Tan.Baafi
weaving embodied ethnographies

The Dance of the Radicals

How Embodiment Can Value the Undervalued

Throughout modern history and across cultures, few have organized to offset the capitalist/colonial/patriarchal devaluation of reproductive labor, which is the labor required to sustain us so that we can produce. Napping and rest are gaining momentum in the public sphere as legitimate acts of resistance to overwork and over-consumption. Reproductive labor, however, often falls through the cracks of attention, despite the fact that all people and systems rely on this unseen work in order to function. I propose that embodiment as an ongoing practice can bring value not just to reproductive labor but to that which is undervalued across our personal, social, and professional bodies. Where we bring mindfulness, we validate. Where we incorporate spontaneity, we create agency. Where we introduce a witness, we build capacity for solidarity. Where we dishabituate, we find opportunity for change. I invite you to come dance among the radicals and change your relationship to your own labor.