Abstract
Claiming to be doing feminist research invariably
raises many issues for both the researcher and
the audience of the academic and professional
nursing community. Such issues may relate to the
epistemological and ethical subject positions being
taken, but also important are the responses of the
listener – whether this is a colleague or a student
in an informal setting, or the more public arena
of the conference paper or written publication.
This paper develops and explores the identity of
‘feminist researcher’ and, drawing upon auto-ethnographic reflexive narratives, considers assumptions about what this might mean. Uses of feminist
theory within nursing research will be considered,
along with an analysis of how such theory may be
located within the postmodern. The paper will draw
upon my recent post doctoral experiences of being
required to disseminate ‘findings’ from an experimental ethnographic PhD thesis which purports
to be a ‘feminist’ study. This study was concerned
with women’s narratives of heroin use /abuse, and
drew upon feminist and critical discourses.
The paper presented here will explore the tensions
inherent in representing women’s stories, some
of the difficulties in ‘doing feminist research’ –
along with a consideration of the implications of
the identity of ‘feminist researcher’. In developing
an exposition of such implications, the paper will
endeavour to address some of the assumptions
which are invariably made when the ‘F’ word is
mentioned.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Event | Royal College of Nursing (RCN) International Nursing Research Conference - City Hall, Bristol, United Kingdom Duration: 24 Mar 2009 → 27 Mar 2009 |
Conference
Conference | Royal College of Nursing (RCN) International Nursing Research Conference |
---|---|
Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
City | Bristol |
Period | 24/03/09 → 27/03/09 |