Feminist Research with Non-Feminist and Anti-Feminist Actors: Negotiating Identity and Power in Unfriendly Research Environments

Feminist literature on conducting research with non-feminist and anti-feminist actors highlights the ethical and political implications of such research, as well as the difficulties feminist researchers are faced with in recruiting and establishing rapport with such research participants. Given the spread and increasing influence – both nationally and transnationally – of anti-gender far-right, religious, and conservative discourses, actors, and groups, discussions on the ways in which, and on the perils involved in, researchers navigating unfriendly research environments are lively and timely. How does a feminist researcher gain access into the far right, while abiding by the principles of ethical research? How do they achieve participant openness and establish rapport during interviews, when there is little or no congruence between themselves and the interviewees? When do interviews with anti-gender elite participants stop being ‘antagonist’ and move into a deadlock? How can the principles of reflexivity and participant non-misrepresentation be observed, given the feminist researcher’s positionality and adherence to feminist principles and values? Drawing from my experiences as a feminist researcher interviewing non-feminist and anti-feminist actors, in this paper, I attempt to respond to these questions. I reflect on how, at times, my identity enabled me to successfully navigate hostile research environments while, at other times, it challenged my ability to maintain rapport. I demonstrate that both the researcher and the participants’ identities are complex, intersectional, fluid, and amenable to (re)negotiation. Therefore, I argue that commonalities between the feminist interviewer and non-feminist and anti-feminist interviewees may be unearthed during interviews and, consequently, openness and rapport may be achieved, when the researcher treats the interview not as a struggle over power and control, but as a shared moment of vulnerability.