What grade are you in? On being a non-binary researcher

Abstract

In this article, I draw on my experiences as a non-binary researcher in a high school to interrogate the normative construction of adulthood. I centre the discussion on the concept of adulthood in order to interrogate a presumption within the field of education that all researchers are recognized as adults. I argue that a person’s adherence to cisheteronormative logics is an integral aspect of being recognized as an adult and that people who do not move in legible ways along a socio-culturally prescribed trajectory of growing up can instead be positioned as non-adults. I explore the complexities of generating research in an age-striated space as a person who is not read as an adult. I argue that non-adults navigate distinct challenges as well as unique possibilities in education research because of their divergent ways of moving through field sites. I assert that grappling with questions of adulthood is necessary for youth-focused education research and end with ideas on what this thinking may make possible for future methodological work.

Keywords:

• Non-binary
• ethnography
• qualitative research
• high school
• adulthood

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 All names have been changed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

LJ Slovin

LJ Slovin is a doctoral candidate and sessional instructor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. After spending a year back in high school, they are currently writing their dissertation on the ways gender nonconforming youth navigate schooling.