Europe

Repeal the Eighth: putting intersectionality into practice

A long-established conservative media frames the terms of abortion politics in Ireland. The pro-choice activism challenges dominant discourses with the inclusivity and diversity of the movement demonstrating intersectionality in practice.

By Harriet Burgess

Published: October 17, 2016, 7:10 am

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March for abortion rights. Image: Abortion Rights Campaign/Facebook.

“The better we understand how identities and power work together from one context to another, the less likely our movements for change are to fracture”.

On Saturday the 24th of September, an estimated 20,000 people took to the streets of Dublin to protest against Ireland’s oppressive abortion laws. This represents a near ten-fold increase in attendee numbers since 2012. Who exactly marched for choice that Saturday? Are their views reflective of that of the general Irish body politik? Or are they the ‘usual suspects’, as some might say -‘liberal students from Dublin universities’, ‘Trotskyites’?

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