The Value of Participatory Visual Methods in Young Masculinity Research

Abstract

We discuss the value of visual research methods for empowering participation and dialogue in researching young masculinity. The purpose is to review the benefits and limitations of participatory visual methods in young masculinity research to better understand the construction of masculine identity in context. The discussion is illustrated with reference to examples from completed research projects in young masculinity conducted by the reviewers and which used various participatory visual research methods. These methods included autophotography, photo-elicitation, biographical drawings and combining visual methods with individual interviews or focus groups. Examples from the completed research demonstrate the usefulness of participatory visual research methods in facilitating opportunities for collaborative, contextual and credible qualitative data. The examples from the completed research were used to highlight the value of participatory visual methods and some of the challenges in analysing complex multi-source data, the additional resources required and the practical demands of participatory visual research. Participatory visual research provide innovative opportunities for researching youth identities by facilitating perspectives on the dialogical and dynamic processes of identity positioning within spatio-temporal contexts.