Photovoice as a Multilevel Tool for Gender and Sexual Identity Exploration

Abstract

Gender and sexual identity exploration (GSIE) consists of engaging in activities that allow an individual to discover their values, preferences, and boundaries related to gender and sexuality. Photovoice is a participatory research method that incorporates an intrapersonal, interpersonal, communal, and political approach to engaging with a given topic. The purpose of this article is to use existing research to illustrate how using photovoice method for GSIE does involve individuals in exploring gender and sexual identity from multiple levels of social interaction (micro, mezzo, and macro). This approach to GSIE fosters a dynamic, de-stigmatizing, and advocacy-oriented engagement with GSIE. We use examples from photovoice studies to illustrate how photovoice method uses a multilevel approach to GSIE and the positive implications of this practice. The article ends with practice and research recommendations for employing photovoice to support GSIE.

“Truly Listen to Us”: Recommendations for Health Professionals to Bolster Wellbeing of Nonbinary Individuals

“…Previously, PhotoVoice has been used to explore identity meaning-making, health and humans service barriers faced by nonbinary young people [ 8 , 9 ], the experiences of LGBTQ young people formerly in foster care [ 65 ], and the experiences of LGBTQ college students [ 66 ]. Others have suggested that this methodology can be useful in gender and sexuality identity exploration [ 67 ], and Ingrey [ 68 ] goes as far as to describe photovoice as a genderqueer methodology for its ability to critically deconstruct gender and gendered spaces and pursue gender justice.…”

Using Photovoice via Online Platforms to Determine the Need for LGBTQAI+ Inclusive Curriculum

“…Photovoice was determined to be an appropriate and suitable methodology because it has an established record of accomplishment in exploring the lived experiences of marginalized populations (Budig et al, 2018). For example, Photovoice can be seen when exploring topics such as Ethnicity (Miranda et al, 2021), Race (Davis & Mitchell, 2021;Vaishnav, 2021;Willett et al, 2021), Gender Identity (Christensen et al, 2020;Miranda et al, 2021), and Sexuality (Christensen et al, 2020;Bardhoshi et al, 2018;Capous-Desyllas & Mountz, 2019;Kessi, 2018;Wagner et al, 2016).…”

QueerVIEW: Protocol for a Technology-Mediated Qualitative Photo Elicitation Study With Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Ontario, Canada

“…It reduces power differentials between researcher and participant [ 55 ], creating a “comfortable space for discussion” [ 56 ], and involving participants in a way that does not limit responses. Such advantages may be especially important for data collection with marginalized groups, such as SGMY [ 57 ]. By actively taking and selecting relevant photos for the interview, participants maintain agency over their participation in the research process.…”

“…By actively taking and selecting relevant photos for the interview, participants maintain agency over their participation in the research process. As a method, photo elicitation has been described as being capable of “empowering and emancipating participants by making their experiences visible” [ 57 ] and centering participant voices [ 58 ]. Photo elicitation interviews (PEIs), similar to semistructured interviews without visual cues, provide the researcher with an interview guide centering on relevant areas of interest, as well as the flexibility to allow for unexpected topics to emerge [ 59 ].…”