Nothing about us without us: the politics of outing in academia

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Dean, L. (2026). Nothing about us without us: the politics of outing in academia. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1108/qrom-06-2025-3065

Publication date: 30 Apr 2026 Added to AutiHub: 26 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Laura Dean *

Abstract

Purpose Calls for reflexivity and insider voice are now well established within qualitative organisational research. However, such calls often presume conditions in which disclosure is safe and epistemically rewarded. This article examines how reflexivity can function as a site of professional risk for neurodivergent scholars within academic institutions. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on evocative autoethnography, the article analyses a series of narrative scenes from doctoral and early-career academic contexts. These scenes are examined alongside critical literatures on reflexivity, epistemic injustice, disclosure, and organisational voice to explore how legitimacy and credibility are negotiated. Findings The analysis shows how language correction, tone regulation and conditional visibility shape decisions about disclosure. Rather than treating outing as a discrete ethical act or moral imperative, the article demonstrates how it emerges as a negotiated response to structurally uneven credibility economies. The findings highlight how non-disclosure may function as a form of risk management, while simultaneously enabling non-autistic actors to speak on behalf of autistic people. Social implications Without structural change, inclusion efforts risk reproducing epistemic injustice by rewarding those who can safely perform legitimacy. Recognising and supporting non-disclosed scholars is vital for equity in academic labour and knowledge production. Originality/value The article contributes to debates on reflexivity in qualitative research by reframing disclosure as a structurally conditioned dilemma rather than an individual ethical choice. It introduces the concepts of ambiguous visibility and distanced self-advocacy to capture how neurodivergent scholars navigate the tension between voice and safety. In doing so, it challenges disclosure-based models of reflexivity and argues for approaches that recognise silence, restraint and translation as legitimate reflexive practices rather than methodological failures.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 17:07.

Cited references
23
With a DOI
19
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
2 / 23 (8.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 23 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
23 / 23 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
36
From DOI or external metadata
36
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
4 / 36 (11.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 32 / 36 (88.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
4 / 36 (11.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 4 / 4 (100.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 4 / 34 (11.8%).
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