Body of Research: Impetus, Instrument, and Impediment

The ways our physicality matters as we move through the world in our own bodies of research is often veiled in the body of qualitative research. In this article, we lift the veil, striving to flesh out the body of research on reflexivity by examining how our own researcher bodies have figured into our work. Specifically, we narrate and reflect on ways we have experienced our bodies as (presumed) impetus for, instrument of, and impediment to qualitative research concerning birthing, breastfeeding, and transgender identities. We explore how our insider/outsider bodies made for particularized yet parallel experiences, which together illustrate the complexity of the relationships between researcher, participant, and the creation of knowledge. From this, we suggest that qualitative researchers examine how their bodies/selves might muddy traditional research roles and rules. Finally, we propose Mixed bodies triangulation, as a way to bring together different ways of knowing in embodied, reflexive research.