Can you belly dance? Methodological questions in the era of transnational feminist research

Power imbalances between the researcher and the researched, in particular with respect to Western (-trained) scholars researching among women in the Third World, have been the focus of feminist debate on field research methodology for over two decades. This research note present paper, drawing on an example of field research carried out among female heads of households in Mexico, stresses the significance of this debate in the context of the globalization of research. It highlights the need to revisit and extend the feminist methodological discussion of insider/ outsider to reflect the current transnationality of research and praxis as mobility among Third World feminist researchers increases.