Dobbs to Trump: The Limits of Whitestream U.S. Feminist Attachments

Our focus is on one aspect of the 2024 United States presidential election. Through a close reading of ballot initiatives on abortion care, we lament the squandering of a second chance to secure inclusive reproductive health care for all in the US. Post-Dobbs had the potential to ensure that the feminist ask to address reproductive needs of the person at the end of the line was realized. Instead, we focused on securing limited legislative securities of abortion access for the few. We unpack how the focus on choice and liberal individualism as the dominant framework within feminist organising after June 2022 short-circuited our collective imaginations. The historical roots of whitestream feminist thinking resurfaced, marginalising the significant insights and contributions of women of color feminists from the past five decades. SisterSong, in partnership with other WOC feminist activists and scholars, has dedicated time and energy to accounting for multiple historical harms while articulating empowered reproductive futures for all. Regretfully, though, in light of national elections, US feminists abandoned the collective wisdom and knowledge generated by WOC in favor of political expediency. We conclude with a call for staying with the trouble and invite feminists to reimagine expansive reproductive futures.