Let Me Talk My Shit

• In Event: Resistance as Responsibility

Abstract

With ever increasing exposure to trauma it can be argued that we are living in an age of trauma (i.e. police brutality, racism, COVID-19, protests, unemployment) that is desensitizing young people to the visceral nature of trauma (Casper & Wertheimer, 2016; Perry & Szalavitz, 2017). Historically, trauma scholarship has been rooted in Eurocentric, westernized ideology that can often silence the trauma of racially minoritized youth (Leys, 2010; Bond & Craps, 2020). Given this historical silencing, many racially minoritized youth whom I’ve encountered as an educator consider the trauma that they live through as normal. Additionally, many professionals do not partake in culturally sustaining practices contributing to the widening lack of trust in medical, psychotherapy, and psychiatry professionals (Perry & Szalavitz, 2017). Considering cultural shifts in the field that have highlighted racial and race-based trauma (Carter, 2007; Museus & Truong, 2012), this study aimed to further investigate the ways in which trauma is collectively felt as a shared experience within marginalized cultural and social identity groups. The purpose of this study was to explore the intersections of embodied arts and raciocultural trauma as a means of understanding how young people thrive in the midst of great tribulation. Raciocultural trauma is defined as a perpetual haunting of physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental violence that goes beyond a singular event or crisis and is lived with and lived through—both directly and indirectly within educational and social contexts. In this context, trauma can be viewed as a haunting that is terrifying and often not believed to be real (Derrida, 2012; Gordon, 2008). Embodied arts provides an alternative lens with regard to performance arts theory whereby the focus is not centered on the performance but rather on the relationship between the mind, body, soul, and racial storytelling (Lorde, 1978; Rich, 1971; Johnson, 2017). The research question central to the study is: In what ways might embodied arts address trauma within racially minoritized youth? The methodology that would best serve in answering the research question was critical ethnography (Madison, 2005). Through this methodology the researcher is compelled to focus on their own positionality throughout the study. Moreover, given the sensitive nature of the study critical ethnography provided an avenue to investigate vulnerability critically. Findings from the study elucidate the various ways in which participants generate community centered on shared experiences. Through the systematic discussion of highly sensitive topics participants cultivated deep bonds and meaningful relationships that evolved into friendships that have lasted beyond the actual study. Findings also show that participants often feel isolated in their experiences and performing embodied arts provides a space ripe for cultivating a sense of belonging. The significance of this work is grounded in the need for more cultural perspectives in the field of trauma. Moreover, the significance of this work is based on the need for more trauma-informed practices that center the experiences of racially minoritized youth in educational spaces.

Author

• Andrew B. Torres, University of Massachusetts - Amherst