Applying body mapping to research with marginalised and vulnerable groups

Body maps are life-sized body images that are constructed by way of drawing, painting, or other techniques that represent individual's bodies, experiences, and the worlds they live in (Gastaldo et al., 2018). Body mapping has been used in educational settings and in clinical practice to map experiences, pain, and symptoms and in community development projects to create awareness of health care issues, such as HIV/AIDS (de Jager et al., 2016). In this chapter, we enter into a conversational dialogue about what led us to engage in body mapping research, the importance of partnerships in the process, what body mapping offers in terms of working with vulnerable and marginalised groups, and in revealing hidden stories. Finally, we reflect on our respective challenges encountered while using this method.