Ambivalent Positions and Challenging Contexts in Researching “Rainbow Youth” in Finland

This chapter discusses the positions of researchers and young people in research projects on young rainbow, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people. It analyses methodological, ethical and theoretical problems that each faced in research on and with young people and discusses challenges related to research contexts. The specific contexts analyzed were as follows: a government-funded short-term project with a need to produce results for advocacy work in which Riikka Taavetti worked. The chapter describes the specific problems involved in using the survey data. It also describes individual research projects and discusses how the position of the researcher and participation of the young people were negotiated in the research process. The chapter focuses on how research projects were influenced by their structure and funding. In Finland, young people who do not identify with the heterosexual and cisgendered norms, or are seen to challenge these norms, are sometimes referred to as "rainbow" youth.