밀양 탈송전탑/탈핵 운동 주체로서의 ‘여성’ - ‘밀양 할매’와 ‘여성 연대(the female solidarity)’

Abstract

A movement to oppose the construction of a transmission tower has been ongoing for the past 13 years in Miryang. The participants in the movement are mostly women. Although their tents were broken in June 2014, their resistance has been continuous, and it has evolved into a movement against nuclear power plants. This paper is based on oral narratives obtained through interviews of the old women of Miryang and of the women who are solidary with them. The women participating in the movement are referred to as “Miryang Halmae (“the old women of Miryang”), a nickname that symbolizes “female solidarity.” The solidarity between women is based on an intersubjectivity that allows them to empower one another. Through female solidarity, women have grown to become the resolvers of social problems, and have revealed themselves as leaders of the resistance rather than victims of violence. In fact, although the discursive field of societal discourse is inclinatory and asymmetric against local old women and women in general, they have overcome the imbalance in the field and have created a social place where they are able to make their own political statements. The “Miryang Halmae” have been politically alienated, and have played the roles of house wives or mothers. However, through this movement, they have become agents who solve social problems as main actors in society, and not as women complying with the norms of gender roles. In this context, “Miryang Halmae” has become a symbol of women’s solidarity, conveying the sense of the de-normalization and re-socialization of the women participating in the movement.