The Power of Phenomenology

Mel Duffy and Tanya Ní Mhuirthile ()
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Mel Duffy: School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland
Tanya Ní Mhuirthile: School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Hermeneutic phenomenology’s aim is to bring forth that which needs to be thought about. It is an invitation to think. To articulate thinking, one needs to listen in the corners and the shadows of the lived experience(s) of the phenomenon being investigated. The method simultaneously holds numerous perspectives and adopts an embodied approach to embracing experiential knowledge. This paper explores the power of hermeneutical phenomenology, as a methodological approach for understanding what it means to be intersex. Intersex people have bodies that are born different to typical male-female ones. Intersex is an umbrella term that includes more than thirty ways the human body may differ according to its sex characteristics (i.e., genitalia, hormones, chromosomes, sex organs). From interviews with intersex people, we confirm that employing a hermeneutic phenomenological approach did not just answer our research questions, but also became a powerful and empowering means through which some participants were effectively able to navigate, share and ‘own’ their personal story. Indeed, the method’s person-centred and ethical underpinnings permitted some to engage in the research in ways that became empowering and transformational.

Keywords: intersex; lived experience; sharing stories; other; knowledge of self; empower; hermeneutic phenomenology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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