Beyond Binaries: Relational Reflexivity and the Fluidity of Positionality in Feminist Fieldwork

This paper critically examines the shifting nature of researcher positionality in feminist fieldwork through comparative reflections on two studies conducted in West Africa and the United Kingdom. It explores how identity, power and belonging intersect to shape access, trust and meaning-making across both digital and embodied research spaces. Drawing on transnational feminist, decolonial and Black feminist frameworks, I argue that positionality is neither fixed nor binary but relational, contingent and continuously negotiated through encounters with both vulnerability and power. By situating myself within, rather than above the research encounters, I engage decolonial feminist reflexivity as a methodological stance that resists extractive knowledge practices and affirms the co-production of meaning with participants. This involves the continual revisiting of assumptions, emotions and interpretations as they evolve through relationships formed in the field. Within this context, positionality becomes a shifting relational site where connection and disconnection coexist, producing both access and constraint within the research space. By framing reflexivity as a continuous ethical practice, this paper positions trust-building and relational ethics of care as core methodological commitments rather than procedural tools. Finally, it cautions against performative reflexivity, advocating instead for relational practices rooted in ethical integrity and accountability throughout the research process.