Below is an in-depth analysis into how #WomanTalk was constructed. The academic methodologies, production aesthetic, and media framework are all explained in detail.
Feminist Research Methodologies
In Getting Smart: Feminist Research and Pedagogy With/In the Postmodern, Lather (1991) states that, “To do feminist research is to put the social construction of gender at the centre of one’s inquiry” (71), while Porter (1991) says in Women and Moral Identity that, “Feminist philosophy considers whether gender difference is to be celebrated, rejected, or simply understood” (13). Feminist research methodologies are broad and expansive, and there are many aspects to consider prior to conducting research in this way. However, there are specific research process that were at the forefront of this research project, and whose principles were considered throughout all aspects of production.
Feminist theory, specifically poststructuralist feminist theory, can be very subjective, as “the structures and practices of everyday life are opened to scrutiny” (Hesse-Biber 73). It allows for the contemplation and deconstruction of what is known, and what has already been conceived as “normal” through patriarchal practices. Hesse-Biber (2012) states that, “we must be aware of binary categories with their capacity to limit and constrain how we think and what we imagine to be possible” (67). To further explain how these “categories” are broken down, Hesse-Biber adds that;
“In this way, it breaks with theoretical frameworks in which gender and sexuality are understood as inevitable, as determined through social structures, cognition, or biology. It rejects the essentialism that attributes the experiences of women to ‘an underlying essence of womanness, an essence contained in bodies and expressed in culture,’ or that universalizes women's experiences” (73).
Postructuralism also largely involves the discourse of language; “The concept of discourse is used by post-structural thinkers to bring language into the material world where what can be understood and what can be said and done is seen as historically, socially, culturally, and materially constituted” (Hesse-Biber 73). Weedon (1991) also adds that “Subjectivity is constituted for us in language and social practices which form and discipline our bodies, minds and emotions” (126). Feminists and feminist scholars have worked to change or shift these thoughts related to discourses of femininity that “have structured the conditions of women’s lives” (Hesse-Biber 74). This is how poststructural thought and deconstruction can “[open] us to creative evolution, to the “not-yet-known” (85), as it has the ability to open “a passageway, it marches ahead and leaves a trail,” and the trails crisscross to create new trails and surprising openings and closings (Derrida qtd. in Hesse-Biber 76).
Michel Foucault is a key theorist when learning postructuralist feminist theory. The human body “is central to Foucault’s analysis,” (Weedon 119) as “he is concerned with not only how bodies have been perceived, given meaning and value, but with “the manner in which what is most material and most vital in them has been invested” (Foucault qtd. in Weedon 119). This understanding was necessary when learning about how the “production of the nature of women’s bodies was central to the reconstitution of social norms of femininity, [and] the patriarchal subjection of women” (108).
By using the principles of poststructuralist feminist theory and feminist research methodologies throughout the research and production processes of #WomanTalk, this video project will be able to allow participants to share their unique and differing experiences and understandings relating to the term “woman”; what it means to them, how it defines their identity, and how this fits within society around them. This will also mean that I as the researcher, and they as active participants, can think about and deconstruct these meanings to look at how and why they exist. Feminist theory “should not deny subjective experience, since the ways in which people make sense of their lives is a necessary starting point for understanding how power relations structure society,” (Weedon 8) and therefore #WomanTalk will hopefully open up new thoughts and perspectives for viewers, listeners, participants, and myself as the researcher.
Production Aesthetic
The interviewer’s voice was left out of each video. This was a conscious decision; #WomanTalk’s main goal is to share lived experiences, stories, and opinions of individuals who identify as women, and it was therefore decided that their voices should be the primary element that the viewer hears and listens to. This also enabled the videos produced for #WomanTalk to act as platforms for each participant, where they would not only be sharing answers to interview questions produced for this project, but also discussing how the topic of #WomanTalk relates to their own careers and achievements.
I worked with participants to choose a location for their video that was both comfortable and familiar to them, but also aesthetically engaging and practical for production. I wanted the location to reflect the individual’s personality, career, and/or passions so that viewers could make connections while watching each video. Beth Mairs, for example, was filmed in her hometown of Sudbury, Ontario, and Avery Steel was filmed within her photography studio. If personal locations could not be obtained or booked for a shoot, a secondary location was agreed upon by both the interviewer and participant. For each video, two angles were filmed; one wide and one medium-close to close-up shot of the participant. This helped with diversity in the range of shots taken of each interview. Canon 5D Mark III digital single lens reflex cameras were used for all videos in order to maintain high definition quality and continuity, and a small crew of up to two individuals were present for each shoot.
The website was designed through an online building platform, and incorporated all original designs, photography, and text. This website was created for the purpose of assisting #WomanTalk in reaching a wider audience; videos and links from this website can be shared on social media or other platforms, thus increasing its potential viewing range. A website enabled me to share more than just the videos produced for #WomanTalk, but links to resources that may be related to this series, photography from shoots, and personal writing that was completed for this project. Having this website as a platform for my work also means that #WomanTalk has the potential to expand and incorporate additional videos and content over time.
#WomanTalk as a Media Production
Although the videos that I have created for #WomanTalk were done in traditional documentary style, I feel that the website constituent greatly increased their potential reach and capacity to impact a wider audience. Incorporating the videos onto a website with other elements such as a blog, bibliography, and information about the project and participants enabled more of my work that was completed for this project to be shared. Creating www.womantalkproject.com also helped to increase the amount of research that I was able to share. I completed a mass of secondary research that was crucial to the formation of this project, but was not able to be used or shown directly within each video. Having a website meant that I could share it alongside each video to enhance the learning experience of users who visit the site. Both the videos and website that were made for #WomanTalk enabled this project’s academic component to be viewed in a way that is not “daunting”, but rather formats it in a way that is digestible and user friendly.