Honoring Queer Womxn of Color's Wisdom, Healing and Joy: A Reflection on Our Approach to Photovoice Exhibits

• Published in: Qualitative report Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. COV1 - 3888
• Main Authors: Herring-Alderete, Sydney M, Acosta, Miranda Esther Gutierrez, Bryant, Sarah M, Pollok, Michelle A, Schroeder, Grace, Holmes, Kevlyn M, Pham, Jessi H, Bulalacao, Lauren, Lopez, Suzanne, Franco, Moises, Arellano, Nat Betancourt, Jarvis, Lauryn, Reyes, Ana Guadalupe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fort Lauderdale Nova Southeastern University, Inc 01.06.2025; The Qualitative Report
• Subjects: Authors; Awards & honors; Collaboration; Collective action; Community; Consciousness; Counseling; Counseling Objectives; Counselor education; Counselor Educators; Counselor Training; Counselors; Creative Activities; Discrimination; Elementary Secondary Education; Empowerment; Exhibitions; Exhibits; Group Counseling; Happiness; Learner Engagement; Leaves; Methods; Multicultural Education; Narratives; Oppression; Photography; Power structure; Qualitative research; Queer theory; Reflection; Researchers; Resilience; School Counselors; Sexuality; Students; Teachers; Women's issues; United States
• ISSN: 1052-0147; 2160-3715
• DOI: 10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7300

Too frequently, traditional research centers the wounded-subject position (Brown, 1995), which reduces minoritized individuals to their experiences of discrimination, perpetuating deficit-based narratives, oppression, and existing power dynamics. To counter traditional research frameworks and deficit-based narratives, we used photovoice methodology (Wang & Burris, 1997) to honor and celebrate the healing experiences of nine queer womxn of color (QWoC). The photovoice project explored the healing experiences of QWoC inside and outside counseling and lead to the curation of a photovoice exhibit to share their stories of resilience and power. This article outlines our approach to organizing a photovoice exhibit and our experiences and reflections throughout the process. We include recommendations, a sample exit survey, and a photovoice exhibit tracker to inspire counselors, counselor educators, and researchers to explore photovoice methodology and exhibits. Keywords: photovoice exhibits, queer womxn of color, wounded-subject position