In this paper, we introduce poetic collaging as a critical qualitative method through the narratives, experiences, and perspectives of Girls of Color. We deconstruct the process of developing an arts-based method using intersectional feminist frameworks, intentional and deep reflexivity, and the expertise of participants to illuminate the various elements that go into such an endeavor. We do this by applying poetic collaging to data from the Lavender Girls Project, an intersectional participatory study for and with Girls of Color from poor/working-class families. In this poetic collage analysis, we capture the essence of our participants’ lives, including their past, present, and futures. We also elaborate on their ways of knowing, which are grounded in intergenerational collective knowledge, and how they act on the knowledge they hold. We find that the intersectional perspectives of Girls of Color are made possible through the opportunities they have had to share space with one another to exchange ideas, views, and critiques of systemic oppression. We also find that our participants aspire greatly and have generative visions of their futures that include caring for their loved ones as much as caring for themselves. This paper contributes to the growing body of scholarship around the lives of Girls of Color with a focus on their education and demonstrates strengths-oriented methodological approaches for researchers seeking to examine the experiences of people from historically marginalized backgrounds.
AnzaldúaG. (2015). Light in the Dark/Luz en lo Oscuro. Duke University Press.
2.
BaumleD. (2018). Creating the trauma-to-prison pipeline: How the US justice system criminalizes structural and interpersonal trauma experienced by girls of color. Family Court Review, 56(4), 695–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12384
BerryT.CandisM. (2013). Cultural identity and education: A critical race perspective. Educational Foundations, 27(3–4), 43–64.
5.
BoylornR. M. (2011). Gray or for colored girls who are tired of chasing rainbows: Race and reflexivity. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 11(2), 178–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708611401336
6.
BrownT. (2022). ‘I never really had the right words’: Critical literacies and the collective knowledge building of girls of color.”Curriculum Inquiry, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.2022.2123215
7.
ButlerT. T. (2018). Black girl cartography: Black girlhood and place-making in education research. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 28–45. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18762114
8.
Butler-KisberL.PoldmaT. (2010). The power of visual approaches in qualitative inquiry: The use of collage making and concept mapping in experiential research. Journal of Research Practice, 6(2), M18–M18.
9.
Childers-McKeeC. D.HyttenK. (2015). Critical race feminism and the complex challenges of educational reform. The Urban Review, 47(3), 393–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-015-0323-z
10.
CollinsP. H. (1989). The social construction of Black Feminist thought. Signs, 14(4), 745–773.
CrenshawK. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), Article 8.
13.
CrenshawK. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
14.
CulshawS. (2019). The unspoken power of collage? Using an innovative arts-based research method to explore the experience of struggling as a teacher. London Review of Education, 17(3), 268–283. https://doi.org/10.18546/LRE.17.3.03
15.
DavisC. (2021). Sampling poetry, pedagogy, and protest to build methodology: Critical poetic inquiry as culturally relevant method. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(1), 114–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419884978
GutiérrezyMuhsG.NiemannY. F.GonzálezC. G.HarrisA. P. (2012). Presumed incompetent: The intersections of race and class for women in academia. University Press of Colorado.
21.
hooksb. (1990). Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. South End Press.
22.
LaneM. (2018). “For real love”: How Black girls benefit from a politicized ethic of care. International Journal of Educational Reform, 27(3), 269–290. https://doi.org/10.1177/105678791802700303
23.
Lawrence-LightfootS.DavisJ. H. (1997). The art and science of portraiture. Jossey-Bass.
24.
LoveB. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press.
25.
LunaZ. (2016). “Truly a women of color organization”: Negotiating sameness and difference in pursuit of intersectionality. Gender & Society, 30(5), 769–790. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243216649929
26.
MannayD. (2010). Making the familiar strange: Can visual research methods render the familiar setting more perceptible?. Qualitative Research, 10(1), 91–111.
27.
McClish-BoydK.BhattacharyaK. (2021). Endarkened narrative inquiry: A methodological framework constructed through improvisations. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 34(6), 534–548. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2021.1871981
28.
MoragaC.BambaraT. C. (Eds.). (1983). This bridge called my back: Writings by radical women of color (2nd ed.). Kitchen Table.
29.
OhitoE. O.NyachaeT. M. (2019). Poetically poking at language and power: Using Black feminist poetry to conduct rigorous feminist critical discourse analysis. Qualitative Inquiry, 25(9–10), 839–850. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800418786303
30.
PaskoL.Chesney-LindM. (2010). Under lock and key: Trauma, marginalization, and girls’ juvenile justice involvement. Justice Research and Policy, 12(2), 25–49. https://doi.org/10.3818/JRP.12.2.2010.25
31.
PillowW. (2003). Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 16(2), 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839032000060635
32.
PlayerG. D. (2021). My color of my name”: Composing critical self-celebration with girls of color through a feminist of color writing pedagogy. Research in the Teaching of English, 55(3), 216–240.
33.
PrasadG. (2020). ‘How does it look and feel to be plurilingual?’: Analysing children’s representations of plurilingualism through collage. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(8), 902–924. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1420033
34.
RobertsA.WoodsP. A. (2018). Theorising the value of collage in exploring educational leadership. British Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 626–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3451
35.
ToliverS. R. (2021). Recovering Black storytelling in qualitative research: Endarkened storywork. Routledge.
VacchelliE. (2018). Embodiment in qualitative research: Collage making with migrant, refugee and asylum seeking women. Qualitative Research, 18(2), 171–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941177080
39.
WingA. K. (2003). Critical race feminism: A reader (2nd ed.). New York University Press.
40.
YeeJ. (2009). Ways of knowing, feeling, being, and doing: Toward an Asian American and Pacific Islander feminist epistemology. Amerasia Journal, 35(2), 49–64. https://doi.org/10.17953/amer.35.2.u4671681k9351632
