Epistemic Peerhood in Trans Social Work Research

Abstract

Academic research hinges on the role of epistemic peers in order to evaluate newly presented claims and evidence. As social work research is often focused on social problems and systems of oppressions, scholars from the margins most impacted are even better poised to conduct and evaluate said research. Throughout the past few decades, social work scholars have adjusted the ways we teach about and conduct research in order to be increasingly critical of the status quo and more culturally attuned. However, many of the adjustments that are recommended (e.g., community advisory boards) assume that the researcher is an outsider to the community being researched. Trans-focused research is an area where this impact is especially glaring, as an influx of out-trans researchers are able to join the field. This article provides an overview of the concepts of epistemic peers and standpoint theory before describing community-engaged research processes in order to illuminate how these practices (re)produce harm and/or are built on assumptions that the researchers themselves are not trans/nonbinary. In order for trans scholarship to continue to grow and produce the most culturally attuned results, social work academia must foster and prioritize trans epistemic peerhood.

Unaccompanied unstable housing among racially, ethnically, sexually, and gender diverse youth: Intersecting identities bearing the greatest burden.

“…Partnering with existing programs that combine parenting education with indigenous American parenting values such as the “Parenting in 2 Worlds” intervention for urban parents (Kulis et al, 2016) could be an effective approach to guide further research, prevention, and intervention efforts. Community and support building from within minoritized communities should also be supported with funding, resources, and attention to ensure relevancy and appropriateness (Harner, 2023). This analysis highlights the need to bring these families into focus in the research world through an intersectional lens, identify culturally informed intersectional practices, and expand outreach from the research organization to the community to bring needed financial and organizational resources to existing efforts.…”