Reflexivity, positionality, and feminist research the atrium. Feminist research is described in terms of its purposes of knowledge about womens lives, advocacy for women, analysis of gender oppression, and transformation of society. England university of toronto feminist and poststructural challenges to objectivist social science demand greater reflection by the researcher with the aim of produang more inclusive methods sensitive to the power relations in fieldwork following a discussion. Researchers make regular efforts to consider their own thoughts and actions in light of different contexts. Reflexivity, collaboration, power analysis, and advocacy are discussed as common practices of feminist qualitative research. Key concepts hegemonic masculinity patriarchal dividend. Hamel this article extends research on transnational feminist networks tfns, organizations that bring women together across national borders for collective action.
Feminist theory has made empirical work particularly challenging because feminist theories reveal the politics in every aspect of the research process. Pdf reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social work. Feminist theory first developed in the 1970s as result of profound changes in womens experiences and situations that led to a political movement. Reflexivity, positionality, and feminist research citeseerx. This paper comments on feminist research and in particular the use of reflexivity in feminist ethnography. Gender reflexivity and the habitusfield complex holly thorpe university of waikato feminist theorizing in the sociology of sport and physical culture has progressed through ongoing and intense dialogue with an array of critical positions and voices in the social sciences e. The feminist practice of holistic reflexivity sage. The theory of reflexivity a nonstochastic randomness theory for business schools. These new attempts, primarily involving the phenomenology of the scientific mind, became rapidly diffused within the social sciences. The role of reflexivity in feminist psychology sciencedirect. Indeed, virtually all dimensions of sociological theory have been reevaluated through the lens of feminist theory.
Women have something valuable to contribute to every aspect of the world. The essays in this volume make clear that feminist theory can partake of the intellectual expanse and riches of frankfurt school thought in a variety of ways and on its own terms, leaving the. For some, it is disastrously inwardlooking and self. Reflexivity reflection actionbased research methods. The womens movement in canada and the united states, ed.
Power influences how problems are defined and how research is constructed. The implications of a number of forms of reflexivity are explored for feminist work. Reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social work. Feminist theory defined the term feminist theory is used to refer to a multitude of types of works, produced by a movement of activists and scholars in a variety of disciplines chafetz, 1997. Distinguishing between a weak and a strong reading of reflexivity this paper argues that the former contains certain assumptions on the deconstruction of the authority of the author andor of the power difference in field relations.
The author argues that by adopting reflexive approaches, feminist researchers work to reveal the inequalities and processes of domination that shape the research process. I outline a preliminary sketch for a feminist of color approach to performative automethodologies as they connect to ethnography. Feminist research is viewed as contributing to the transformation of science from empiricism to postmodernism. Feminist theory and the practice of female genital mutilation. An integral part of coming to voice for black feminist theorists. The principle of reflexivity was perhaps first enunciated by the sociologists william i. Drawing on feminist standpoint theory, reflexive email interviewing is proposed as a method for feminist research. A good place to start is the seminal paper by sue wilkinson 1988 where she outlines three forms of reflexivity which can inform feminist qualitative research. Reflexivity, scientific knowledge, social epistemology, meaning, social action, sociological theory. This paper addresses the relation of feminist methodology to political commitments. Defining liberal feminist theory liberal feminist theory can be explained by examining the term theory first. Reflexivity in sociological theory and social action 3 formed through them into an autonomous culture3. Pdf reflexivity, feminism and difference rahel regina.
Feminist reflexivity on positionality and knowledge production. The method is illustrated using a recent case study of. Reflexivity in ethnography is the use of self as an instrument of the data collection and the researchers own awareness of reactions to the research data. Reflexivity, positionality, and feminist research 242 focus on and problematize fieldwork, a term that i use as shorthand for those research methods where the researcher directly confronts those who are researched. This research ethic is the research practice associated with a critical feminist theory that is reflective of the normative concerns of constructivist, critical. It must become a duty of every researcher to reveal and share these reflexivities, not only for learning purposes but towards enhancing theory building. Yet, often such reflexivity fixes racial power and elides more nuanced operations of difference moves feminist scholars have, in fact, long problematized. May 19, 2020 reflexivity social theory wikipedia the prophecy has a constitutive impact on the outcome or result, changing the outcome from what would otherwise have happened. Common to each of these approaches is the idea that. Key concepts queer theory heterosexual matrix performativity. There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of.
In social theory, reflexivity may occur when theories in a discipline should apply equally to the discipline itself. It mounts a defence of reflexivity against new materialist and postqualitative critiques and the pressures exerted on scholars from the neoliberal marketized university system which privileges fast academia at the expense of slow, reflective scholarship. Feminist theory and survey research the idea that there is only one road to the feminist revolution, and only one type of truly feminist research, is as limiting and as offensive as malebiased accounts of research that have gone before. Gender reflexivity and the habitusfield complex holly thorpe university of waikato feminist theorizing in the sociology of sport and physical culture has progressed through ongoing and intense dialogue with an array of critical positions and voices. A conclusion summarizes the main arguments and highlights their theoretical and political implications.
The concept of reflexivity has become increasingly significant in social work literature in relation to social work education, theory and practice. Feminist theory provides the lens through which such reflexive, emancipatory practice is viewed. Feminist and poststructural challenges to objectivist social science demand greater reflection by the researcher with the aim of producing more inclusive methods sensitive to the power relations. What i am looking at first, are feminist theories about why women and men are unequal, and second, feminist gender politics, the activities and strategies for remedying gender. Among feminist scholars, quantitative research is often seen as suspect for. In terms of ethics, reflexivity and objectivity is discussed in relation to feminist methodology. There are at least two important ideas that come out of the definition of the term theory by owens 1994. However, soros could not formulate the general theory of. Introduction feminist theorists over the past 30 years, while rejecting any sort of univocal trajectory in coming to grips with constructions of the body as a site for material and social practice in culture and literature. As an oppressed group, women have been unable to achieve their potential, receive rewards, or gain full participation in society. Critical theory is thus a model both for the complexity and selfreflexivity feminist theory requires and also offers elegant insights for. Feminist theory has made empirical work particularly challenging because femi nist theories reveal the politics in every aspect of the research process. This stance chimes with fook and askelands 2006 perspective on reflexivity as the capacity to identify, not only ones own influence on events, but also that of the sociocultural world.
This was a definition of feminism i offered in feminist theory. Merton 1948, 1949 built on the thomas principle to define the notion of a. A critical approach to reflexivity in grounded theory. Reflexivity, then, is a researchers ongoing critique and critical reflection of his or her own biases and. The implications of a number of forms of reflexivity are explored for feminist work within psychology. The call to confess may be grounded in historical developments within feminist scholarship, including standpoint theory and research reflexivity methodological tools that are certainly valuable in the pursuit of knowledge, but that are not without criticism.
George soros theory of reflexivity pdf when i first read the alchemy of finance by george soros, i thought his theory of reflexivity was absurd. As with the feminist and anticolonial critiques that provide some of reflexive anthropologys inspiration, the reflexive understanding of the academic. The call to confess may be grounded in historical developments within feminist scholarship, including standpoint theory and research reflexivitymethodological tools that are certainly valuable in the pursuit of knowledge, but that are not without criticism. Reflexivity, positionality, and feminist research kim v. Feminist geographic commonsense suggests that power shapes knowledge production, prompting the longstanding reflexive turn. Owens 1994 defines theory as a thought process or way of thinking about reality which becomes a model of that reality. Feminist theory and the practice of female genital. Oct 01, 2019 reflexivity is the theory that a twoway feedback loop exists in which investors perceptions affect that environment, which in turn changes investor perceptions.
Reflexivity plays a crucial role in interpreting and producing knowledge by focusing on how knowledge is situated and constructed in the research process. There are various approaches to reflexivity in theory and practice. Introduction feminist theorists over the past 30 years, while rejecting any sort of univocal trajectory in coming to grips with constructions of the body as a site for material and social practice in. In this grounded theory study i, the doctoral candidate sjg, set out to define and. Reflexivity, positionality, and feminist research kim r l. The paper focuses on how the liberal feminist approach has been applied in education, especially at the early childhood development level in order to address issues of inequality in education. This paper touches on personal, epistemological, critical, and feminist reflexivity. Nov 17, 2014 the basis of the general theory of reflexivity. It was my hope at the time that it would become a common definition everyone would use. Feminist social work researchers are invited to reconceptualize feminisms to include thirdwave feminist thought and more explicitly engage theory and reflexivity in their work. Because i am not examining the ideas of particular feminists but speaking of perspectives that have emerged from many theorists, i will talk of feminisms.
May 25, 2017 this paper is a response to scholars who have called for exploring and interrogating new strategies of data collection and new approaches to more traditional methods, such as interviewing in the context of the internet. I am conducting participant observations and interviews with african american girls between the ages of 11 and 18 at an innercity. Pdf reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social. However, soros could not formulate the general theory of reflexivity he. Personal and functional reflexivity raise issues relating the identity of the researcher and the formfunction of the research, while disciplinary reflexivity entails analysis of the nature and influence of the field of enquiry. This handbook presents both a theoretical and practical approach to conducting social science research on, for, and about women. And feminist theory in an era of postfeminism may well face no more important question than what produces ready compliance with prevalent gender norms, including those that circulate womens subordination. The recognition of the position of researcher and participants, and sensitivity to power relationships with respect to knowledge production contribute to challenging existing hierarchies of. The variety of feminisms and their contribution to gender. The rise of reflexivity in qualitative research has not gone without criticism, including from feminist scholars. Chapter 27 the feminist practice of holistic reflexivity previous next. This article seeks to intervene in what i perceive to be a problematic opposition in feminist theory between ontological and epistemological accounts of existence and politics, by proposing an approach that weaves together elspeth probyns conceptualisation of feminist reflexivity with a rereading of feminist standpoint through affect. These assumptions are identified and their often problematic nature.
In doing this work i hope to suggest some starting points to consider privilege and accountability, accentuating the critical, while problematizing understandings of reflexivity across paradigms. Critical theory is thus a model both for the complexity and self reflexivity feminist theory requires and also offers elegant insights for contemporary work. Although reflexivity theory is widely attributed to george soros, it was originally developed as a sociological construct by william thomas in the. Critical feminist reflexivity and the politics of whiteness. The feminist practice of holistic reflexivity sage research methods. Feminist reflexivity on positionality and knowledge. The feminist practice of holistic reflexivity sage research. This is the opposite of the process described in textbooks and built into economic models, which always assume that financial expectations adapt to reality, not the other way round.
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