Intersectional Reflexivity: Fieldwork experiences of ethnic minority women researchers

In this paper, we illustrate the usefulness of intersectional reflexivity as an approach for researchers to reflect on their role with more nuance. This approach highlights the importance of reflexivity accounts engaging in more nuanced reflection that considers how social categories of difference are mobilised during research exchanges to negotiate their positions, and how these result in instances of researcher privilege and disadvantage. We exemplify the value of intersectional reflexivity by using our own experiences as ethnic minority women researchers in patriarchal settings to show that gendered, racio-ethnicised, aged, and classed dynamics in interactions and exchanges are not immediately obvious. We argue that a purposeful framework that embeds the intersectional lens into reflexive efforts is needed to understand researcher experiences as riddled with both privilege and disadvantage, where researchers have power but also invoke particular intersectional identities to reposition themselves and each other in their interactions. The paper calls for more attention to the co-constructed nature of research exchanges to inform the way researcher self-accountability is problematised and reported.