Witch-Ins and Other Feminist Acts

This chapter is a messy feminist archive of a series of absurd acts. Since 2016, a group of loosely affiliated feminists has constructed a series of performative protests, from witch-ins to a vulva detox tent. The group uses the absurdity of its acts to say something about the impossibility of the moment. The authors show how these acts are part of a long tradition of feminist activism that has utilized the figure of the witch, at times ironically, at times sincerely. The authors excavate how affective protests like witch-ins can, in fact, create catharsis, and how catharsis can create the emotional space for feminist work to continue despite the dangers.