Am I vulnerable? Researcher positionality and affect in research on gendered vulnerabilities

Abstract

In this article, I draw on arts-based approaches and new materialist affect theory in order to explore possibilities to attune research outputs to researcher vulnerability. These approaches and theorisations challenge conventional research practices geared toward creating distance between the researcher and their research, and work towards dissolving hierarchical distinctions between assumedly invulnerable researchers and vulnerable participants. In doing so, they pave the way for attuning research work to the complex interplay of difference and sameness as it unfolds and surfaces in the process of researching gendered vulnerabilities. By presenting a piece of poetic writing that engages with research encounters within a project on sexual harassment and young people, I tap into the troubled affect, the constant interplay of difference, shifting alignments, and ultimate entwinements between the researcher, the phenomenon of sexual harassment, and the research participants and other involved actors. Based on my inquiry, I propose attending to vulnerability through affect theory as an encompassing and dynamic state of being affected and affecting others, both in violent ways and in ways that aim to build solidarity and empathy.

The Limitations of Hashtag Feminist Activism on South African Twitter: A Case Study of #MenAreTrash and #WomenAreTrash

“…Similarly, other tweets claimed that women had double standards for being offended by #WomenAreTrash while supporting #MenAreTrash. Studies in other countries have documented similar strategies of highlighting examples of abuse against men, which portray men as the victim and women as perpetrators, in response to anti-GBV campaigns (Flood, 2019; Venäläinen, 2019).…”

“…While the topics discussed by these networked communities of men are wide-ranging, and their supposed goal is to support men, an overarching characteristic of these discourses is the attribution of blame for men’s problems to women and feminism (Banet-Weiser 2018). This is best exemplified by their coordinated attacks to discredit online discussions around GBV, gender equality, and feminism (Marwick & Caplan, 2018; Venäläinen, 2019; Trott, 2020). However, very few studies so far have explored local expressions of networked misogyny and anti-feminist sentiments in the South African context.…”

“…Bosch (2011) proposes social media as a prominent tool for African women, who are often marginalized and misrepresented in mainstream media, to advance their feminist agenda. However, digital feminist movements are also a common target of criticism and misogynistic attacks (Flood 2019; Marwick, and Caplan 2018; Venäläinen 2019; Trott 2020).…”