I already know this is going to be rambling...bear with me.
I'm a registered nurse and am starting a new project with a social worker/narrative therapist and two professional writers (one of whom is my husband). We're offering a series of workshops that blend narrative therapy and writing, etc. I was drawn in to participate primarily in a workshop about birth stories, and another about "illness narratives".
My primary professional background is as a nurse working with childbearing families, but I also have the personal experience of having my own kids and having two homebirths. I wrote my bio for the project that outlines my professional credentials and history, but also has a line about being the mother of two daughters born at home. Then I read the other bios, none of which mention any personal/family info.
I'm on the fence about whether to take the personal info out. On one hand, I feel like my personal experiences are relevant to the workshops I would be offering, and that it's pretty common in the birth community to include family details in professional bios. On the other hand, I'm also involved in a couple of other workshops which are unrelated, and I can see how it might be more "professional" to leave it out. And it would match the other bios in that regard.
Of course this has started all kinds of thoughts about personal/professional identity as a mother, woman, etc. It seems that men's bios rarely mention family, but it is more common for women to do. The social worker in the project is also a woman with grown children, for what it's worth.
I guess I'm not looking for an answer- just some ideas and conversation.
I'm a registered nurse and am starting a new project with a social worker/narrative therapist and two professional writers (one of whom is my husband). We're offering a series of workshops that blend narrative therapy and writing, etc. I was drawn in to participate primarily in a workshop about birth stories, and another about "illness narratives".
My primary professional background is as a nurse working with childbearing families, but I also have the personal experience of having my own kids and having two homebirths. I wrote my bio for the project that outlines my professional credentials and history, but also has a line about being the mother of two daughters born at home. Then I read the other bios, none of which mention any personal/family info.
I'm on the fence about whether to take the personal info out. On one hand, I feel like my personal experiences are relevant to the workshops I would be offering, and that it's pretty common in the birth community to include family details in professional bios. On the other hand, I'm also involved in a couple of other workshops which are unrelated, and I can see how it might be more "professional" to leave it out. And it would match the other bios in that regard.
Of course this has started all kinds of thoughts about personal/professional identity as a mother, woman, etc. It seems that men's bios rarely mention family, but it is more common for women to do. The social worker in the project is also a woman with grown children, for what it's worth.
I guess I'm not looking for an answer- just some ideas and conversation.
