Crossing sexual orientation borders: Collaborative strategies for dealing with issues of positionality and representation

Abstract

This paper explores the role the researcher's identity as a heterosexual plays in exploring the identity struggles of gay and bisexual college men. The author discusses issues of positionality and representation from the perspective of critical postmodernism and feminism. With cultural diversity as a driving force, a number of social theorists have explored issues of representation and the role of the qualitative researcher in studying diverse others. Although efforts have been made to better understand the relationship between the researcher and the researched in terms of important identity categories, such as race and gender, little to no attention has been devoted to the complexities of heterosexuals exploring the lives and identity struggles of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. This article seeks to fill some of this void by advocating greater collaboration between the researcher and research participants.