Backlash

Abstract

Feminist anthropology offers conceptual and methodological clarity to the study of backlash, a phenomenon made salient once more by the global conservative turn of the 2010s. As contemporary crises of social reproduction have, once again, focused majoritarian angst and anger on women, queer people, immigrants, and people of color, scholars have returned (again) to discuss backlash. Critically, feminist anthropology can move past media narratives of backlash, which often emphasize the emotional habits of backlash perpetrators, to understand how backlash operates as a specific mode of power through the experiences of its targets. This keyword entry joins recent retheorizations in conceiving backlash not as a reactive event but rather as an elaboration of the ongoing logics of structural oppression. Critically examining media and scholarly analyses of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's election and rise of the extreme right in Brazil as its case study, this entry examines how fieldwork‐based approaches offer expanded theoretical purchase on the backlash concept.

Bura ura, kendu waiyo (rain falls, water rises): the tyranny of water insecurity and an agenda for abolition in Kodi (Sumba Island, Indonesia)

“…While they may desire being saved from the effects of having unmet basic needs-namely water and food in Deta Dari's statement-I am not interpreting their sentiments as a request for a white savior nor do I comport myself to attempt to play that role. White saviorism is not at the heart of this analysis; however, the backlash (Sosa, 2022) within academia against ethnography and particularly projects with a community engagement element have caused me to be critically reflective about non-Kodi perceptions of me relative to the sorts of complex situations ethnographers may encounter. What is needed in the contentious dialogues about engagement is a distinction between white saviorism and allyship.…”