Wednesday, 2 September 2015

#TheoryThursday






Understanding Reflexivity 

Reflexivity is the awareness of the effect that anthropologists have on their research, the experience of fieldwork and the process of writing ethnography - applying a reflexive approach allows one to reflect on the production of ethnographic material. Ethnography is affected by the anthropologist in a number of ways - their position, personal history, socio-cultural circumstances, the theoretical framework within which they are working and the relationship between themselves and their participants. By being reflexive, anthropologists consider the effects that all of these have on their work and therefore situate themselves within their research.

Acknowledging my position in my research

For my master's research, I looked at the embodiment of fatness - that is, the lived experience of being, and living, fat (a quick note that my participants and I came to a mutual agreement to use the word fat rather than 'obese' or 'overweight' as the word fat is only viewed as a negative term because we have implied that is a bad thing to be. By using the word fat to describe their bodies, participants and I were reclaiming the word as a self-identifying term, rather than something rude or negative).

This research focused on the way in which fat individuals experience, negotiate and feel about their own bodies and I did this through the use of photographs - all of my participants were asked to provide images  that represented their experiences of living life as a fat person, these images were accompanied by narratives and stories throughout my thesis. And this choice of methodology came from a reflexive acknowledgement of myself, my position in my research, and my own body.

I'm not fat. I have never been labelled as fat by a doctor or someone in an authoritative position, I have never been told that I am overweight or obese, and I have never identified as fat. When I began my research, I started to think about my position as a thin person studying fat culture, constantly asking myself "how would fat people feel about having a thin woman talk about the lives of fat people when she has never experienced being fat herself?" It was around this same time that I came across the a blog post written by Kath Read, a fat activist, blogger and a participant in my research. On her blog 'Fat Heffalump', Kath had written a post that talked about the relationship between academics and fat activists. The following passage from her blog post resonated with me for a while:

I don’t have a string of letters after my name. I have never attended a fine university… But what I have done, is spent a lifetime in this fat body. I have spent almost 40 years learning exactly what the world thinks of fatness. I have lived in this fat body, loved in it, laughed in it, cried in it… I am the world’s leading expert on life in this fat body… And yet, despite the growing media attention on fat bodies, actual fat people are in the minority of people who get to speak on the topic of fatness….People who have no connection to fatness, either personally or professionally are given forum to express their own opinions on fatness.
After reading this, I began searching for academic literature on the lived experience of fatness. What I came to notice was that most of the literature focused on 'obesity' as a health problem, cross-cultural studies focusing on dieting and eating habits and social science researchers who were deeply critical of how 'obesity' is framed. And what I soon realised, was that these studies shared one commonality - the fat person was always talked about, rather than given the opportunity to talk for themselves. In Kath's blog post, she acknowledged that the opportunities for academics to collaborate with fat activists and fat individuals can result in powerful projects, however, the failure to acknowledge their privilege does harm as it gives agencies such as the media unspoken permission to dismiss the voices of fat people as well. This meant that an important part of my role as a researcher, was being able to acknowledge my thin privilege. 

Understanding Thin Privilege

Certain cultural and social structures in western society privilege the thin, or at least what has been deemed a 'normal' body size. In other words, a western cultural body hierarchy creates body privilege - an invisible package of unearned assets that thin or 'normal' sized individuals can take for granted on a daily basis. These 'normal' bodies unwittingly avert various forms of social stigma, while eliciting social benefits (Kwan 2010:147). 

Thin bodies are repeatedly depicted as the norm in western culture

(You can read a post I wrote last year about the normalisation of fat discrimination in the media here)

Linda Bacon, an advocate for the Health at Every Size Movement, a fat-rights activist, and a thin academic, explains thin privilege as:

receiving unjust advantages at the expense of the other… thin privilege is not a binary phenomenon that you either have or not, but expresses itself differently across the weight spectrum… thin privilege exists only, of course, because fat oppression exists (2009:2). 

In a talk Linda Bacon delivered at a Fat Acceptance conference in 2009, she described an experience that she had in one of her lectures where a fat woman confronted her position as a thin person and said "You don't represent me. I don't trust you. You're just another skinny bitch telling me and everyone else what it's like to live in my body. It's not okay that you get to define my experience". Bacon reflected on this, saying "she was absolutely right that she deserves the space to make her experience known, but it's not just about having an audience, it's about gaining the trust of that audience."

What this means, is that when a thin academic speaks out for fat rights, and against thin privilege, most audiences see the thin academic's work as far more credible than the same words articulated by a fat person. People attach more of a sense of legitimacy to their words as they cannot write it off as a way of rationalising their fatness. Linda's experience reminded me of a conversation I had with Cat Pause, a fat activist, academic and blogger. We were talking on the phone one day about how my research was going, and I told her a lot of people misunderstood my research as 'trying to solve the obesity problem'. Cat went on to say:

most scholars in my area know exactly what it is that I do and so I experience a lot of “that’s not real research” or “keep your politics out of your scholarship” because there’s no misunderstanding that possibly I’m trying to solve the ‘problem’. You don’t have to be under the scrutiny of whether or not what you’re doing is for personal gain.

This made me realise that not only is my body privileged, but my opinion may often be privileged over fat bodies as well - what I had to do, was carefully structure my research so that my participants' voices played active roles in my thesis. As a thin person, I would never be able to fully participate in being fat, however, what I did have was the ability to listen and observe carefully, the education to contextualise stories and experiences and the opportunity to tell the stories of those who are at times, silenced. 

Me with Shelley - one of the participants in my thesis. Creating and maintaining a strong, respectful relationship with my participants was one of the most important parts of my research

It was this reflexive acknolwedgement of my position, privilege and my own body that resulted in my decision to use photo-elicitation methods in my research (having participants provide images and discuss them in an interview). I placed emphasis on participants providing their own images to complement their narratives and lived experiences, allowing them to have control over their story, decide how their bodies should be represented, and control over the topics that were discussed. The result was a participatory visual ethnography that allowed my participants to be active co-creators in the outcome of my research and this came out of the reflexive approach that I took in recognising that this was their story to tell, rather than my own. 

Acknowledging my body, my thin privilege, and my position as a researcher was such an important moment in the process of writing my thesis - it guided my theoretical framework, my methodologies, and it allowed me to form a close relationship with all of my participants that was based on mutual respect, co-creation, an understanding of each other and our relationship to the research.

- Tayla

46 comments:

  1. Great post, Tayla :) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deep Learning Projects assist final year students with improving your applied Deep Learning skills rapidly while allowing you to investigate an intriguing point. Furthermore, you can include Deep Learning projects for final year into your portfolio, making it simpler to get a vocation, discover cool profession openings, and Deep Learning Projects for Final Year even arrange a more significant compensation.

      Python Training in Chennai Project Centers in Chennai

      Delete
  2. Good job Tayla - really interesting article and I enjoyed reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I suppose understanding reflexivity is very important for humanity. And it is also interesting as for me. I will add the link to this post in my article, which will be written by this service 99papers.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a very interesting approach, thanks. But it seems to me that it would be much easier if you just ordered this kind of work here custom book report writing because it will help you to save a lot of your time for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You sell information in a very interesting way when I was at the university. I also learned to write essays at the same high level, but I was very lazy and usually chose a much easier way to buy essay papers. Anyway Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It seems to me that you have very interesting and extraordinary opinion about this topic, and in most cases I even agree with you! Also I wanna add that if you want to buy research paper thats very good decision too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.loxahatchee tree removal services

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have read your article, it is very informative and helpful for me.I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles. Thanks for posting it.. Female escorts nyc

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think this is one of the most significant information for me. And i’m glad reading your article.emergency tree services fort lauderdale

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very nice bro, thanks for sharing this with us. Keep up the good work and Thank you for sharing information.
    mold damage cleanup miami

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for a wonderful share. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field. Brilliant .i love it reading.
    ceramic tile refinishing minneapolis

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think this is one of the most significant information for me. And i’m glad reading your article.smoke damage services broward county

    ReplyDelete
  13. This post is good enough to make somebody understand this amazing thing, and I’m sure everyone will appreciate this interesting things.concrete overlay contractors minneapolis

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi, This is nice article you shared great information i have read it thanks for giving such a wonderful Blog for reader.
    hybrid water heaters minneapolis

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very nice bro, thanks for sharing this with us. Keep up the good work and Thank you for sharing information.
    commercial concrete contractors fort lauderdale

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the blog loaded with so many information. Stopping by your blog helped me to get what I was looking for. Gold Coast Concrete Resurfacing

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great Post, checkout this amazing stuff:- private tutor

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is quite a good blog. Keep sharing I love them.
    Little Pet Corner
    Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your work is very good and I appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts. Thank you for sharing great information to us.natural lice treatment

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your work is very good and I appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts. Thank you for sharing great information to us.We buy houses key west

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank you for this post, it is great towing service

    ReplyDelete
  22. Here in Tow Truck Hialeah FL, we have been proud to service Hialeah, FL and the surrounding area for years.

    ReplyDelete
  23. We advised contacting your Telugu teacher to get a chapter-wise practice model question paper for both levels of exams held under the school or board level and follow the link to download All AP SSC 10th Class Telugu Model Question Papers 2023 with Solutions. Every student everyone can download AP 10th Telugu Model Paper 2023 chapter-wise for paper-1, paper-2 exam theory, objective, AP SSC Telugu Question Paper multiple-choice questions (MCQ), Bit Question Bank with practice study material with IMP Question paper pdf with old scheme suggestions for AP 10th Class students 2023 to the Telugu Subject.

    ReplyDelete
  24. We are ready to buy houses in Washington without any fees or third party involvement Fill out this form to get your fair cash offer

    ReplyDelete
  25. Such a nice read. Thanks for sharing this one! floor mats

    ReplyDelete