Exploring the Gendering of Space by Using Memory Work as a Reflexive Research Method

Abstract

How can memory work be used as a pathway to reflect on the situatedness of the researcher and field of inquiry? The key aim of this article is to contribute to knowledge about the gendering of space developed by feminist geographers by using memory work as a reflexive research method. The authors present a brief review of feminist literature that covers the local and global symbolic meanings of spaces and the power relations within which space is experienced. From the literature they interpret themes of the interconnections between space, place, and time; sexualization of public space; and the bodily praxis of using space. Memories of gendered bodies and landscapes, movement and restricted space, and the disrupting of space allow the exploration of conceptualizations within the literature as active, situated, fragmented, and contextualized.

‘Teacher, will you marry me?’ Integrating teachers' stories and self-reflective texts for exploring sexuality discourses in school settings

“…and producing data has been used mainly as a collective activity (Haug 1987;Crawford 1992), but some researchers have also used it as an individual endeavour (Mitchell and Weber 1999;Kuhn 2000;Mitchell, Weber, and O'Reilly-Scanlon 2005) or as a reflexive research method (Bryant and Livholts 2007). Here, I offered yet another way by including the researcher's memory in response to the participants' texts.…”

“…I, on the other hand, started transforming my memories into texts. In order to develop such personal accounts, I used a self-reflective method that was influenced largely by the concepts of memory work (Haug 1987;Onyx and Small 2001;Bryant and Livholts 2007), personal narrative (Krieger 1991;Ellis and Bochner 2000) and self-study (Mitchell and Weber 1999;Mitchell, Weber, and O'Reilly-Scanlon 2005).…”

Critical Feminist Narrative Inquiry

“…The stories that emerge through narrativity are told about circumstances, experiences, choices, and decisions informed and generated according to particular understandings of interactions, expectations, and surrounding social, cultural, historical, structural, and ideological networks and forces. 5,41 The social action of stories…”

Location and Unlocation: Examining Gender and Telephony through Autoethnographic Textual and Visual Methods

“…We then sent diaries, memories, and photographs to each other so we could analyse each other's data. We each used a thematic approach to analyse the data and sought to identify emergent themes and patterns and any potential non-patterns across the data set (Bryant & Livholts, 2007). Thereafter, we sent our key findings to each other and then discussed and jointly interpreted the emergence of the gendered spatiality of telephony.…”

“…Kuhn (1995) practiced memory work through photography and film, using family photographs and memories to analyze family and nation. Bryant and Livholts (2007) used memory work to explore the conceptualization of the gendering of space. For this study, we began the process of memory work by identifying key themes in the literature.…”