Exploring what “Occupies” the Body of Breathless Individuals in Hard-to-Breathe Environments: A Body-Map Storytelling Workshop

Air pollution and ecological crises, such as extreme heat, forest fires, and biodiversity loss, are making it difficult for individuals with respiratory issues to breathe. While some regions offer biomedical treatments like prescribed oxygen, unequal access to these technologies can exacerbate social inequities, particularly among socioeconomically marginalized groups. This underscores the often-overlooked sociopolitical dimensions of breathing.

This workshop aims to introduce participants to the body-map storytelling (BMST) methodology, its theoretical and historical foundations, and its application in studying the experiences of breathless individuals living in highly polluted areas. BMST is defined as “the process of creating body-maps using drawing, painting, or other art-based techniques to visually represent aspects of people's lives, their bodies, and the world they live in” (Gastaldo et al., 2012). BMST is a creative approach that can be used in various settings, including research, intervention, and advocacy.

During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore the fundamentals of BMST in a research context. In this case, the approach was adapted to explore the experiences of breathless individuals. Using Merleau-Ponty's critical phenomenological approach, we examined the visible and invisible aspects of breathing as a sociopolitical phenomenon. We adapted the BMST methodology to conduct two individual interviews with seven participants in East Montreal, an area with high air toxicity. We are currently recruiting participants in British Columbia (who have experienced smoke from forest fires) and Montérégie East (where there is industrial pollution).

Preliminary study findings highlight the interconnected nature of breathing experiences with environments and technologies essential for survival. Six participants used prescribed oxygen but viewed it ambivalently as both support and burden. They described their experience as “living at the end of an oxygen tube,” which limited their long-term overlook. Some felt imprisoned; an invisible suffering, made visible through bodily illustrations. These insights can support the argument for defending the human right to breathe.

Gastaldo, Denise; Magalhães, Lilian; Carrasco, Christine & Davy, Charity (2012a). Body-map storytelling as research: Methodological considerations for telling the stories of undocumented workers through body mapping, http://www.migrationhealth.ca/undocumented-workers-ontario/body-mapping [Accessed: August 15, 2016].

Online attendees that wish to participate in the BMST workshop are advised to get some materials ready in advance of the event (paper, pen[s], coloured pencil[s], and some old magazines and/or their imagination).

Pier-Luc Turcotte is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Ottawa. Their program of research explores the sociopolitical aspects of services to marginalized populations, including those who are impoverished or disabled. These aspects include the incarceration of populations non-criminally responsible due to mental illness, the medically administered death being actively offered to disabled people, and the risks associated with the ecological crises for marginalized populations, including those who are unhoused. If you wish to speak with Dr. Turcotte about his research and work, he can be reached at pturcott@uottawa.ca.