“It’s kind of like a fifty-fifty”: Participant ambivalence and the queer(ed) potential of the focus group method

Abstract

This paper explores the queer(ed) possibilities of the focus group method through analyzing the ambivalent responses provided by participants in a series of focus groups around their experiences with pornography. I argue that these ambivalences reflect participants’ tendencies to attach themselves to “happy affects” as they emerged within the sociality of the focus group encounter and therefore offer glimpses into the situated and relational nature of subjectivity. To the extent that sociality is a key feature of the focus group method, I suggest that focus groups might be utilized to queer the field of sex research more broadly.