Collaborative Webmapping: Creating Layers of Lesbian Visibility

This paper reports the results of „Creating landscapes‟, the last phase of the research project “Reconceptualising Public Spaces of (In)Equality: Sensing and Creating Layers of Visibility” which aims to explore the potential of public authoring and collaborative web mapping to promote the agency and empowerment of people who experience discrimination. The methodological approach of „Creating landscapes‟ is centred on two structured workshops: „Collaborative web mapping‟ and „Layers of Visibility‟. On the „Collaborative web mapping‟ workshop a collaborative web map of Portugal was produced, based on georeferenced data created by lesbian and bisexual women, to explore how the creation and sharing of layers of personal experiences, thoughts and emotions, can empower women who experience discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. On the „Layers of Visibility‟ workshop a web map with positive lesbians‟ experiences on public spaces was created and made accessible on web browsers and directly on location with mobile devices (tablets, mobile phones), to investigate how creating and sharing digital layers of lesbian visibility can disrupt a hetero pervasive reality and impact social identity and belonging.