What does feminism mean to you? What does it mean in the context of your narrative practice?

To me, feminism is about equality, inclusion and the acknowledgement of intersectionality. In the context of my narrative practice, it means acknowledging the gendered impact systems of power have on people of all genders. It also means highlighting the strengths of one’s gender identity, finding community within and outside of that identity, and feeling not only comfortable, but empowered by one’s identity.

What does embarking on this course reflect about any hopes, ethics or commitments you have in your life or work?

I am currently studying counseling with a concentration in trauma. I am interning at a woman-owned practice and many of their clients are impacted by sexism, racism, eating difficulties and body-image difficulties. I hope that embarking on this course will bolster my ability to work with clients who are impacted by eating difficulties or have experienced gendered violence/oppression that has resulted in trauma that impacts their daily lives.

I have been committed to feminist thought from a young age, and to not include it in my practices as a therapist is unimaginable to me. It is integral to my identity and how I operate in the world, so of course it would be a part of my narrative practices.

What do you imagine might challenge or stretch you in this course?

The definition of feminism has evolved greatly over the years and to this day there are various discourses and debates about what feminism means. I could find myself getting confused around the different messages given by first, second, and third wave feminism. I also imagine that these “waves of feminism” are deeply American, and these terms do not resonate with every culture across the globe. I am excited to learn more about feminism outside of the context of American culture. This will also be a challenge for me, as it might require me to unlearn some of what I learned long ago about feminism.

Can you think of any people in your life (including ancestors, folks who have passed, or characters who inspire you), communities, movements, places, stories or songs that you might carry with you on this learning journey, and which might support you to engage rigorously?

The women in my family and the women and trans people in my life will be a great support throughout my time engaging in this course and engaging in growth as a therapist. I also think of my ancestors and the small acts of feminism they were able to practice in Italy, where a very catholic and patriarchal society was the norm during their time. I also think of a more recent ancestor, who had a baby “out of wedlock” in the 1920s, and left this baby in the care of her family when she ran away to join the circus. I do not know much about her, but I wonder how the pressures of motherhood and the dominant patriarchal society at that time impacted her choices. Perhaps the circus was where she felt the most liberated from society’s expectations of women at that time.

What might this look like?

Engaging in support throughout this course will look like spending time with those who value feminism and intersectionality as much as I do. It will likely include attending Pride events (June is LGBTQ pride month in America) and attending live music events hosted by women and LGBTQ+ artists.

We would love to hear how you plan to engage in this course! There is no one right way to do it. Are you dipping in here and there or setting aside a chunk of time? Are you hoping to take your time engaging in it over the course of a year or some other period? Are you doing the course with a buddy or a group to discuss your learnings?

I am setting aside chunks of time each week to work on this course. I am counting it as “indirect hours” towards my internship. The hours are needed to graduate from my masters program and this course will count as a training. I also plan to use a professional development fund my school provided me with to pay for certification in this course as well as some other courses from the Dulwich Centre.

How do you imagine you might put into practice your learnings from this course?

I imagine this course will both teach me new ideas and also activate and help me better use knowledge I already have about feminism and intersectionality. My long term goal is to work as a narrative therapist, and this course is one stepping stone in achieving this goal.

Thank you for this free course, I can’t wait to learn more and incorporate this into my practice.

One small act of resistance was when a colleague consulting with me, about a client family who openly expressed homophobic ideas, came out as gay to me as they wondered if they needed to come out to the family. I encouraged my colleague to consider that their identity was not shameful [as were the effects of these interactions with client family] and their identity as gay was not, as I described back then, the business of the family.

Much more recently, doing the masters in 2015 and invited to write my pronouns on my name tag, was another pivotal moment and an invitation to be expansive in my thinking and the noticing of the dominant ideas about gender, sexuality, sex, bodies and families and their effects.

This has meant in more recent times, I have been able to support parents who feel bewildered when their young person identifies as and or exploring their identity outside of the binary. And in social settings with people of more my era, I have been able to invite a questioning of dominant ideas, seen as ‘natural’, that have real effects on people they love or care for. I have also been able to help a colleague understand the implications for choosing to wear their pronouns with their name badge and consider the kind of preferred message this sends to the young people who consult with us.
I think the best way I can describe the repercussions for myself and others in these small acts are the invitation to critique taken-for-granted ideas; especially my privilege and ideas that limit, degrade or exclude others; and supports an openness and humility, and ultimately inclusion.

To some extent, my ability to resist these ideas has some history with not conforming to the some of dominant ideas of being a woman, such as I didn’t wear make-up, pluck my eyebrows and shave my legs. In some ways I didn’t measure up as being feminine enough. But, for the most part, I liked that about myself; that I felt I had the freedom to not conform. So, these small acts of resistance to conform, to be a non-conformist is what I connect with when resisting other ideas; as well as both the potential for shame and its effects, and liberation the I experienced in these acts.
Whilst just showing up as me, is a journey and one that gets challenged particularly in the context of academia, being able to resist some of these ideas of femininity when I was young has supported me to question and take risks, and step outside of the known and familiar. As I have grown more into being me, I’ve noticed at times it supports others close to me to be vulnerable and humble and to question. Some of the greatest evidence of what it has made possible is in the life of my daughter and step-daughters, who now as adults in a reciprocal way invite me to continue to question and critique dominant ideas!

I always hope to be curious about people’s lived experience and appreciate how their stories are often become an invitation for me to check in on my assumptions. Just like Pshko, I’ve too ‘paddled back’. I’m really drawn to Tileah’s reference to practices of welcome and how significant these are. These are simple yet powerfully resistant to the effects of colonising and oppressive practices. I am committed to making visible acts of resistance to taken-for-granted ideas and practices.
The ideas of positioning as a therapist, being de-centred and influential have been like an anchor for me. Yes, I am often tugged or cajoled into being centred or not influential. However, holding this as an ethic of practice has and will continue to support my learning in embracing expansive genders and sexualities. For me, it is what supports genuine connections and hope for people’s lives and my rite of passage as a therapist.
I think of the people who have courageously shown up as themselves, who have been generous in helping me to question the pervasive binary ideas; and those who have tentatively explored their journey with me including the huge risks they face in showing up and the weight of expectations of who they should be. I think of my younger colleagues who have educated me in such kind ways. I think of a close relative who has helped me to question assumptions. And there are many more people who I have had small interactions with; or those I’ll never meet but have courageously published their stories of resistance. There’s a village of people who have and continue to accompany and support this learning.

What might thinking about stories in this way make possible for you?
I am going to listen more closely to my students’ narratives to listen for the undercurrents and alternative stories that can inform a more wide-lensed sense of themselves.