Mapping with care: Data feminist principles for participatory visual practices

This chapter explores how feminist principles can enhance participatory visual practices in digital research. It traces the evolution from technofeminist and cyberfeminist critiques of technology to contemporary data feminist approaches that challenge biases in computational methods. Drawing on concepts like matters of care and situated knowledge, the chapter examines how feminist frameworks can guide more inclusive and equitable research practices. Three case studies, from Paris, Rijeka, and Copenhagen, demonstrate how participatory visual methods can operationalize feminist principles in digital research. While computational techniques have transformed data collection and visualization, the chapter highlights that participatory research practices often rely on analog materials to facilitate meaningful engagement. The three cases illustrate a gradient of participation—from responsive annotation to full community involvement—demonstrating how feminist-informed practices can help address power imbalances and ensure more nuanced understandings through collaborative interpretation of data.