RT Journal Article
T1 Who cares for heritage? A feminist critique centred on care work in heritage regimes
A1 Jiménez Esquinas, Guadalupe
K1 Critical heritage studies
K1 Feminism
K1 Gender
K1 Care work
K1 Social reproduction
K1 Depatriarchalisation
AB This article advances a feminist critique of heritage by placing care work and social reproduction at the centre of analysis. Drawing on feminist epistemologies, feminist economics, and ethnographic fieldwork, it argues that heritage regimes are materially sustained by informal, feminised and undervalued labour. From physical maintenance and emotional labour to intergenerational transmission and community cohesion, such work remains largely invisible within formal heritage systems. Rather than calling for token inclusion, the article interrogates the colonial, patriarchal and heteronormative logics that underpin the authorised heritage discourse. It highlights how dominant heritage practices reproduce gendered power relations, burden minoritised communities by casting them as symbolic custodians of tradition, and naturalise structural inequalities. Drawing on a critical literature review and grounded ethnographic insights, it rethinks heritage not as a static legacy but as a contested social process shaped by labour, affect, and political negotiation. The article proposes heritage care work as a critical lens for revaluing feminised cultural labour and challenging the uneven distribution of responsibilities, benefits, and authority. Ultimately, it argues that depatriarchalising heritage requires not only recognition and redistribution but also defending the right to refuse, renegotiate, or abandon certain heritages – especially those that perpetuate exclusion and symbolic violence.
PB Taylor & Francis
SN 1352-7258
YR 2025
FD 2025-08-10
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42718
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42718
LA eng
NO Guadalupe Jiménez-Esquinas (10 Aug 2025): Who cares for heritage? A feminist critique centred on care work in heritage regimes, International Journal of Heritage Studies, DOI: 10.1080/13527258.2025.2543754
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026