Toward a Framework for Listening with Consideration for Intersectionality: Insights from Public Relations Professionals in Borderland Spaces

Abstract

ABSTRACT Listening remains an understudied concept in public relations, particularly with consideration for the complex intersecting identities and lived experiences of publics. Through 38 interviews with nonprofit and governmental professionals, this study sought to fill the dearth of applied research on listening and intersectionality and to develop an intersectional framework for listening in public relations. One research question guided this exploratory, qualitative study: How do public relations professionals embody listening with consideration for intersectionality? Findings suggest that public relations professionals across nonprofit and governmental contexts described listening with consideration for intersectionality via personal reflexivity, interpersonal sensitivity, organizational programs and initiatives, and community and coalitional collaboration. From these insights, a framework for listening with consideration for intersectionality in public relations is proposed.