PhD Abstract

There is ongoing demand for feminist storytelling that challenges patriarchal narratives. Although women authors are more prevalent in the cultural record than we once were, third wave feminists have criticised the dominance of white and middle-class perspectives, calling for more inclusive approaches to authorship that represent the diverse range of women’s lived experiences. In response, feminist scholars in the social sciences and humanities have rigorously tested methods. Yet equivalent practice-based approaches in the creative arts remain underexamined.

To address this gap, I set out to design my own practice-based approach for inclusive feminist visual storytelling using writing, drawing, performance, and photography. The emergent form is grounded in my foundational practice and oriented by the characteristics of feminist research set out by Doucet & Mauthner as being participatory, reflexive, and inclusive. Bringing together methods from participatory research and feminist art, I test my emergent approach with reference to the Action Research Cycle, via iterations of solo making and participatory creative workshops.

The resulting approach utilises the potential of intersectionality as an interpersonal connective mechanism when combined with creative reflexivity.  I harness the power of imagery to communicate the simultaneous and overlapping identities of myself and diverse participants as part of a considered sequence focused on creating safe enough spaces for sharing diverse accounts of women’s lived experiences.

I share my new approach for inclusive feminist visual storytelling in an illustrated guide aimed at practice-based researchers and creative practitioners seeking to further a feminist agenda, which promotes women as authors of our diverse realities and imagined potential.