‘Women have to look out, look out, look out’ VALIE EXPORT in conversation with Almuth Spiegler
Die Presse: What is on the mind of a pioneer of feminism in Austria and of course action art on her 85th birthday?
That us women have to fight again.
Die Presse: Did we ever stop?
No, but the fight was not the same as in the seventies and eighties. It wasn't as public.
Die Presse: What are you worried about at the moment?
Things are better in our part of the world, of course. But in others, you can see exactly how necessary the fight is. Even in the USA. For example, when Trump says that organizations that deal with women's rights should be scraped. He is calling for abortion. That is of course frightening. And Trump is also trying to strengthen his position of power in Europe. We have to be vigilant. Watch out, watch out, watch out.
Die Presse: For my generation, which has reaped what you fought for, it feels like a trap. You notice how the tone is changing again, but you can no longer find any common ground: if you criticize the lack of women's rights in Islamic societies, you are labeled right-wing. If you criticize tradwives and cleangirls, you are labeled left-wing.
That is the clever thing about the ruling political society. First it opens everything up, then the trap snaps closed. We do have a liberal electoral system in Austria. But we also have parties that fight against the emancipation of women - even aggressively in words - and try to translate this into action. Many women and men don't realize this. And men are no better off if women are not doing well. So a whole new women's movement needs to be formed, with the support of all genders.
