Abortion and the echoes of feminist laughter

Abstract

The poet Hilda Rais, under the pseudonym Calderita Barcarola, first published this poem under the title "A cook speaks" in 1994, as part of a dossier on abortion in number 13 of Feminaria magazine. This thematic collection of articles also contained texts by Mabel Bellucci, Clara Kuschnir and Cecilia Lipszyc, three essays translated from English and an interview with Giovanni Berlinguer, the author of the project that legalized abortion in Italy in 1978. On the same page as The poem featured a humorous vignette by Diana Raznovich, showing the feminist ability to fluently bring together reflective thinking, political analysis of the situation, humor and poetry.
A few years later, in 1998, the poem was republished with the title "Life is not a dream" as part of the book Locas por la cocina. The humorous tone and the culinary theme were the central motifs of the book that brought together the writing of Hilda Rais with that of Angélica Gorodischer, Virginia Haurie, Elvira Ibargüen and Ana Sampaolesi to give rise to a witty cookbook of “feminist cuisine”. From the cover photo, where the five authors can be seen laughing with pompous chef hats on their heads, they disarm the idea that feminists have no sense of humor and hate cooking. Each text in the book is a celebration of feminist humor and also of the works, knowledge and stories associated with the domestic. The kitchen — with its labors, utensils, and ingredients despised by androcentric rationality — becomes a territory for the display of feminist wit, pleasure, and wisdom. The poem certainly deserves to be read in connection with the editorial, literary and political projects in which it was published. It also deserves to be read as part of Hilda Rais' unique writing, poetic work and political journey.