Love as Inquiry: My Autoethnographic Story of Coming Out Later in Life
Date
2024
Authors
Flemming, Christina J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
Love as Inquiry: My Autoethnographic Story of Coming Out Later in Life is a PhD dissertation in two parts. Part One is comprised of a collection of autoethnographic stories based on my own lived experiences as a queer woman, mother, writer, and educator. Part Two of this autoethnographic research details process-related elements, ethical considerations, and the non-linear nature of doctoral research with the aim of offering new educational researchers guidance and insight on autoethnographic writing. This work:
• serves as a disruptive force, while striving to unhinge normative narratives,
• reinforces the importance of storytelling within the field of education,
• seeks to honour members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who may struggle to
embrace authenticity and their own vulnerability, and
• enables future researchers to consider the complexity of the ethical considerations
necessitated by autoethnographic methodology.
At the heart of things, this research is about love: losing love, finding love, maternal love, and romantic love. In using love as both process and product, this research aims to help explore the question posed by Sameshima and Leggo (2013): What does love have to do with education?