First Contact From M

Today I received some feedback from 'M'. These are the first answers from one of my interviewees and I'm truly excited by the content! The answers given showcase concerns and issues I know I wouldn't have been able to discuss myself without personally experiencing them; this is why the primary research is an integral part of showcasing Intersectional feminism - to arrive at authentic content.

I felt as though the answers she gave she felt a little displeased with. I enjoyed their discussion massively; although short I feel as though they discussed some intimate and personal topics with intelligence and sensitivity. She sent the following email;

"I feel these answers are not very useful. And that I have more to say etc. Can I drop back in when I have images and/or thoughts? x

1.       Tell me about something that made you happy this week.
Every time I had a cup of tea. Being asked to be part of your project.  

2.       Do you have any objects or possessions that mean a lot to you? Could you tell me a little bit about them?
I have a small tattoo on my palm that my boyfriend inked when I visited him in Ohio, USA, it seems to be a special reminder of this time for me, more so than some of the physical items which I brought back to the UK. It’s a small heart with a link missing where some ink dropped away and which makes it more meaningful to me. 

3.       What’s something you’re really enjoying at the moment?
Etsy! I started a small shop on there with the intention of expanding (which hasn’t happened) but I adore browsing through handmade jewellery and bespoke items. 

4.       As a woman, is there anything that’s troubling you at the moment?
My bodily hair. I am dark and fair with hair on most of my skin. 
The presidential election- bad choices and bad responses from hateful individuals! 

5.       If so, do you think there is anything that could be done to help combat this issue?
The correlation between the feminine and the hairless should be abolished through women refusing to succumb to societal pressure. I would be anxious of how this statement would affect the way my (trans)womanhood was perceived by others.  

6.       As an individual, do you think there is anything women and girls could do to support each other more? 
Reserve judgements and communicate. 

7.       Could you describe or tell me about a woman in your life that makes you feel proud about being yourself?
My best girlfriend Alice, who has known me for the longest time. She seems to see me how I want to see myself.   

8.       Could you tell me about a time you felt empowered?
During my degree. I felt my notions on trans-appreciation and understanding were taken very seriously and that my works were valued for this. I would also note that my artist talk, more so than other tasks empowered me.   

9.       And lastly, what is your favourite thing about being a woman?
For me, the most prized thing about being a woman is knowing that I am living true."

I'm hoping I can get some further dialogue from this initial posting. She mentioned getting back in touch so I'm confident I'll be able to extract some more from her. She seemed to raise the issue of hair in it's relation to femininity, both within these answers and within artwork I know she's created previously. I decided to use this as something to engage with. What I was most from these answers is something truly real. I don't want my interviewees to feel as though they HAVE to answer these questions as though they were a survey. I'm hoping that they feel comfortable enough to talk openly and passionately about what they believe in. The content of this publication is what will link it intrinsically to Fourth Wave Intersectional Feminism rather than the image making. I'll admit at the moment I'm a little concerned about how I'm going to fulfil this project practically. I'm relying a lot on the co-operation of others, and I feel as though I can't really start illustrating until I've got the answers in full. It's a tricky situation but one I'm hoping I'll be able to work through. 

Reaching Out

So far for this project, I have five women I intend to interview and include within the finished product. Due to the LCA ethics policy, I'm unable to name each of the women by name, so will be referring to them from here on out as the first initial of their first name. I sent each of these women my initial message (to which i recieved confirmation of wanting to participate from each of them) and later sent the opening email and attached questions.

I wondered at this point if it would be appropriate to name each woman and the different axes of identity that made them, as a grouping, varied. However I don't feel as though it's neccisassry to identify each individual quirks. I've made a list of some of these as a group however, rather than individual. Given the sensitivity of some of these axes, I also didn't want to publish or use any information the subjects may not have felt comfortable sharing. I stated in my email that any response from this point may be recorded on my blog for evidence, but no data they do not want sharing shall be shared.

WOMEN BEING INTERVIEWED INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE OF THE FOLLOWING NATURES;

-bisexual women

-women of colour

-working class

-middle class

-20s age range

-30s age range

-teenagers

-white women

-straight women

-trans-women

-non binary women

-pansexual women

-disabled women

-northern women

-southern women

I'm hoping with a range of women covering so many varying axes of identity, a range in realities, concerns and issues can be discussed and expressed. I'm hopeful for the answers I'll get!

Questions; Difficulties and Resolutions

As I sat down today to begin writing the questions for my interviews, I found myself coming across another predicament. A lot of my questions seemed very straight-forward feminism focused; as in they explicitly mentioned feminism within them. It occurred to me that if this publication was to be accessible to any woman that picked it up, even using the term 'feminism' itself may put people off.

While researching for my dissertation I came across Kira Cochrane's article and book on the Fourth Wave of feminism. When discussing the currently online movement, she addressed the sometime negative association the word 'feminism' can connote.

As the Fourth Wave is a movement based predominately online, the variety of women partaking in it is uncountable. This also means it allows for a huge difference between one women's interpretation of feminism and another. Unfortunately, this can lead to disagreements, and misrepresentation of Intersectional, Fourth Wave feminism. 

This got me thinking. Maybe I don't have to explicitly say the word feminism in order for the publication to BE feminist. By including a range of women, discussing their issues in regard to their own personal circumstance, I'm showcasing Intersectional feminism by practicing it! When discussing this with Pete, I told him that I wanted women to be able to discuss things that were important to them, but I wasn't sure how to phrase it or start that conversation without including feminism. Looking back on my dissertation research, we pulled out a quote which has become INTEGRAL to my project!!

FREE TO DISCUSS REALITIES ETC

Taking on board the idea of female zines freedom from censorship and enabling of women to discuss their own truths, I have chosen to Base my questions on the everyday realities of each individual. 

It is hoped then, that is project allows for a personal and intimate look into the lives of a variety of women. This inclusively of a scope of women shows how practicing Intersectionality can be accomplished via means of the Internet. Most of the women I hope to interview I'll be contacting via email. This utilisation of technology and the Internet puts into practice theories of the benefits of both these discourses on zine culture, as discussed within my dissertation. I finally feel as though my practice is synthesising coherently alongside my dissertation. I'm excited for this project!!

Tutorial; Bringing In Others & Book Resolution

I spoke to Pete about my idea for tackling the notion of lack of diversity though a publication showing inclusivity. We agreed this was a good route to go down, and further primary research would give the book authentic grounding.

I've decided to create a set list of questions to email out to a variety of women. I'm hoping I can start a dialogue so the answers feel more fluid and conversational. I need to consider what kinds of questions I should ask these women and how they'll relate to my project.

I also discussed the idea of resolving this project through a book rather than a zine. When speaking about the ways feminism can sometimes feel inaccessible, I brought up the notion that zine culture itself could be seen as a barrier. Unless women grew up in a feminist background with Riot GRRRL, or took an active interest in zine culture//feminism, a lot of the mainstream public know little about zines. Many generations above my own know very little about zines and what they are, however almost everyone can access a book. Perhaps presenting my findings of this project in a book format would allow for a wider range of accessibility. Often regardless of someone's axes of identity, they are familiar with the format of a book, perhaps this should be my final resolution.

Drawing Difficulties

I began making some preliminary drawings to try and tackle the lack of diversity within current mainstream feminism. It was here I began to realise this was a far harder task than I anticipated it to be.

While image making is something that comes relatively easy to me, it became evident to me that it was hard to create images about something I had no personal experience of. Though I have been reading case studies and examples of issues faced by female minorities, I feel as a straight white cis-gendered female I don't have a voice of authority over issues I can't claim to suffer with; for me to dictate the issues of women of colour for example seems VERY unjust. In doing that, I would also be completely working alongside Tong's notion that Western women often impose their issues onto women of different axes of identity- something I was hoping to combat. 

This has lead to to believe I MUST include the opinions of other women. If I can conduct further primary research in the form of interviews, the imagery I'm creating will fit authentic issues of real world women. Perhaps the way to tackle lack of diversity is by SHOWING how inclusivity can be accomplished.

If I'm going to pursue this further, I need to consider the format. This project began with a grounding in zine culture, so perhaps the final outcome could be in the form of a zine? (Though is this a highly resolved final outcome? Does this do enough?).

I think I'd definitely like to go in the route of a publication, mixing the results of interviews with primary research through drawing from myself.

Typed and Finalised Proposal

Inequality, Practical Development, Brief and Project Proposal

I have chosen to investigate the, often, lack of diversity within Fourth Wave feminism through my body of practical work. I'd like to cover issues not often discussed within mainstream feminism to tackle the inaccessibility of some Fourth Wave Intersectional feminist zines. At the moment I'd like to create something that maybe gives a voice to those that feel as though they either can't currently access feminism, or feel as though their own issues and concerns aren't being addressed.

I'm hoping with this project, I can try and make feminism more accessible to a variety of women. This would mean making something easy to understand that women could feel was relevant to their own personal circumstance. I know it's impossible to please everyone, and accommodate to the needs of all, but it's something I'd like to attempt to do.

POINTS TO CONSIDER // FEEDBACK FROM BRIEF WRITING

Who is unable to access feminism and why? How can I tackle this?

How am I going to utilize publication and technology together to tackle this issue?

Which issues am I going to focus on? What agenda do I have?

How am I going to tackle my identified issue? Through character, narrative, facts, statistics, etc?

Focus of Practical Investigation

Should we buy / wear "feminist" clothes?

While researching for my investigation, I came across this video by YouTuber Rian Phin. I'm finding within my own research into Fourth Wave feminism there definitely seems to be a duality between its positive impacts, but also, the problematic issues it often arouses. I've found that particular theorists and researchers, such as Rosemarie Tong, are noting that mainstream feminism often focuses on the issues of predominantly white, western women.

This video discussed a range of issues that touch on this; the problem between women, who often call themselves feminists, not understanding their own privilege in comparison to others. A large part of Intersectionality, as stated by Kimerble Crenshaw, is women understanding their personal circumstance in relation to its difference to others. So often this is brushed over and feminism is seen as something predominately one dimensional. "These are women's issues" as opposed to "These are my issues as a woman from X background."

I'm beginning to think now that maybe my practical should investigate the issues around inequality within today's Fourth Wave of feminism. Riot GRRRL zine culture was created by a predominantly white group of women, so how have things changed since then? If Intersectional feminists claim to be more inclusive how are they doing that? Are they doing it that well? I believe this is the line of enquiry my work should be focusing on.

First Practical Proposal

Given my new direction in dissertation focus, I think my practical work needed some realigning also. I'm considering a publication or run of prints exploring the work of female zine creators and // or millennial feminists. I've been looking at a lot of case studies within my research that document protests, gatherings and movements of Fourth Wave feminists, showcasing the collective does have real world impact outside of it's web-based origin.

I'm thinking again about the notion of investigating this through a process lead investigation, using case studies from my research as subject matter, and exploring image making through the analogue to the digital and vice versa, to explore the relationship between the web and tangible real-world objects.

I'm still not sure on what I want this piece to say though. And the variety of case studies I have at the minute are so varied I don't know which to focus on. I like the idea of covering an issue not often published or discussed within mainstream feminism. Therefore giving a voice to a movement maybe not so often spoken about.

Tutorial

Notes from tutorial 

MAIN POINTS

Felt a lot more confident focusing on fourth wave feminism, technology and zines. Much more specific and excited to research!

Lots of research already undertaken, remember to stay focused, begin weeding out examples ect that you don't need

FOCUS ON: Technology, Fourth Wave, Digital to Analogue

Look at the pros and cons of fourth wave; easier to access, more known, faster communication, global communities VS ablism, issues of ethnicity, who it relates to // feels is relevant to them ect

PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT

Was struggling with ideas for practical response, done some drawings but just from reference photos in some example zines

Thought about maybe using a case study to illustrate // do a zine about? 

After discussion, thought about using PROCESS to drive the practical side of the brief

Analogue image making taken through a digital process back through analogue ect

Play around with process and see what comes of it

Make observations ect

Could use women from case studies as subject matter

JUST START MAKING !!

THOUGHTS POST TUTORIAL 

A lot happier with project and it's focus as well as feeling more confident with practical side of brief

Still a little daunted about starting the dissertation but feel more content with it

STEPS TO BE TAKEN

More reading into core feminist books?

Make a start on practical work

Notes and pulling out RELEVANT quotes; stay focused

Look into zine // publication case studies; reach out and talk to them, maybe come up with a standardised list of questions to ask each one?

Make rough dissertation plan for myself

Write 1,000 words for introduction