Acid feminism: Gender, psychonautics and the politics of consciousness

Psychedelic substances have shifted in public consciousness over the last 15 years, yet influential first-person narratives of psychonauts and 'scientist-shamans' have largely excluded women's experiences and voices. Psychedelic feminism has emerged to signify how consciousness expansion might rejuvenate feminism's collective imagination and undo the historical silencing of women in psychedelic culture and research. Drawing on Mark Fisher's acid communism, feminist psychedelic humanities, narcofeminism, and autobiographical life-writing by women on experimental psychedelic substance use, this article investigates the promise of acid feminism for the wider narcofeminist movement and its implications for undoing key precepts endemic in psychedelic culture and research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Psychedelic substances have undergone a transformation in the public consciousness over the last 15 years. However, the most influential first-person narratives of psychonauts and ‘scientist-shamans’ navigating the frontiers of consciousness have tended to entirely exclude women’s experiences and voices. Psychedelic feminism, has emerged to signify the role consciousness expansion and experimentation might play in rejuvenating feminism’s collective imagination, and undoing the historical silencing of women’s voices in psychedelic culture and research. Drawing on Mark Fisher’s work on acid communism, the feminist psychedelic humanities, narcofeminism and autobiographical life-writing by women on experimental psychedelic substance use, this article investigates the promise of acid feminism for the wider narcofeminist movement, and its implications for undoing some key precepts endemic in psychedelic culture and research.