Queering Participation: Reimagining the Researcher-Researched Nexus

This article advances the concept of queering participation within participatory research, emphasizing research led directly by those whom it concerns and who are most affected by the topic of focus. Reflecting on a case study from Cambodia, it examines inquiry conducted by queer community members through Facilitative Listening Design (FLD). This method transformed local community participants into the researchers, enabling them to engage deeply with respondents in their own community and produce and ultimately frame insider knowledge on issues of gender identity and same-sex relationships themselves. The findings challenge the traditional researcher-researched nexus, underscoring how positionality and shared lived experience foster unique insights often overlooked in conventional paradigms. The article argues for reimagining participation in participatory research through a queer theory lens, advocating for the leadership of marginalized communities (in contrast to passive, peripheral, or performative participation) in knowledge production. By reconfiguring binary roles within the nexus and disrupting power hierarchies embedded in research cultures and design, it contributes to broader debates on inclusive and reflexive participation in participatory research approaches.