As a researcher and an advocate, I’m constantly seeking ways to truly understand and amplify the lived experiences that often go unseen. Recently, I’ve been diving deep into the world of body mapping, a powerful tool that’s allowing me to quite literally draw out narratives in ways I never imagined. As Jager, de Tewson, Ludlow, and Boydell point out in their systematic review, body mapping “facilitates participants reclaiming or creating a preferred view of the body.” For me, this resonates deeply with my current project, which centers the economic experiences of Black women.
Recently, Black women have been recognized for their powerful influence at the polls, a testament to their understanding of how intersecting discriminations impact not just their own lives but the well-being of many. As Elliott and Walker at the Urban Institute compellingly argue, centering Black women in income and wealth policymaking isn’t just a matter of equity; it has the potential to improve the economic realities for numerous aggregated groups across America. My aim is to use body mapping to make visible the often-unseen connections between economic policies and the physical and emotional toll they can take on Black women. This creative process, as the Jager et al. review highlights, “allows access to aspects of experience not readily accessible through interviews.” It’s about more than just talking; it’s about embodying the story.
What’s been truly heartwarming is how this practice has already begun to weave its way into my own family life. After working on my initial practice body map, I was touched to see JJ and EJ become curious. Before I knew it, they were asking for paper and markers, eager to create their own maps. It sparked such a beautiful and unexpected moment of connection. In fact, we’ve decided to make body mapping a family activity this Easter Sunday after church. I believe it’s a wonderful way to help my children articulate feelings and experiences they might not yet have the vocabulary for. It’s about giving them a visual language, a way to show what words might still fail to express.
Ultimately, my work with body mapping is driven by the desire to make the invisible visible. The narratives surrounding Black women are so often shaped by external forces, sometimes even by systems that haven’t historically served us. Body mapping offers a space to reclaim those narratives, to allow Black women to identify where on their bodies the weight of economic hardship and societal pressures may reside. It’s about creating an opportunity to embody experience, to finally focus on how our bodies are impacted by the events we navigate. Through this process, I hope to contribute to a deeper, more embodied understanding of economic justice, one map, one story, one Easter Sunday family gathering at a time.
Leave a comment