Ivory tower? Feminist women's experiences of graduate school

Abstract

Synopsis Curiosity about women's experiences in graduate school and interest in learning about feminist methodology led members of our feminist research group to conduct a study that would examine feminist women's graduate school experiences. We detail the progression of this project from initial idea to final manuscript and how our thinking about the research method and the results changed and developed throughout this process. Our method involved a group discussion facilitated by each woman's concrete representation (i.e., objects, words, and pictures) of her time in graduate school. Ten members of our research group served as both researchers and participants. Three of us transcribed and analyzed our four-hour discussion using qualitative methodological techniques to uncover patterns and themes. Our overriding theme “Identity of feminist women in graduate school” encompassed four major themes: Creation of feminist identity; Negotiation of new gender roles; Valuing and devaluing all things feminine; and Interface with the masculine world. These themes illuminated both the positive and negative aspects of our graduate school experience and the unique concerns that we as feminist women expressed.