Culture and Affect in the Struggles for Abortion Rights in Latin America's Southern Cone

Abstract

This introduction presents a dossier of articles analyzing the cultural and affective dimensions of abortion rights activism in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The text situates this collection within abortion studies and develops an approach at the intersection of the cultural turn and the affective turn in social movements research. The framework engages closely with conceptualizations from feminist activism that has developed strategies to challenge common sense narratives, hegemonic discourses, and dominant affective repertoires surrounding voluntary pregnancy termination. It also articulates a transnational perspective that documents rights expansion processes across the three countries, examines the cultural and affective politics promoted by these movements, and considers current challenges posed by rising conservative forces seeking to undermine both hard-won legislation and achieved cultural transformations.