We exist and resist as woven patches: Collective narrative practices in an activist context challenging and responding to an anti-lesbian hate crime

Abstract

This article describes a participatory process in which a group of feminist, lesbian feminist and dissident activists came together to respond therapeutically to the impacts of anti-lesbian hatred. The therapeutic context was created gradually with the deployment of a set of metaphors related to textile art, inspired by the re-authoring conversations proposed by Michael White. The process included the creation of a collective document that acknowledges and honours the participants’ wisdom, knowledge and particular ways of responding to anti-lesbian hatred. This work was embodied in three different forms: a patchwork quilt, a video and a fanzine. Collectivised through a definitional ceremony, these forms embraced manual-artistic creation and the materiality of fabric as valued means of expression, beyond the limits of the verbal. This work contributed to the visibility, externalisation and politicisation of acts of injustice, acknowledging forms of resistance, care and protest. The process invited us to reflect on the importance of collectivisation, fluidity and flexibility in structuring the therapeutic space, and allowed us to question the roles of therapist and activist as predefined identities.