Activism, origins and identity:

singularities and commonialities in the construction of demands at a global level

Abstract

Who I am, where I come from, who are the people who brought me to the world, are questions that, in Western culture, historically and traditionally have been considered essential for the human being and for those who start searching for their origins. Information about biological origins has been managed in different ways around the world and often, fundamentally in cases where children are not raised by those who engendered them, has been hidden and silenced for a long time. Based on a research with activists in Argentina who are looking to find out about their origins, this article describes and analyzes various forms of activism that these people have been carrying out around the world to get their right to know their origins recognized. Although the description reveals the local singularities of each organization, the analysis of this global movement allows us to identify regularities in the ways in which these activists organize their demands where the virtual, the intimate and the political dimensions become central.