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Exploring the Use of Body Mapping for Socially Inclusive Storytelling Among South African Women Living with Recurrent Breast Cancer

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Handbook of Social Inclusion

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Abstract

This chapter presents an application of body mapping, an innovative participatory arts-based method used in qualitative research to elicit participant narratives about their bodies and life experiences, to women’s experiences of recurrent breast cancer. The use of body mapping has become a powerful method for fostering social inclusion. Its emphasis on nondiscursive communication and embodied knowledge allows participants an opportunity to articulate aspects of their experience that may not be readily accessible via conventional verbal methods. The findings presented in this chapter highlight those features of body mapping that help to expand women’s expression of their breast cancer stories, thereby offering a more socially inclusive research methodology. The analysis presents examples of creative and embodied forms of knowledge generated through body mapping, such as the visualization of participants’ sources of strength and abstract representations of the self. The sample of body maps presented are derived from the thematic and visual analysis of 12 South African women’s breast cancer stories, which revealed their creative processes and meaning making. The method not only served as a data collection tool but became a method of empowerment for participants. Although body mapping may provide expanded representational possibilities for participants, care should be taken to adjust the method according to participants’ needs, and to provide effective researcher-participant collaboration when utilized among vulnerable populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Anri Smit

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  1. Anri Smit
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Correspondence to Anri Smit .

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  1. College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Pranee Liamputtong

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Smit, A. (2022). Exploring the Use of Body Mapping for Socially Inclusive Storytelling Among South African Women Living with Recurrent Breast Cancer. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Social Inclusion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89594-5_64

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89594-5_64

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