From “Mesearch” to “Wesearch”: Perceptions of Researchers Studying Their Own Intersectional Marginalization

Important scientific contributions regarding <i>intersectional</i> marginalization are often advanced by researchers who, themselves, hold the relevant intersecting identities. But how are these researchers perceived? In an experiment gauging the perspective of a demographically representative sample of U.S. Americans (<i>N</i> = 385), we found that research on Black women's marginalization was perceived as <i>equivalently</i> trustworthy and meritorious whether it was conducted by a Black woman, Black man, White woman, or White man. Our data suggested this was because a Black woman conducting this work was perceived ambivalently-positively due to her perceived standing and expertise, but negatively due to her perceived vested interest. In three follow-up experiments examining perceptions of Black American women, specifically (<i>N</i> = 243, 139, 182), we found a different pattern-Black women consistently evaluated this research more favorably if it was conducted by a fellow Black woman, prioritizing her standing, expertise, and commitment to the community.