Letter From the Editors

Dear Readers,

As the editors of Feminist Spaces, we wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude for your continued support and readership. Throughout our past annual editions, we have strived to organize a response to the critical conversation surrounding women’s rights to bodily autonomy, and that retort is paramount due to the restrictions currently being placed on the feminine body. In the United States, feminist empowerment encountered a significant setback following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 overrule of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Now, amid women’s struggle to be globally recognized as individuals with rights, we are witnessing a growing threat to autonomy for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Increasingly restricted access to health has become a crucial topic for people who identify as women and members of the queer community, and in this issue, we chose to speak against it in our theme “her body” by featuring work such as Keira Swift’s essay “The Nation’s Virtue,” which emphasizes women’s retribution for bodily experiences, and Jodi Brewer’s art collection ’sumptions, a challenging look at the objectification and alienation of women’s bodies.

We are extremely grateful for the international contributions to our journal for allowing us to open our space to many more marginalized artists that allow us to diversify the perspective of our journal. The issue of bodily autonomy is a global one, which is why we chose to include several international submissions that explore the topic of the feminine body, including Zhangzu Wan’s “Life of a Theory: Chinese Women’s Blood as a Source of Power and Pollution” and Ilhan Mathangi’s art piece erschöpft. Here, we can come together and explore feminist issues and their social implications, engage in discourse, and share our experiences. At Feminist Spaces, we are proud to uplift such a convergence in thought and culture.

Although much of this collection focuses on the feminine body, many of the featured essays, poetry, and art highlight complex issues such as women’s alienation of labor, the liberation of queerness, and an emphasis on intersectionality. Katy Orsborn’s essay “The Legacy of Cottagecore: A Sapphic Tradition” weaves a conversation on queerness and nature inexorably together while Sandra Cavanagh’s art piece Dos Madres contemplates the multiplicity within motherhood and the grief experienced therein. The submissions we received are nuanced, contemplative, and represent the theme in all its subtle variations.

We are sincerely thankful for the continued support of the University of West Florida English Department. In particular, we would like to thank both our department chair Dr. Kevin Scott and our advisor Dr. Robin Blyn for encouraging the revival and continued efforts of Feminist Spaces. Due to both our advisors’ interests in critical feminist dialogue, we are able to showcase the thoughtful work of our contributors in this third issue following the journal’s hiatus. We would also like to thank the TAG Design Team for their creative journal design, which creates a structure by which to explore our theme. We value each of the contributions made by our readers. We are always surprised and humbled by the volume of international submissions we receive, as each contribution shapes the direction of our journal. We encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts with us, as we believe in the power of discourse and the importance of creating a community of informed individuals.

Her body is so much more than a container: it is an abstract critical aesthetic. Despite the patriarchy’s attempts at regulating the feminine body, our work in regaining autonomy continues. In artistry is agency, and it is here that we defend, protect, and claim the bodies that are rightfully ours.

Her body is our body. Her body represents that which evolves and adapts despite the yoke of oppression; a malleable vessel which has myriad faces and serves as a home for us all. In this issue, we deconstruct and reconstruct the concept of her body, and we hope you enjoy the process.

If you wish to contribute to our next issue or would like to learn more, you can follow us on Instagram @feminist.spaces, e-mail us at feministspacesjournal@gmail.com, or check out our website.

As always, thank you for your support.

Feminist Spaces Editorial Board