Theorizing the Four I’s of Love in SiSTARhood for Women, Femme, Nonbinary Critical Scholars of Color

• In Event: Me-Search: Pursuing Race, Culture, and Gender in the Heart and Healing Work of Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

Objectives
In this love letter, we write to critical women, femme, nonbinary scholars of Color as an offering of love and healing. We explore our siSTARhood through we-search as critical women of Color scholars in mathematics teacher education in predominantly white institutions. Rather than focus on damage-centered narratives (Tuck & Yang, 2014), we analyze the siSTARhood, love, joy, strength, and healing we find with ourselves, each other, and our familial, personal, and professional networks to theorize the Four I’s of Love in siSTARhood.

Theoretical framework
Drawing on the Four I’s of Oppression framework, we flip this framework to theorize the Four I’s of Love in SiSTARhood (4ILS). According to Bell, J. (n.d., as cited by Cuauhtin, 2019), ideological oppression refers to the idea that a group is superior; institutional oppression indicates how systems and structures are intentionally designed to control those considered not part of the dominant group. Interpersonal oppression refers to those of the dominant group mistreating those who are not members of the group in power. Internalized oppression occurs when members of oppressed groups internalize messages of inferiority.

Methods and Data Sources
As three women of Color critical mathematics education scholars, we theorized the 4ILS by analyzing the space we had actualized organically, in praxis. We reflected on our collaborative work on a funded research project and how our specific actions influence our feelings of love, joy, and liberation through our work together.

Four I’s of Love in SiSTARhood
For the 4ILS framework (See Figure 1), like hooks (2000), we draw on Peck’s definition of love, “as the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth” (p. 4). We view ideological love in siSTARhood as a) affirming our strength, value, and joy as women, femme, nonbinary critical scholars of Color where b) our ways of knowing and being are centered. Institutional love in siSTARhood refers to the structures and rituals that support us to center our well-being and joy. For example, our research meetings begin with: a) affirmations and b) check-ins. We have also institutionalized c) centering women, femme, nonbinary scholars of Color in our scholarship. Interpersonal love is an expression of ideological love amongst each other, such as: a) sending each other love letters, b) creating/making and giving meaningful gifts, c) affirming and supporting each other, and so forth. Internalized love refers to embodied self-love. We aim to: a) look inward for affirmation, b) center bodymindspirit (Calderón et al., 2012; Lara, 2002), c) celebrate self-defined successes, and to d) question colonial scripts.

Scholarly significance
The 4ILS framework aims to affirm and support critical women, femme, nonbinary scholars of Color to be fully understood and unapologetically live our truths. We look forward to engaging with other women, femme, nonbinary critical scholars of Color to learn additional concepts and practices for the 4ILS framework.

Authors

• Kari Kokka, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Rochelle Gutierrez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Marrielle Myers, Kennesaw State University