Embroidering the Feminist Future, High School Feminists and Arts-based Collective Testimonios Research

Abstract

This article examines how Chilean high school feminist students used arts-based testimonios to construct their gender and political subjectivities during the 2018 feminist movement. Drawing on a critical ethnographic study at an all-female public high school in Santiago, I explore how embroidery workshops created spaces for students to map oppressive conditions, repair damage caused by sexism, and imagine new possibilities for political engagement. Through posthuman and decolonial feminist theoretical frameworks and arts-based research methods, I analyze how students produced embroideries representing female bodies as sites of violence, resistance, and transformation. These creative processes allowed participants to engage in ethics of joy, transforming pain into collective practices of change. The findings reveal how embroidery testimonios enabled students to recognize and assess sexism, develop political caring practices, and create alternative imaginaries that challenged heteronormativity and traditional citizenship expectations. By reconnecting with Chile’s historical tradition of political arpilleras, students positioned themselves within a broader legacy of feminist resistance while creating new symbols and narratives. This research contributes to understanding how arts-based methodologies can support youth’s political formation through embodied, collective practices of resistance and possibility, offering significant implications for educators, activists, and policymakers seeking to expand conceptions of youth civic engagement and democratic participation.