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It’s natural to want to ‘move on’ – but women’s experiences of the pandemic cannot be lost to ‘lockdown amnesia’
Aug
The COVID-19 pandemic has been – and continues to be – incredibly disruptive and stressful for individuals, communities and countries. Yet many seem desperate to close this chapter completely, almost as if it never happened.
This desire forget it and move on – marked “amnesia lock” by some – is understandable on some level. But it also risks losing the opportunity to learn from what happened.
And while various official inquiries and royal commissions have been established to examine the wider government response (including in Novel Zealand), it is equally essential to understand the experiences of ordinary people.
As researchers interested in women and gender roles, we wanted to capture some of this. For the past three years, our research has focused on what happened to ordinary women during this period of uncertainty and disruption—and what lessons can be learned from it.
Pandemic amnesia
Individual memory can become unclear over time. But it can also be affected by broader narratives (in the media or official responses) that overwrite our own memories of the pandemic.
Political calls for “live with the virus“, and media fluctuation Posting COVID-19-related stories out of perceived audience fatigue can create a collective sense of need to “move on.” Looking back can be seen as questionable or even attacked.
Indeed, disinformation and disinformation were used, in words Leading sociologist Deborah Lupton on the pandemic to “challenge the science and provoke a backlash against attempts to solve the problem [such] “crises.”
But as a memory researcher Sydney Goggins stated that“Such public forgetting leads to a cascade of consequences for politics and social well-being.”
Read more: Jacinda Ardern’s resignation: gender and the cost of robust, compassionate leadership
A gender-diverse pandemic
In response to the rapidly changing social, cultural, and economic impacts of the pandemic, feminist scholars have highlighted specific physical and emotional strain about women around the world.
This included social isolation and lonelinessincreased homework and emotional workgrowth domestic and gender violence, job loss and financial uncertainty. Black, Indigenous, Minority and Migrant Women Have I felt these effects especially sharply.
This the same trends observed in Aotearoa Novel Zealand. While some countries have adopted post-pandemic recovery strategies that take into account these gender differences, this has not been the case in Novel Zealand.
Gender-Based Abuse of Female Leaders – Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Scientist Siouxsie Wilesfor example – have been well documented. But the experiences of ordinary women, their struggles and strategies for caring for themselves and others, have received far less attention.
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Everyday Women’s Experiences
Our study involved 110 women in Aotearoa Novel Zealand. We wanted to understand how they adapted their daily practices – work, leisure, exercise, sport – to maintain or regain well-being, social connections and a sense of community.
Despite the many differences among the women in our sample, there were also common experiences. We referred to the disruption of patterns, rhythms, and routines of their lives as “sexual arrhythmia”.
Women responded to psychosocial and physical challenges, such as sleep disturbances or weight fluctuations, by creating counterrhythms – taking up hobbies, exercising, changing diet.
Read more: The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women is undermining decades of progress in gender equality
The pandemic has also prompted many to reflect on how their existing routines and rhythms of life have resulted in various forms of “alienation”: from their own health and well-being, meaningful social connections, ethical and sustainable work practices, and pleasure.
The disruption of the pandemic has caused many people to reassess the importance of work in their lives. As one noted:
COVID-19 has made me reassess what is most essential. Is it making money? Actually, no, not at all.
Others were encouraged to question and challenge the gendered demands placed on women to “do everything” and “be everywhere” for everyone:
I think as women, because we’re so good at multitasking, we just take on so much. I think we have to learn to just say no, because we’re not superhuman. And eventually, all of that responsibility overwhelms us.
Our research also highlighted how the pandemic has affected women’s relationships with known spaces and placesLeaving the house for a walk, run or bike ride has become an essential daily practice that has proven to be very beneficial for the subjective well-being of most women.
Some people came to appreciate physical activity for the general joy of movement and contact with people and places, and not just to achieve specific goals such as fitness or weight loss.
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Special challenges for newborn women
As part of our overall project, we also completed: the focus was on 45 young women (aged 16 to 25). This highlighted the importance of recognizing how gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic circumstances intersect.
Listening to them stories about the pandemicwe found that newborn women play an essential role in supporting their families and communities.
Read more: COVID-19 has shown how much we value women’s work and how little we pay for it
In particular, Māori, Pacific people and other ethnic or migrant groups had greater responsibilities at home, including childcare, cleaning, cooking and shopping. While many did this willingly, these additional burdens impacted on their education, mental health and well-being.
For many newborn women, the pandemic has been a radical disruption to their daily lives and routines at a critical stage of identity development. They have missed key milestones and events, and crucial phases of education and social development.
Many are still mourning some of those losses. And some are struggling to rebuild social connections, motivations, and aspirations.
For example, some described being passionate and aspiring athletes before the pandemic. However, the social anxieties and body image issues that remained after the lockdown were arduous to cope with and we saw them fight for return to do sports.
The undetectable work of migrant women
We also took an in-depth look at the experiences 12 Middle Class Migrant Womenand how the prolonged border closure has created real anxiety for families abroad about being “absent”.
As one nurse working on the frontline of COVID-19 care in Novel Zealand explained:
About a year ago, the number of COVID cases in my homeland was growing so swift. My family was not feeling well, and I was addicted to social media […] trying to contact them. I was really afraid then that I wouldn’t be able to see my family when I really need you, I wouldn’t be able to be with them.
Some women in our sample also experienced increase in anti-immigrant sentiment which further impacted their health and well-being – and their sense of belonging. As one of them said:
I have become extremely sensitive. I cry over compact things. My doctor said, “go and get some fresh air, it will do you good” […] I went for a walk and someone yelled at me, screamed at me. I was scared for my life. How can you expect me to feel good when no one in society accepts you?
This branch of research points to a real need investments in support policies and strategies specifically for migrant women and their communities in the event of future global health crises.
Read more: Novel Zealanders are learning to live with COVID – but does that mean we have to pay for protection ourselves?
Caring communities
A key feature of our study was the extremely artistic ways in which women developed “caring communities”during the pandemic. Even as they struggled on their own, they turned to friends and family – and especially other women.
Most of our participants were encouraged to think differently about their own health and well-being, as well as what is essential in their lives (now and in the future).
Throughout the pandemic, women have been working quietly, behind the scenes, in their families, communities, and workplaces, supporting their own and others’ health and well-being. This undetectable work is rarely acknowledged or celebrated.
Many continue to feel the effects of economic hardship, violence, and exhaustion. And less actual feelings of disappointment remain in a society that has so quickly “moved on” from the pandemic.
Recognizing and addressing pandemic amnesia—personal and collective—is an essential first step in documenting, learning from, and using these experiences to better prepare for future eventsNext time, we must provide indispensable support to those who need it most.
The authors would like to thank the remaining members of the research team: Dr. Nikki Barrett, Dr. Julie Brice, Dr. Allison Jeffrey, and Dr. Anoosh Soltani.
