Irina Schmitt
Senior lecturer
Are there trans and queer methodologies? Methodological negotiations on gender and sexuality
Finns det trans- och queermetodologier? Metodologiska förhandlingar om kön och sexualitet
Author
Summary, in English
Are there research methods and methodologies that are inherently queer or transfeminist in empirical research? This is a question I wrestle with often. And I am not alone, although methodological discussions are less central in queer and transfeminist knowledge production than in the wider feminist field.
Transfeminist discussions of methodology often set our from a research ethics starting point; an early text here is Jacob Hale's "Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism, or Trans ____" from 1997, last updated in 2009. These are much more than a reference for future research. It is a concise analysis of methodological violence, a reflection of the experiences of people with different experiences of being trans in different research processes. It makes demands on the reflexivity, sensitivity and accuracy of non-trans researchers.
Both, trans and queer research, grapple with a centering of certain subject positions. This is necessary, yet can lead to sexuality and gender identity being seen as detached from their intersections, as discussed not least by Cathy J. Cohen, and from the production of gender and sexuality as non-intersectional, as analyzed for example by Jules Gill-Peterson. Understanding queer and trans experiences as experiences marked by gendered oppression may render other mechanisms of oppression invisible. Whiteness, abelism and class norms within queer and trans communities need to be analysed more in the Scandinavian context. What does that entail when researchers and students set out to work with trans and queer communities? In addition, what kinds of methodological, theoretical and political negotiations are necessary to understand the role of the researcher – insider, outsider, on the fence?
Transfeminist discussions of methodology often set our from a research ethics starting point; an early text here is Jacob Hale's "Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism, or Trans ____" from 1997, last updated in 2009. These are much more than a reference for future research. It is a concise analysis of methodological violence, a reflection of the experiences of people with different experiences of being trans in different research processes. It makes demands on the reflexivity, sensitivity and accuracy of non-trans researchers.
Both, trans and queer research, grapple with a centering of certain subject positions. This is necessary, yet can lead to sexuality and gender identity being seen as detached from their intersections, as discussed not least by Cathy J. Cohen, and from the production of gender and sexuality as non-intersectional, as analyzed for example by Jules Gill-Peterson. Understanding queer and trans experiences as experiences marked by gendered oppression may render other mechanisms of oppression invisible. Whiteness, abelism and class norms within queer and trans communities need to be analysed more in the Scandinavian context. What does that entail when researchers and students set out to work with trans and queer communities? In addition, what kinds of methodological, theoretical and political negotiations are necessary to understand the role of the researcher – insider, outsider, on the fence?
Department/s
- Department of Gender Studies
Publishing year
2022
Language
English
Full text
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Document type
Conference paper: abstract
Topic
- Gender Studies
Keywords
- Genusvetenskap
- queerfeministisk metodologi
- transfeministisk metodologi
- genus
- kön
- sexualitet
- Gender studies
- queerfeminist methodology
- transfeminist methodology
- gender
- sexuality
Conference name
g22: Den femte nationella konferensen för genusforskning i Sverige
Conference date
2022-10-26 - 2022-10-28
Conference place
Karlstad, Sweden
Status
Unpublished