Unveiling motivations and keeping what's sacred: Engaging reflexivity in a research program on diverse romantic relationships

Guided by Allen's (2023) call for developing a critical consciousness, this paper applies feminist reflexive practice to uncover the personal curiosities and contradictions that have motivated my research program on diverse romantic relationships. Specifically, I examine faith, race, heterosexism as root of an unresolved collision privilege oppression undergird burgeoning program. begin reviewing own positionality before sharing how experiences with family identity collided profession. Finally, discuss professional praxis, or leveraging pathway toward social justice. In doing so, unveil motivations complacency in shaped development hopes spurring innovative theorizing empirical rooted authenticity lived experiences.