This article is an investigation of the concept of positionality within the context of feminist cultural studies. Using Judith Newton and Judith Stacey's essay “Learning Not to Curse” as a starting point, the author explores the numerous difficulties involved in representing others and the mistakes feminist scholars have committed in their attempts to deal with the complexity of identity. The author argues that no matter how difficult and risky, speaking for others is a responsibility we must take to be politically effective, and she examines possible means to render our attempts to do so less dangerous and more useful. In particular, the author explores how our multiple selves can be employed through a politically grounded reflexivity to remind us of the complexity of representation and ground our research in the larger context in which it is produced.
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