedication

to the Belgrade feminist activists who worked tirelessly in the 1990s against all odds

viii
Map of socialist Yugoslavia (1945-1991)

(source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/former_yugoslavia.jpg)

ix
Map of Yugoslav Successor States (2008)

(source: By Ijanderson977 - derived from File:Former Yugoslavia 2006.png by Dudemanfellabra
at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7523932)
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