Black Stories Project: Digitial Storytelling as a Counterspace to Address Abortion Stigma

April Bell, UCSF
Jo Williams, UCSF
Sative Banks, UCSF
Kelly Giles, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Aline Gubrium, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Digital Storytelling (DST) is an effective participatory method that centers participants, emphasizing participant involvement, social support, and empowerment. Despite its potential, there is limited research on using DST workshops as transformative safe spaces for marginalized groups dealing with stigmatized health issues. The Black Stories Project, led by the Girlx Lab at the University of California, San Francisco, explored this by using DST to address stigma among Black women with abortion experiences. The project involved a 6-week virtual DST workshop with 14 Black women, aged 19-66, from California and Indiana. Participants created short digital stories combining images, self-recorded voiceovers about their abortion experiences, music, and text. After the workshop, participants took part in a 1-hour interview and a focus group to discuss their experiences. Researchers analyzed these digital stories, field notes, interviews, and focus groups to understand the impact. The workshop’s intentional design fostered a safe space where participants connected through shared culture and experiences. The nonjudgmental environment provided reassurance and acceptance, helping to counteract internalized societal stigma. Digital storytelling emerged as a powerful method for creating liberatory spaces for marginalized groups dealing with stigma surrounding abortion and other sensitive health issues.

Keywords: Family Planning and Contraception, Mixed methods research, Qualitative data/methods/approaches, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

See extended abstract.