Feminist Community Psychology Research Articles

Feminist Community Psychology and the Advancement of Women in South Africa

In this presentation, I offer a brief personal reflection of my entry and introduction to psychology. I start from positionsing myself to highlight how we do not come into institutions of higher learning and our disciplines as empty vessels but with histories that shape how we view the world. Drawing from social justice scholars and my earlier work, I point to how psychology needs to shift from locating ‘problems’ within individuals but instead acknowledge the structural imbalances that contribute to individual and collective dis-eases facing society. I go on to call for a decolonial feminist psychology that acknowledges the multiple oppressions faced by people in many formely colonised nations such as South Africa, with a particular focus on women. I further show how visual methodologies such as embroideries offer the potential for epistemic justice and decolonial possibilities by centering community members as co-constrctors of knowledge. I conclude by highlighting how hope carries the potential for psychological healing.

A Feminist Approach to Teaching Community Psychology: The Senior Seminar Project

© 2016 by the board of trustees of the university of ill inois Since the establishment of the first women’s center at the University of Minnesota in 1960, women’s centers on college campuses have provided a wide variety of resources, including but not limited to support services (such as counseling, childcare, and sexual education), as well as workshops and networking opportunities that can benefit the individual both personally and academically (Byrne 48). Women’s centers, in particular, often meet needs that institutions are unable to address given a growing diverse student body, and they are frequently established by current students who are seeking a space for community (Kasper 185). Unfortunately, not all colleges and universities house women’s centers, despite the need for such spaces for their students. Having taught feminist courses, I saw the need for a women’s center at my current institution, the University of Washington Bothell (UWB). UWB is home to over four thousand students, with 51 percent identifying as female and 28 percent identifying as women of color, respectively (“Fast Facts”). As UWB has grown in size, so has our ethnic diversity, with over 51 percent of students in the 2013–14 academic year identifying as being a student of color (“Fast Facts”). Our institution prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive college campus, yet lacks the centers needed to foster a sense of community that promotes these values. Knowing this, I designed a senior seminar grounded in feminist pedagogy and community psychology principles to develop a space where students could learn to work as a collaborative group to facilitate social change on our campus. Over the course of one quarter, eighteen community psychology undergraduate students investigated the need for a women’s center on our campus through student surveys and faculty interviews. This paper is a collective illustration of their class project regarding establishing a campus women’s center as written by their faculty instructor and all eighteen students.

Feminist education and feminist community psychology: experiences from an Irish context

AbstractThis article describes experiences in an Irish context of education programs delivered in 2 communities, 1 based on class (a working class urban community) and 1 based on sexual orientation (an urban lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community). It aims to illustrate how feminist education can play an important role in feminist community psychology. Principles and practices of feminist education, or feminist pedagogy, have a great deal in common with feminist community psychology, but have been most often practiced in academic rather than in community settings. Feminist education in community settings provides a participatory and dialogical context in which knowledge can be cocreated from the bottom up. It allows for the exploration of diversity and the development of a political analysis that can further involvement in change at a number of different levels. Research on the feminist education programs described here indicates that participants were more likely to make changes in their lives, to obtain employment and/or further education, and to be more involved in community and other forms of action for change. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mentors, Muses, and mutuality: honoring barbara snell dohrenwend

AbstractI describe feminist community psychology principles that have the potential to expand and enrich mentoring and that honor Barbara Snell Dohrenwend, a leader who contributed to the research, theory, and profession of community psychology. I reflect on the affect that Barbara Dohrenwend had on life and on the development of feminist community psychology. Examples of peer mentoring between Barbara Dohrenwend's research assistant, John L. Martin, and me are used to illustrate radiating effects of mentoring and interrelationships among forms of mentoring. Feminist community psychology principles discussed in relation to mentoring include mutuality, the power of contexts, and the importance of recognizing and affirming stigmatized and oppressed aspects of identities. The concepts of “muse” (Sullivan, 1996), “public homeplaces,” and “developmental leadership” (Belenky, Bond, & Weistein, 1997) are used to illustrate qualities of feminist community psychology mentoring. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Feminist community psychology: the dynamic co‐creation of identities in multilayered contexts

AbstractIn this special issue, we view the development of feminist community psychology (FCP) as an ongoing project that must be co‐created. This is reflected in articles that focus on authors' unique social locations inside and outside organizations in which they work, critical reflections on their multilayered identities, feminist methodological and pedagogical concerns, and the power of mentoring and social support. Authors discuss ways that critical reflexivity, feminist identities, and pedagogies can influence and be influenced by the practice of community psychology (CP). The intersectionality of identities is highlighted based on marginalized statuses from race/ethnicity, class, and sexuality to motherhood and “otherhood.” Authors also describe FCP practices including efforts to critique structural power asymmetries, reduce hierarchical professional relationships, and incorporate innovative interventions. We argue that these practices have libratory potential capable of creating social change consistent with the values and goals of FCP in particular and CP generally. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The educational journey of a Latina feminist community psychologist

AbstractThis narrative describes how my educational journey led me to become a Latina feminist community psychologist. My experiences as a Central American woman living in the United States has made me deeply committed to feminist community values and the importance of social justice. Throughout the journey, I connect how immigration status, culture, and gender are intertwined in my career path. My journey includes discussion of my education from elementary school to a doctoral program. I acknowledge the positive role that mentors have had in my educational success. I also discuss how the voices of people of color and women are not always adequately heard or represented in feminist community psychology (FCP). My intensely personal stories are shared in the spirit of connecting with other women and acknowledging that lived experiences are a way of learning and valid forms of inquiry in the field of FCP. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adopting a feminist perspective is not a linear process

AbstractIn this article, I present some of my history and experiences to demonstrate how gender and class affected my career path as a community psychologist. The goal of this article is to show how the internalization of combined gender/class roles influenced my choices, behaviors, and expectations, and how actions of others interacted with my choices and behaviors to contribute to struggles and successes. It illustrates the push‐pull that occurred at an individual level that affected my ability to embrace an alternative perspective. I discuss my encounter with second‐wave feminism, undergoing the shifting identity in the transition from my blue‐collar origins to a white‐collar world, my expectations of sisterhood, and the affect of organizational structures and cultures. I use my experience to suggest themes that might be considered in practicing community psychology and, more specifically, feminist community psychology. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reconceiving Myself

SUMMARY This narrative describes how contexts in which I grew up influenced my pursuit of feminist community psychology and my work in a master's level community psychology program. Grappling inside and outside with longings that appear contradictory and contradictions that others do not experience has fueled passionate engagement with life and work. Growing up an Irish Catholic girl in the Midwest U.S. post World War II era informed and constrained my relational and vocational choices. Participation in consciousness raising and informal community building initiatives opened opportunities for personal, professional and political growth. These intensely personal interconnected stories describe conundrums that I experienced and the ways in which they were reconceived and repaired in the process of creating self, work and community.

Methodological issues and challenges for a feminist community psychology: an introduction to a special issue.

American Journal of Community PsychologyVolume 28, Issue 6 p. 759-772 Article Methodological Issues and Challenges for a Feminist Community Psychology: An Introduction to a Special Issue Jean Hill, Corresponding Author Jean Hill New Mexico Highlands University, USA[email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMeg A. Bond, Meg A. Bond University of Massachusetts Lowell, USASearch for more papers by this authorAnne Mulvey, Anne Mulvey University of Massachusetts Lowell, USASearch for more papers by this authorMarion Terenzio, Marion Terenzio The Sage Colleges, USASearch for more papers by this author Jean Hill, Corresponding Author Jean Hill New Mexico Highlands University, USA[email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMeg A. Bond, Meg A. Bond University of Massachusetts Lowell, USASearch for more papers by this authorAnne Mulvey, Anne Mulvey University of Massachusetts Lowell, USASearch for more papers by this authorMarion Terenzio, Marion Terenzio The Sage Colleges, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 December 2000 https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005120632029Citations: 24AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume28, Issue6December 2000Pages 759-772 RelatedInformation

Stories of relative privilege: power and social change in feminist community psychology.

Stories about community work in New Zealand and Scotland are presented to describe and reflect on issues central to feminist community psychology. Organizing a lesbian festival, Ingrid Huygens describes feminist processes used to equalize resources across Maori (indigenous) and Pakeha (white) groups. Heather Hamerton presents her experiences as a researcher using collective memory work to reflect on adolescent experiences related to gender, ethnicity, and class. Sharon Cahill chronicles dilemmas and insights from focus groups about anger with women living in public housing in Scotland. Each story chronicles experiences related to oppression and privilege, and describes the author's emotions and reflections. Individually and collectively, the stories illustrate the potential offered by narrative methods and participatory processes for challenging inequalities and encouraging social justice.

A History of Women and Feminist Perspectives in Community Psychology

Using an historical framework, we document and assess efforts to include women, women's issues, and feminism in community psychology and in the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA). Initiatives of the SCRA Task Force/Committee on Women are traced from its inception to present. We also chronicle the dilemmas and difficulties of moving toward a feminist community psychology. The history is divided into five phases. Each phase is described in terms of women's involvement in the field and efforts to integrate feminist content into research and practice of the field. Reflections on the qualities of contexts that have both supported and inhibited inclusion are identified. We look to this history to try to understand the observation that while women have been increasingly visible in leadership roles and women's professional development has been encouraged, less progress has been made toward building a feminist community psychology.

The Listening Partners Program: An Initiative Toward Feminist Community Psychology in Action

The Listening Partners intervention is described and analyzed as a synthesis of feminism and community psychology, within a developmental framework. Working from an empowerment perspective, this social action, peer group intervention supported a community of poor, rural, isolated, young, White mothers to gain a greater voice, claim the powers of their minds, and collaborate in developmental leadership--creating settings that promote their own development and that of their families, peers, and communities. High quality dialogue, individual and group narrative, and collaborative problem-solving were emphasized, in a feminist context affirming diversity, inclusiveness, strengths, social-contextual analyses, and social constructivist perspectives. The power of enacting a synergy of feminism and community psychology is highlighted.