Ethics & Archival Privacy
The Firestarter Question is a public documentary project created to witness, record, and preserve the unspoken realities of contemporary British motherhood. It is not coaching, therapy, or medical advice. It is an independent cultural archive.
Because this work touches intimate, vulnerable experiences, privacy and informed consent sit at the center of every encounter.
1. Street Conversations and Public Filming
Every street interview is conducted openly in public town and city centres across the UK, including Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, and Cardiff.
Informed consent
We practise a two-stage approach to consent. Before recording, we introduce the project and ask permission to ask one question. At the end of the conversation, every contributor is given a Firestarter Mum card showing where the project lives, and is asked to confirm she is comfortable with her words being shared across the project's street documentary series, digital channels, and this archive. She chooses freely whether to speak.
Anonymity as protection
In this public archive, street contributors are identified solely by city (for example, Mum, Bristol) or life stage (such as mother of an infant). We never publish surnames, children's names, occupations, or specific neighbourhoods. This protects contributors and their families from workplace scrutiny, personal exposure, or unwanted online attention, allowing each voice to speak as part of a collective record.
Verbatim integrity
Quotes are presented in clean verbatim form. We do not paraphrase, reframe, or fictionalise what was said. The words remain the mother's own.
2. Website Submissions and Community Letters
When you leave words through this website:
Complete anonymity
The submission form does not ask for your name, email address, phone number, or social handle. We do not collect or track IP addresses.
Safe custody
Submissions are held in a private, encrypted database. Only Gosia reads them. Nothing goes live automatically.
Editorial care
Submissions are not judged or rated. Words are read solely to ensure the space remains safe and respectful before any letter is shared.
3. The Unconditional Right to Withdraw
Consent is not a one-time transaction; it is an ongoing relationship of trust.
If you spoke with Gosia on the street, or submitted words through this site, and later feel uncomfortable having your words in the public sphere, you may request their removal at any time without explanation.
To request an edit or permanent deletion, email gosia@firestartermum.com. Include the quote or excerpt and any details that help us locate it. It will be removed from this archive promptly and without question.
4. Technical Data & Third-Party Platforms
Cookies & tracking
This site is an editorial archive. We do not run third-party advertising trackers or sell visitor data.
Embedded media
Video excerpts hosted on YouTube and audio links to Apple Podcasts or Spotify are subject to the privacy practices of those respective platforms when you choose to play them.
Substack
If you subscribe to Field Notes, your email address is handled securely by Substack in accordance with their privacy policy and used solely to send you essays.
The woman in you still matters. She always did.