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Assembling Postcapitalist International Political Economy (POSTCAPE)

PostCaPE publication (in Finnish): Shadowing the shadows of the ecowelfare state: Listening to the adult incontinence pads' parlance in the Finnish welfare state

Image of the article cover page with text: Tiina Vaittinena, Eveliina Asikainenb, Anna Ilona Rajalac , Tuulia Lahtinend & Minna TörnäväeEkohyvinvointivaltion katveessa: Aikuisvaippojen puheenparret suomalaisessa hyvinvointivaltiossa. Shadowing the shadows of the ecowelfare state: Listening to the adult incontinence pads' parlance in the Finnish welfare stateAdult incontinence, both urinary and faecal, are common conditions. Incontinence, however, and the pads utilised for its management, are silenced. Like waste in the welfare state, they are in the shadows of wellbeing and overshadowed by it. Various behavioural norms make them invisible and unspeakable: something that should not disturb the administrative order. Pad waste is doubly in the shadows. The incontinence pads thus mark the most silenced corners of the welfare state. When envisioning the ecowelfare state, mapping such silences...

Building on the data collected in the Pad Project, Tiina Vaittinen and her research team published an article on the future of the ecowelfare state. The findings are relevant also for the assemblages of postcapitalism in the Finnish welfare state, particularly in relation to material care needs of care dependent groups. The article is in Finnish, but an English translation will soon be filed in the university repository.

Article details

Vaittinen, T., Asikainen, E., Rajala, A. I., Lahtinen, T., & Törnävä, M. (2021). Ekohyvinvointivaltion katveessa: Aikuisvaippojen puheenparret suomalaisessa hyvinvointivaltiossa . Alue Ja Ympäristö, 50(2), 117–135. https://doi.org/10.30663/ay.109146

English abstract

Shadowing the shadows of the ecowelfare state: Listening to the adult incontinence pads’ parlance in the Finnish welfare stateAdult incontinence, both urinary and faecal, are common conditions. Incontinence, however, and the pads utilised for its management, are silenced. Like waste in the welfare state, they are in the shadows of wellbeing and overshadowed by it. Various behavioural norms make them invisible and unspeakable: something that should not disturb the administrative order. Pad waste is doubly in the shadows. The incontinence pads thus mark the most silenced corners of the welfare state. When envisioning the ecowelfare state, mapping such silences is vital. In an ecowelfare state, ecologically sustainable good life must be guaranteed for all bodies, also those unable to control their bladder or bowels. In this article, we explore the administrative discourses and silences around incontinence pads. Methodologically, the article combines multi-sited ethnography with feminist science and technology studies and Derridean deconstruction, to sketch potential trajectories towards the ecowelfare state from the viewpoint of incontinence. Drawing on data on the municipal administration of the Finnish pad economy, we show how the ecowelfare state should be a welfare state designed for leaking bodies. This requires adequate continence care, cure, prevention and rehabilitation, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructures, which sewage systems alone do not solve.

Keywords: adult diaper, deconstruction, ecowelfare state, incontinence