Queer(y)ing the Straight Researcher: The Relationship(?) between Researcher Identity and Anti-Normative Knowledge

Abstract

This article considers whether ‘straight’ identified researchers can produce anti-normative knowledge. This question derives from debates around what (if any) contribution ‘straight’ researchers can make to queer theory/research. While recognizing that political and ethical decisions are integral to this discussion, I focus on the epistemological implications of straight researchers’ participation in queer theory/research. This discussion grapples with a wider issue within identity politics around the participation of researchers who are regarded as representing the ‘norm’. I trouble the relationship between identity and knowledge by arguing that sexual identity does not determine the production of anti-normative knowledge. Insights from queer theory are employed to interrogate the power of heteronormativity in generating ‘normative’ knowledge, and elucidating whether these practices are invested in particular sexual identities.

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