Description
This paper draws on feminist and queer scholarship to explore the productive and unproductive tensions associated with the need to be “taken seriously” as early career researchers, particularly regarding how this may impact fieldwork decisions in militarized environments. While emphasizing the risks of seeking “incorporation” into patriarchal systems, many feminist and queer scholars suggest that the concept of “seriousness” continues to operate as a mechanism for both inclusion and exclusion within and outside academia. Drawing from this body of research and my personal experiences interviewing personnel from the Japan Self-Defense Forces and defence-related institutions, I examine the complexities of navigating the positionality of early career researcher when conducting fieldwork in militarised settings. In my fieldwork, performing “seriousness” was crucial for establishing trust with research participants. I found that the need to be perceived as trustworthy—particularly when that perception was lacking—often influenced whether I emphasised or minimised the feminist and gender aspects of the research, depending on the interviewee. By discussing the ethical and methodological implications of these choices, this paper reflects on the challenges of early career researchers in navigating their intimate and gendered positionality within militarised settings.
