“Spoiled and Unspoiled”: An Autoethnography and Arts-Based Installation on Violence Against Women and Femicide

Abstract

This dissertation addresses violence against women and femicide through an autoethnography and arts-based research agenda. Many cases of violence against women go unreported each year. Women often withstand violence until a weapon, such as a knife or gun, poses a threat. The only resolution to ending violence in a relationship is for women to leave the aggressive partner; however, a great number of women refuse, and death is often their fate. The dissertation combines narratives with a collection of visual artworks that focus on the emotional and physical state of women as they endure violence.

In the narratives, I relived my past while watching and listening to an act of violence on a woman. The narratives highlight indicators of gender control and how society views acts of violence toward women. The visual images are rendered through my past and current research on violence against women collected through a literature review. Images include the exploration and characterization of tragic events through mood, emotion, dramatic lighting, and ambiguous space, with the human figure a counterpoint to emphasize both violence and empowerment. This dissertation reveals the psychological and physical state of women, offers alternative ways in which women affected by violence avoid conflict in violent situations, and provides visual depictions of emerging empowerment of women as they begin restoration from violence.