MAINTENANCE IS A DRAG
Social Reproduction Feminism Film Series

This screening is part of a monthly film series presented by Soctalk and hosted and co-curated by WORM, exploring cinema through the lens of social reproduction feminism. In the words of Cindi Katz (2001), social reproduction is the fleshy and messy stuff of everyday life. The program invites audiences to look at film as a way of understanding the structures of regular practices that make life possible, while questioning whose labour remains unseen. Across four screenings, we explore how capitalist relations profit from the status quo and depend on keeping much of this work hidden.

The final screening focuses on domestic labour and housework, forms of maintenance work that are repetitive, gendered, and systematically undervalued. Cooking, cleaning, and caring are essential to everyday life, yet often naturalized into invisibility. This program highlights both the necessity and the frustration of domestic labour, exposing the social systems that rely on its continual erasure.

This concluding screening will be presented by speaker Amal Miri. Amal (Ghent University) holds a PhD in Gender & Diversity. Her research explores the intersections of migration, critical feminist theory, and participatory methodologies. She examines the nuanced experiences of migrantised and racialised people through affective citizenship and agency, highlighting how (popular) culture both shapes and is shaped by these dynamics. She is committed to amplifying marginalized voices and fostering collaborative approaches that challenge dominant narratives in academic and community spaces.