Image: Ted Eytan/Flickr under a CC BY- SA 2.0 licence
The Society’s research blog, Geography Directions, is delighted to have partnered with the ESRC LSSI-funded Pride in the Field (PIF): Promoting Inclusive Fieldwork for LGBTQ+ Researchers project, run by Martin Zebracki and Aydan Greatrick at the University of Leeds, to curate a blog series which aims to spotlight LGBTQ+ inclusive fieldwork practices and experiences.
To date we have published five posts in the series. These have highlighted a variety of issues and challenges faced by LGBTQ+ (and allied) researchers during fieldwork, including legal restrictions on sexuality and sexual identity in some countries; the problems of positioning oneself in relation to research participants in different cultures, whether they be LGBTQ+ or otherwise; the problems of attitudes (or assumed attitudes) of others, which may have the effect of silencing their voices; and the difficulties of being assumed to be heterosexual and therefore repeatedly having to ‘come out’ to colleagues and others.
The posts have also highlighted several solutions to these issues, including the provision of additional support for LGBTQ+ researchers, ally training, and the need to think carefully about the locations that are chosen for taught fieldtrips. These are important lessons at any time of the year, but are particularly salient during Pride Month, with institutions actively looking to celebrate and support their LGBTQ+ staff, students, and members.
For the full list of posts in the Pride in the Field series, please see here.
Submissions to the Pride in the Field series are still very much welcomed; further details can be found here.