Intersectional Reflexivity: Centering Invocations and Impositions in Reflexive Accounts of Qualitative Research

Abstract

How can researchers write about researcher accountability in a less self-indulgent and more honest way? This paper proposes intersectional reflexivity as an approach that supports producing more detailed accounts of researcher accountability. The paper shows researcher-participant exchanges as sites of intersectional struggle where both researchers and participants engage in invocations and impositions of intersectional identities to navigate their positionality during interactions. Most discussions about reflexivity focus on the power of the researcher, underplaying or ignoring the relevance of co-constructed dynamics and power struggles between researchers and participants. The paper proposes a working protocol to support researchers to understand and use intersectionality in their reflexive accounts to interrogate researcher-participant exchanges in a more nuanced way. The paper expands discussions about privilege and disadvantage in researcher-participant exchanges.