Right now, not yet, it's yet : Canadian Catholic women negotiate feminist and spiritual identities

Abstract

This interpretive phenomenological study examines the experiences of five Canadian Roman Catholic feminist women who choose to manage their identities from inside of the Catholic Church. Narratives illuminate the multitude of ways the women ascribe meaning to their experience. Refusing to be bound by the constraints of structural injustices, the women resist labels and dualities, and the categorization of their identities as an either-or. With a commitment to navigate ambiguity and ambivalence, participants construct multiple, fluid, and dynamic identities that enable them to move beyond, yet still remain actively engaged, by critiquing the negative effects of their tradition, and innovatively remapping and reshaping a more inclusive and incarnated spirituality and community of faith. They engage in personal interpretations of doctrine and teachings, create networks within their own and other traditions, heighten their (in)visibility to counter gender imbalances, and embody their spirituality and feminism in all areas of their lives.