Echoes of Secrecy

Witnessing Lesbian Voices Through Found Poetry

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21633211
AutoresSavannah Brewer (Middle Tennessee State University), Sage Roberta Chevrette (Middle Tennessee State University, autor correspondente)
Ano2026
Volume77
Fascículo3
Páginas348-365
Data de publicação2026-05-04
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCommunication Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1051-0974 • E-ISSN: 1745-1035
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10510974.2025.2594029
OpenAlexW4416894901
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas35

In this article, we engage the arts-based approach of found poetry as a qualitative research method to articulate and amplify the experiences of Southeastern U.S. lesbian women who came of age and came out between the 1980s and the 2000s, a crucial period for LGBTQIA+ advances and political backlash. Found poetry uses research participants’ words to emphasize felt dimensions of individual and collective experiences; for participants in this interview study, these included silence and fears about coming out; facing discrimination and marginalization in politics, religion, families, media, and workplaces; and cultivating spaces of acceptance and belonging. The voices of lesbian women have long been marginalized within both mainstream and gay culture, and continue to have limited visibility even in LGBTQIA+ research. The found poem, “Echoes of Secrecy,” thus highlights the voices of lesbian women whose experiences have been ignored or minimized to respond to gaps in research but also to provide a form of witnessing of the past and its personal and political impacts in the present. As such, the poem reflects a participatory ethos rooted in listening to and foregrounding participants’ voices. This study reinforces the power of found poetry as a dynamic tool for communication researchers, ensuring that the voices of marginalized groups are heard and celebrated

Human sexuality · Lesbian · Narrative · Poetry · Autobiographical and Biographical Writing · Latin American and Latino Studies · Poetry Analysis and Criticism