Sexuality and power on South African game farms; reflections on positionality and emotions in ethnographic research |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, South Africa;2. Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Uvalde, TX 78801, USA;3. Wildlife Ecology, University of Namibia, Pionierspark, Windhoek, Namibia;1. Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA;2. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa;3. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Zoology Department, Oxford University, Tubney House, Abingdon OX135QL, UK;4. Zambian Carnivore Programme, Box 80, Mfuwe, Eastern Province, Zambia;5. Conservation Biology and Ecology Program, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, 310 Lewis Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA;6. Niassa Carnivore Project, The Ratel Trust, Cape Town, South Africa;7. Selous Lion Project, PO Box 34514, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;8. Department of Biological Sciences, Conservation Conflict Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa;9. Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE- 901 83 Umeå, Sweden;10. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, PO Box CY140, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe;11. Ewaso Lions, PO Box 14996, Nairobi 00800, Kenya;12. Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;13. Frankfurt Zoological Society, Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee 1, 60316 Frankfurt am Main, Germany;14. Ongava Research Centre, Ongava Game Reserve, PO Box 58, Okaukeujo, Namibia;15. School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag 54001, Durban 4000, South Africa;p. Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, 619 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA;q. Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa;1. Professor, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;2. Professor Emeritus, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA |
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| Abstract: | The taboo around researchers' sexualities and sexual experiences in ethnographic field work persists. We found that our sexuality, alongside physical and emotional experiences, were pivotal to how we shaped research relations and processes. This evokes questions around how we reflect on our positionalities and the knowledge we generate. We argue that ethnographic accounts are strengthened by inclusive reflexivity, that acknowledges sex and sexuality. This article presents empirical material from field experiences on South African game farms. These spaces tend to represent a particular image of wilderness, constructed according to patriarchal and racist hierarchies, which heighten contestations over belonging. As such they become spaces of violence, seduction, and power, and we found ourselves (neither minds nor bodies) unable to detach from these spatial and emotional dynamics. Our strategies for ‘being in the field’ came to evolve around negotiations of power, sex and complicity. The emotional dynamics made us feel confused, bewildered and sometimes scared. We seek to share our experiences and feelings, and to contribute to discussion on the role of sexuality in ethnographic research, and the epistemological, methodological and practical advantages of reflecting on the ways we engage in the field. |
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| Keywords: | Sexuality Ethnography Game farms South Africa Emotional dynamics |
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