Keeping the spirit alive: using feminist methodology to address silencing

Abstract

Abstract This article describes a feminist intervention to raise awareness about, and problematize, the pervasive experience of silencing, as reported by women, people of color, students, people identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ), people with national origins outside of North America, and people with disabilities, within the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA). A theater‐based intervention was designed and scripts were written from real‐life experiences that defined and described the problem of silencing as structural. We highlight three main points that emerged from intervention: (a) nontraditional approaches that step outside the cultural norms of a setting have great potential for raising awareness; (b) questions of power, privilege, and voice continue to be central considerations when using feminist‐based anti‐oppression methods; and (c) although acts of silencing can occur at the individual level, they thrive in an environment in which power, privilege, and historical inequities operate invisibly (without being named, acknowledged, or addressed). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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