Question 4 : Gender + Sexuality

HOW DO ISSUES OF GENDER + SEXUALITY INFLUENCE THE STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES OF QUALITATIVE INTERNET RESEARCH?
Lori Kendall


Despite the fact that many of the taboos about sex have been lifted in Western culture, Kendall notes that when it comes to a researcher's own sexual preferences, involvements or tendencies in relationship to their work, there is still a monumental taboo. Very few researchers have risked breaking it, and notably Kendall mentions that had she acted on her sexual feelings during her research, she would probably not have the courage to write this piece. Her main point is not just that researchers often have sexual feelings towards their subjects, but that by acknowledging these emotions, and by exploring them further it might be possible to conduct more meaningful research resulting in a deeper understanding of the subjects.

• Kendall makes a case for "doing qualitative work with the whole body, and not cutting off certain types of experiences as irrelevant or inappropriate, even in situations, such as wholly online social interactions, in which the body might seem relatively unimportant." (p.101) When a researcher explores their sexual feelings instead of suppressing them, they often gain greater insights into other cultures.
• By illustrating the differences in interviews with BlueSky members and LiveJournal participants, Kendall explains how the fact that she was only ever attracted to BlueSky members is connected to some intrinsic values of the actual groups: namely BlueSky's group cohesion and identity. (p.105)
• Gender issues: Kendall illustrates the hegemonic systems of both femininity and masculinity, and explains how different types of women were treated within the BlueSky community. She goes on to explain that her suppression of her own erotic feelings was inherently tied to her particular position in the feminine hierarchy, and that both of these factors affected her research. "..I recounted discussions in which BlueSky participants depict "nerdettes" as fat and unattractive. My own feelings as the potential butt of these jokes therefore became part of my analysis, but that is nowhere represented in the next. Making that linkage clear could only have strengthened the analysis." (p.113)
• Kendall also touches on issues of power; whether researchers feel that they are more or less powerful than their subjects, this interplay is always at work, especially when factoring in sexual feelings. The author cites Markham in explaining that researchers have the privilege of choosing whether or not their own embodiment is an issue in the research, even while critically observing the embodiment of participants. (p.115)

Questions:

1. What's your opinion on the interplay of ethics and ego as far as which actually guides researchers more?

2. Do you agree with Kendall's main point that by acknowledging and exploring the researcher's sexual feelings it is possible to gain a greater understanding of the subject? What are the potential risks? Is it actually unethical to have a sexual relationship with a subject? When is it important to disclose sexual involvement and when is it not?

3. Do you agree with Kendall's theory that the researcher's own sexual feelings and gender perceptions profoundly impact the research itself, even when the subject is an online community?

4. Do you think it is ethical for a researcher to ignore his or her own sexual feelings (and not include them in any analysis), but to simultaneously be critically studying the sexual feelings of their subjects?