Health and Wellness as Resistance: Tactical Folk Medicine

ABSTRACT

Accessing medical resources has not always been easy for marginalized communities. This article addresses a series of barriers trans African American patients experience. We examine two sites of resistance to explore (a) African Americans’ use of complementary and alternative medicine throughout history and (b) trans tactics addressing institutional oppression. We explore these experiences through an intersectional feminist lens. By providing these insights, we hope to make room for further research to be conducted to better assist marginalized communities.

KEYWORDS:

• African American
• transgender
• CAM
• folklore
• tactical technical communication
• health/medical communication
• gender research
• (Black) feminist theory

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the two overlapping communities mentioned in this article. This article is not a one-size fits all, and the examples provided are just that: snap shots of different communities’ realities, struggles, and resilience. The intersections and overlaps can’t be ignored within any analysis. Other intersections can (and should) be addressed to accompany this piece. This piece invites interrogation into the mental health aspects of these stories.

We also want to thank the editors of the special issue, TCQ, Utah State University’s Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patricia Hill Collins, Sara Ahmed, and other scholars who paved the way for intersectional analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Explanatory commas – moments when members from marginalized communities stop to explain non-mainstream cultural references as they speak to an audience that includes white people, thereby centering white people as primary and marginalizing members and their audiences that belong to these communities. The term was introduced in this NPR Codeswitch podcast episode: https://one.npr.org/?sharedMediaId=504482252:505487421

2. By “trans,” we include transgender, transsexual, non-binary, gender fluid, agender, and other gender minorities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jamal-Jared Alexander

Jamal-Jared Alexander is a social justice researcher and scholar-activist trained in qualitative methodology. His research includes medical rhetorics and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion recruitment and retention. Using Critical Race and Black Feminist Theory as his theoretical lenses, his research aims to create dedicated spaces and equitable opportunities for marginalized people in professional and academic settings. He has experience developing and implementing scalable programmatic cultural spaces at universities that support the educational achievement and well-being of multiply marginalized or underrepresented (MMU) students by enhancing campus life through political, social, academic, emotional, and cultural support. He teaches courses in document design, research methods in technical communication, and writing about the disciplines with a strong foundation of social justice embedded in the curriculum.

Avery C. Edenfield

Avery C. Edenfield is an assistant professor of rhetoric and technical communication in the Department of English at Utah State University. His research agenda works at the intersections of technical, cultural, and public rhetorics with attention to the technical writing strategies marginalized communities employ for self-advocacy, particularly in extra-institutional contexts. Avery’s work has appeared in several journals including Technical Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, and Technical Communication.