Intersectionality through Life Stories
Care, Temporality, and Reflexivity in Audience Studies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/2183-5462_48_3Keywords:
Life stories, Intersectionality, Audience studies, Young people, Gender and sexualitiesAbstract
This paper proposes life stories as a methodological tool for addressing complex intersectional issues within audience research. It begins by reviewing existing intersectional audience research alongside methodological contributions on life stories from across the social sciences. Drawing on insights from the R&D project [Anon], the paper then evaluates both the potential and the challenges of employing life stories in intersectional audience research. Three key potentialities are highlighted: the method’s suitability for intersectional approaches, its ability to center on youth voices and counter adultcentrism, and the social impact of its outcomes. At the same time, there are three major challenges: building careful and trusting environments, addressing power hierarchies through self-reflexibility, and managing time and resource constraints. The paper ends by advocating for further intersectional research and deeper reflexive methodological work within communication studies.
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