Enacting Feminist Methodologies in Research Toward Reproductive Justice

Abstract

Reporting on the development of an ongoing qualitative research project with clients of midwifery care in New Brunswick, Canada, this article details the ways that methodology is complexly interwoven with political praxis. Working through the development of this project, this article models one way to enact politically engaged feminist research at each stage of the research process, from developing the research question, through research design, data collection, analysis, and theory generation. In the process, three core principles of feminist research methodologies are extended: co-construction of knowledge, researcher reflexivity, and reciprocal relationships in research. This research is caught up in and responds to a fraught political context where supports for reproductive healthcare are limited, and midwifery, abortion, and gender-affirming care are all framed as “fringe” services that exceed the austerity budget of the province. Participants engaged in this study with a clear understanding of this political terrain and approached interviews as an opportunity to share their experiences, and to advocate for the continuation and expansion of midwifery and related services in the province. Through the research process, it has become evident that midwifery must be understood as part of the struggle toward reproductive justice in this province. These reflections will direct further stages of the project, including ongoing research and dissemination.

Decolonizing Sociology Through Collaboration, Co‐Learning and Action: A Case for Participatory Action Research1

“…Feminist research and activism can in fact reproduce global colonial hierarchies when White Western women set research and action agendas without including non‐White women in decision‐making (Chowdhury 2011). Feminist research becomes decolonial when it incorporates marginalized research subjects in each stage of the research project (Fields 2016), transitions from self‐reflexivity to collective and dialogical reflexivity (Yuval‐Davis 2012), and promote social action (Johnston and MacDougall 2021). For instance, Anzaldúan feminist scholars emphasize solidarity in achieving the social and political goals of marginalized communities, particularly between womyn across the Americas (Anzaldua 2015; Shakooh Valle 2021), while queer methodologies aim to achieve the political goals of queer communities (Freeman 2010).…”

Reproductive justice for Black, Indigenous, Women of Color: Uprooting race and colonialism

“…Mothers and their babies who have doula care have better health outcomes compared to those without such care (Mishkin & Fernandes, 2018). Nevertheless, doula care and midwifery continue to be inequitably available, often treated as something only available for women of high socioeconomic status rather than an important advocacy intervention for all (Johnston & MacDougall, 2021; Mishkin & Fernandes, 2018). Thus, these programs can be disempowering when they are not firmly grounded in a CRT framework and perpetuate harm through lack of resources and/or disempowering, top–down colonial approaches.…”