Bristol University Press
9 Narrating Women’s Life Histories: Voice, Audience, Ethics
Abstract
Feminist researchers emphasise the ethical importance of co-production of knowledge with research participants. Sharing the narratives of participants, especially those from vulnerable or marginalised groups whose voices are often sidelined or silenced, is also an important, higher-order feminist ethical choice for advocacy and so other women can potentially find meaning and inspiration in the journeys of their peers. However, such research involves risks to participants that institutionalised informed consent processes assume can all be known at the onset and sufficiently explained, with decisions then resting solely with interlocuters on whether to proceed. Yet, these risks may not always be fully predictable, especially in an evolving digital era in which open-access storytelling and research translation shifts the audience from narrower academic readers to multiple publics. Risks are also heightened for participants from regions with a history of authoritarianism where their narratives of challenging established power structures may attract the attention of those with the authority and influence to do them harm. Ethical narrative research thus, this chapter argues, entails balancing the interests and wishes of protagonists with the short- and long-term risks to these interlocuters through iterative reflection, consultation and collaborative (and sometimes revised) decision-making involving both researchers and participants.
Abstract
Feminist researchers emphasise the ethical importance of co-production of knowledge with research participants. Sharing the narratives of participants, especially those from vulnerable or marginalised groups whose voices are often sidelined or silenced, is also an important, higher-order feminist ethical choice for advocacy and so other women can potentially find meaning and inspiration in the journeys of their peers. However, such research involves risks to participants that institutionalised informed consent processes assume can all be known at the onset and sufficiently explained, with decisions then resting solely with interlocuters on whether to proceed. Yet, these risks may not always be fully predictable, especially in an evolving digital era in which open-access storytelling and research translation shifts the audience from narrower academic readers to multiple publics. Risks are also heightened for participants from regions with a history of authoritarianism where their narratives of challenging established power structures may attract the attention of those with the authority and influence to do them harm. Ethical narrative research thus, this chapter argues, entails balancing the interests and wishes of protagonists with the short- and long-term risks to these interlocuters through iterative reflection, consultation and collaborative (and sometimes revised) decision-making involving both researchers and participants.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures v
- Notes on Contributors vi
- Acknowledgements ix
- Foreword x
- Narrative Now: Trends and Tensions 1
-
Institutional Authority and Counter-Stories
- Telling Stories with Ribbons: Visual Acknowledgement in the Wake of Child Sexual Abuse 19
- Policy Narratives and Policy Change: The Case of Pill Testing 39
- The Criminalised Other as Storyteller: The Promise and Peril of Bringing ‘Lived Experience’ into the Classroom 56
-
Tellable and Untellable Stories
- Ethical Weaving: Creative Narrations of Family Trauma and Resilience 73
- “I can’t believe how much I’ve done”: Joan and the Evolution of Her Life Story 87
-
The Ethics of Representation
- Songs as Narratives: Ethical Tensions in Midnight Oil’s Dead Heart (1986) and Gadigal Land (2020) 105
- Reading Back as a Way to Give Back? A Narrative Practice-Informed Method for Interview-Based Research 122
- Narrating Women’s Life Histories: Voice, Audience, Ethics 139
- Narrative Next: Ways Forward for Narrative Research 158
- Index 165
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures v
- Notes on Contributors vi
- Acknowledgements ix
- Foreword x
- Narrative Now: Trends and Tensions 1
-
Institutional Authority and Counter-Stories
- Telling Stories with Ribbons: Visual Acknowledgement in the Wake of Child Sexual Abuse 19
- Policy Narratives and Policy Change: The Case of Pill Testing 39
- The Criminalised Other as Storyteller: The Promise and Peril of Bringing ‘Lived Experience’ into the Classroom 56
-
Tellable and Untellable Stories
- Ethical Weaving: Creative Narrations of Family Trauma and Resilience 73
- “I can’t believe how much I’ve done”: Joan and the Evolution of Her Life Story 87
-
The Ethics of Representation
- Songs as Narratives: Ethical Tensions in Midnight Oil’s Dead Heart (1986) and Gadigal Land (2020) 105
- Reading Back as a Way to Give Back? A Narrative Practice-Informed Method for Interview-Based Research 122
- Narrating Women’s Life Histories: Voice, Audience, Ethics 139
- Narrative Next: Ways Forward for Narrative Research 158
- Index 165
