Issues of Intimacy, Masculinity and Ethnography

Abstract

Crafting a research identity is a difficult thing to do. Like the performance one puts on when teaching, a research identity is an important part of the research project. The primary goal is to invite participation, which necessitates paying close attention to the ways in which you (as the researcher) are understood and defined by others. It means asking questions such as: How will my research participants view me? How will I react if I find something meaningful for my research? Should I react? What should I do if I see something illegal happen? As ethnographers, it is integral to the research that we interact with others and participate in their lives meaningfully. It is through such participation that new findings emerge and feminist methodologists have long addressed questions related to researcher identity/ies and issues of gender relations in the field (Foster, 1994; Stanko, 1994; DeVault, 1999).