Freedom en el fin del Mundo: Antarctica as the Key to Renegotiating Identity-Based Power Hierarchies

Abstract

In all the world’s cultures, there exists a hierarchy of power maintained through cultural norms and institutions. In every culture, however, these hierarchies exist differently. So when put into a space where our culture and idea of identity-based power hierarchies is different from the ones around us, how do we negotiate our power in that space, and in doing so, how do we diminish the power of others? By looking at cultural “blank-slate” territories such as Antarctica, we may be able to better understand negotiations of identity-based power hierarchy and subsequently be able to tear down the institutions that constitute who is equal and who is not.