Significant life experiences and environmental justice: positionality and the significance of negative social/environmental experiences

AbstractSignificant life experiences (SLE) research has been criticized for a disproportionate focus on privileged groups and positive experiences. In this paper, I use textual analysis to examine the SLEs within the Environmental Justice (EJ) literature. Theoretically, I blend feminist theory, the sociology of disaster, and research on EJ motives for activism to advance the notion of social/environmental positionality and marginality, characterized by toxic social/environmental relationships. Findings reveal that EJ activists describe the experience of EJ as three SLEs: the recognition of their social/environmental marginality, the embodied knowledge produced from their experiences, and the empowerment that comes from working with others in a community for EJ. These findings are compared to more traditional SLE's and I conclude with a discussion about the importance of positionality and negative experiences for SLE research.