Women's Creative Writing: Praxis, Activism, and the Aesthetic

Abstract

In response to the systemic physical, economic, and political subjugation that women face, this qualitative study, grounded in feminist methodologies (Sprague, 2016), documented how six women, living in a Mid-Atlantic region, used their creative writing as tool to engage in the process of praxis which includes critical awareness, critical action, and reflection (Jemal, 2017). In addition, the study examined how women leveraged aesthetic and critical dimensions in the activist texts (Kynard, 2011) that resulted from praxis. Findings documented that the reflection central to praxis manifested as a reflective stance guiding the articulation of critical awareness and critical action. Creative writing was a powerful tool that facilitated the process of praxis. The aesthetic, the critical, and the imagined reader were integral components of participants’ decision making when sharing their work as a means of critical action. In addition, participants leveraged the aesthetic and the critical as they composed activist texts by using craft techniques to build counter stories, to witness intersectional experiences of oppression, and to de-pathologizing societal stereotypes and prejudices regarding gender, mental health, rurality, sexuality, and race. The implications include the need for more research regarding how women use literacy in their everyday lives to engage in praxis, the process and theories related to praxis, and community support of praxis. Implications also include providing curricular access to creative writing, considerations for critical literacy, and future feminist research.