Our Bodies Tell the Story

“An important new addition to feminist literature and the body politic. Literally. Using their bodies as narrative subjects, urging their readers to do the same, Klein and Taylor open their kimonos on all the ways in which the story of our bodies is the story of our lives. It’s like listening to two of your favorite girlfriends go deep and get real on being a girl, becoming a woman, and all the hidden joys and insults in between.”

Deborah Copaken, New York Times bestselling author of "Ladyparts"

“Klein and Taylor have penned an evocative, provocative, and highly original book that comes from the heart, and the body. The engaging writing style merges the personal and the public, reflecting the very themes in the book. Our Bodies Tell the Stories: Using Feminist Research and Friendship to Reimagine Education and Our Lives makes important contributions to the literature on feminism, embodiment, and education.”

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., Author of "Film, Blue, and Re/Invention: Methods of Social Fiction"

“Authentic, courageous, impactful! Professors Klein and Taylor offer educators first-hand accounts of their lived experiences as female academics who boldly challenge sexism and disrupt the patriarchy in this documentation and weaving of the cycles of their personal and professional lives. Their investigation, conceptualization, experimentation, and engagement in activism is an inspiration for others to participate in real day-to-day activism. This book defines and redefines feminism in the context of our time and what it means for equity and social justice and for the future of all of our lives. Their embodied knowledge includes efforts to support teachers in learning about the trauma they face in the classroom and the essentialness of self-care and loving who you are. Includes a wealth of references!”

Anastasia P. Samaras, PhD, Professor, George Mason University

“Feminism, for Emily Klein and Monica Taylor, is both a critical lens and an ethical orientation. Our Bodies Tell the Story: Using Feminist Research and Friendship to Reimagine Education and Our Lives draws on personal and professional experience to show how feminism can advance social justice. While acknowledging that this is challenging work that taxes our hearts, minds, and bodies, the authors draw on their stories to illustrate how friendship can support this vital endeavor. Their stories demonstrate how we might enact feminism while conveying the urgency of action now. Our Bodies Tell the Story: Using Feminist Research and Friendship to Reimagine Education and Our Lives is timeless in its wisdom and timely in its call to action!”

Julian Kitchen, Ph.D., Professor, Brock University, co-editor of "Studying Teacher Education" and editor for Springer’s "Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices series"

“Amidst monumental setbacks in women’s rights in the United States—including the overturning of Roe v. Wade—Emily J. Klein and Monica Taylor offer powerful insights into how they do feminism through an embodied collective counter-story. They underscore how patriarchy governs the boundaries of belonging, peripheralizing and oppressing women in their homes, work, school, and communities. In the process of transgressing these boundaries, they (re)claim their humanity and detail how to navigate and disrupt the reproduction of patriarchy and heteronormativity in schools and society. Attending to the embodied violence of patriarchy—whether physical or emotional—and the toll it takes in the lives and bodies of women like them, they invite readers to participate as they employ plurality and dialogic meaning making to reimagine education and their very lives. Through deeply personal examples, photos, and reflections, the authenticity and vulnerability of engaging in feminist research and friendship comes to life. In relatable ways, the authors offer a vibrant and complex portrait of how women can—and must—be in relation with each other as an act of freedom and liberation. A refreshing, insightful and much-needed contribution to the field, Our Bodies Tell the Story: Using Feminist Research and Friendship to Reimagine Education and Our Lives is a loving and caring call to action for women to develop strong albeit caring communities, reject the violence of patriarchy, and live feminist lives.”

Mariana Souto-Manning, Ph.D., President and Irving and Neison Harris President’s Chair, Graduate School in Child Development, Erikson Institute

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Letting Our Bodies Tell the Story: An Introduction

Chapter 2: A Feminist Embodied: Co/autoethnography of Two Friends

Chapter 3: Childhood: Becoming Girls

Chapter 4: Performing Adolescence

Chapter 5: Becoming Teachers: Addressing Trauma and Emotions in the Classroom

Chapter 6: Womanhood: On Aging Bodies, Beauty, and Academic Mothering

Chapter 7: Conclusion: Living A Feminist Life and Disrupting the Patriarchy

About the Authors

Index

Emily J. Klein

Emily J. Klein is a professor at Montclair State University in the Department of Teaching and Learning, the PhD program in Teaching and Teacher Education, and the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. She is also academic co-editor of The Educational Forum, the journal of Kappa Delta Pi, and co-PI on the WIPRO Science Education Fellows grant that supports science teacher leadership in five districts in New Jersey. The author of several articles on teacher professional learning, teacher leadership, and urban teacher residencies, she is the author of two books, Going to Scale with New School Designs: Reinventing High School and A Year in the Life of an Urban Teacher Residency: Using Inquiry to Reinvent Math and Science Education.

Monica Taylor

Monica Taylor is the Director of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and a feminist professor in the Department of Educational Foundations at Montclair State University. She is academic co-editor of The Educational Forum. She writes about feminist pedagogy, self-study, LGBTQ+ inclusive practices, teaching for social justice, and teacher leadership. She is co-PI of the WIPRO Science Education Fellows grant, which supports science teacher leaders in five districts in New Jersey. She recently co-edited The 2nd International Handbook of Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices. She serves on the Board of Planned Parenthood of Metro NJ, and volunteers as an advocate for asylum seekers and voter protection. Her commitments to fighting sexism, heteronormativity, and racism manifest in all aspects of her life.