A Women’s Performative Calendar as a Strategy for Dealing with “Absence”
A Women’s Performative Calendar as a Strategy for Dealing with “Absence”

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the phenomenon of a calendar that seems to be an integral part of national and local identities. A calendar exposes dominant ideologies and refers to a specific construct of the past: collective memory and the practice of commemoration. Activists of Serbian feminist and anti-militarist organisations, called the Žene u crnom (Women in Black), “contest” the existing calendar and attempt to expose the processes hidden in the present scenarios of cultural memory: ethno-nationalisation and simultaneous patriarchy. Female activists are trying to bring their own alternative calendar into the public discourse. They have celebrated “new dates” through protests and demonstrations on the streets, which represent a usage of the fundamental tools of drama and performance. Introducing performative reflection carries another benefit: We can discuss the strategies of constructing the calendar as well as issues related to the strategies and tactics of collective action, namely those of intervention in social reality.

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