The Paradox of Positionality
Avoiding, Embracing, or Resisting Feminist Accountability
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18948214 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Georgiann Davis (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, corresponding author), T Khonach (0000-0002-7230-3794, University of Nevada, Las Vegas) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 101-113 |
| Publication date | 2020-05-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Fat Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2160-486X • E-ISSN: 2160-4851 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/21604851.2019.1628604 |
| OpenAlex | W2952548429 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 11 |
Wrestling with the desirability and possibility of research objectivity, scholars across disciplines debate the claim that there can ever be value-free research. While many sociocultural scholars defend and strive for research objectivity, feminists tend to reject such approaches and instead continue to call on scholars to position themselves in their research presentations and publications in relation to the topic being studied, and in the case of empirical work, their participants. We might think of this call as a feminist accountability, which we suggest most scholars avoid, some embrace, and others resist. One can avoid positioning themselves in their research, but we contend in doing so they potentially stabilize dangerous claims that surround the desirability and possibility of research objectivity. Those who embrace accountability by positioning themselves in their analyses are not without their own risks. They often have to vulnerably share intimate details about themselves or their loved ones. For those who embrace accountability and are members of a marginalized community they are studying, they are also likely to experience heightened accusations that their research is biased and/or a self-discovery project derogatorily referred to as “mesearch.” Others who resist feminist accountability might do so for good reason especially for scholars studying very stigmatized phenomena, but it is likely folks who engage their work will still make problematic assumptions about their bodies, identities, and experiences. It is through the various ways of navigating this feminist accountability that we offer the paradox of positionality and contend that fat studies scholarship is an ideal entry point into its theorization
Accountability · Epistemology · Feminism · Feminist epistemology · Political science · Scholarship · Sociology · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Gender Studies · Law · Obesity and Health Practices · Philosophy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
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Doubly Marginalized
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When the south meets the north
Non-Binary Embodiment, Queer Knowledge Production, and Disrupting the Cisnormative Field
Dismantling Gender‐Washing in Business Schools
Mentoring Women to Publish in Order to Thrive in the Academic Patriarchy
Who are the “Scholars” in “Scholarship?”
The Problem with Rapport in Interview-Based Studies
Sociology from a Distance
Power, Positionality, and the Ethic of Care in Qualitative Research
Challenges of #bodypositivity
| Citations per year | 2.8 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |