La historia oral como recurso metodológico para aproximarnos a la autopercepción corporal de mujeres adultas mayores en la Ciudad de México

Abstract

Oral history is a methodological strategy that has been, above all, used in disciplines such as anthropology and, to a lesser extent, sociology. In the field of communication research, this methodological resource is not used very frequently, nor are its variants, such as life history and thematic oral history. This article raises some reflections on the methodological potential of oral history, and in general, of the biographical approach, as a powerful resource to give voice to sectors of the population that have been excluded from hegemonic narratives. Beyond allowing subjects considered in their individuality to be given a voice, oral history is very useful for reconstructing the past of a given social community. Thus, this methodological resource transcends the obtaining of individual narrations, goes beyond the personal anecdote, and used correctly, it is a complex methodology that allows us to account for events and processes that would otherwise be very difficult to access. The methodological reflections presented in the text are the product of a particular empirical work carried out with older adult women from popular areas on the outskirts of Mexico City.