Turning data into dance: Performing and presenting research on oppression and the body

• An art therapist and a dance therapist researched somatic effects of oppression.
• Qualitative interview and arts-based methodologies were used.
• A major theme was the transgender experience of somatic oppression.
• The co-researchers created public performance as part of data analysis and findings.

Multiple qualitative research methods were employed to explore the somatic effects of oppression on people living in marginalized social categories. Interviewees became co-researchers and co-creators as an inclusive means of further disseminating and investigating themes that arose in the research project. By choreographing a public performance over the course of five months and folding in personal artistic inquiry, the authors developed a collaborative relationship around themes of transgender identity and the somatic effects of oppression. In this way, a synergy was achieved between the research methods used and the need for research to contribute to the resolution of body oppression in society.

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