Eat Your Words: An Artful Neuroqueered Fermented Inquiry

This article examines the process of engaging fermentation as artful inquiry through neuroqueer orientations. Biologists traditionally define fermentation as anaerobic metabolism, yet it extends to transformative movements in politics, arts, and community co-evolution. As a scholarly and creative tradition that transcends time and space, fermentation enriches research reflexivity, embracing complexity, paradox, and opacity, challenging the norms of traditional research. By adopting Manning’s concept of the artful, I propose fermentation as a sustainable and accessible inquiry method that enhances understanding of researcher identity and topics beyond rigid ideas of identity. As a powerful tool for redefining our engagement with the world around us, fermentation fosters a collaborative connection with the more-than-human. It extends artful inquiry beyond traditional boundaries, leading to potent possibilities for reflexivity.