Feminism and the so-called postmodern turn in the social sciences represent a serious challenge to the methodological hegemony of neopositivist empiricism. One of the main attractions of “traditional” neopositivist methods is that they provide a firmly anchored epistemological security from which to venture out and conduct research. Neopositivist empiricism specifies a strict dichotomy between object and subject as a prerequisite for objectivity. Such an epistemology is supported by methods that position the researcher as an omnipotent expert in control of both passive research subjects and the research process. Years of positivist-inspired training have taught us that impersonal, neutral detachment is an important criterion for good research. In these discussions of detachment, distance, and impartiality, the personal is reduced to a mere nuisance or a possible threat to objectivity. This threat is easily dealt with. The neopositivist‟s professional armor includes a carefully constructed public self as a mysterious, impartial outsider, an observer freed of personality and bias.