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Radical Pleasure: Feminist Digital Storytelling by, with, and for Women Living with HIV
- Source :
- Archives of Sexual Behavior. 50:83-103
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Despite the fact that HIV can be controlled with medication to undetectable levels where it cannot be passed on, stigmatization of women living with HIV persists. Such stigmatization pivots on stereotypes around sex and sexism and has force in women’s lives. Our aim was to create an inspirational resource for women living with HIV regarding sex, relationships, and sexuality: www.lifeandlovewithhiv.ca (launched in July 2018). This paper describes the development and mixed-method evaluation of our first year and a half activities. We situated our work within a participatory arts-based knowledge translation planning framework and used multiple data sources (Google Analytics, stories and comments on the website, team reflections over multiple meetings) to report on interim outcomes and impacts. In our first 1.5 years, we recruited and mentored 12 women living with HIV from around the world (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, Nigeria, and the U.S.) to write their own stories, with the support of a mentor/editor, as a way of regaining control of HIV narratives and asserting their right to have pleasurable, fulfilling, and safer sexual lives. Writers published 43 stories about pleasure, orgasm, bodies, identities, trauma, resilience, dating, disclosure, self-love, and motherhood. Our social media community grew to 1600, and our website received approximately 300 visits per month, most by women (70%) and people aged 25–44 years (65%), from more than 50 cities globally, with shifts in use and demographics over time. Qualitative data indicated the power of feminist digital storytelling for opportunity, access, validation, and healing, though not without risks. We offer recommendations to others interested in using arts-based digital methods to advance social equity in sexual health.
- Subjects :
- 050103 clinical psychology
media_common.quotation_subject
Human sexuality
Pleasure
03 medical and health sciences
5. Gender equality
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Knowledge translation
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Narrative
Social media
10. No inequality
General Psychology
Reproductive health
media_common
030505 public health
Digital storytelling
business.industry
05 social sciences
Gender studies
16. Peace & justice
3. Good health
0305 other medical science
business
Psychology
Social equality
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15732800 and 00040002
- Volume :
- 50
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Archives of Sexual Behavior
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........2e6d433f6fd8d2868ae13e5445936891