Ask My Wife: A Feminist Interpretation of Fieldwork where the Women are Strong but the Men are Tough

Authors

  • Jo-Anne Fiske Mount Saint Vincent University

Abstract

This paper explores the question of gender relations within the discipline of anthropology as they impact upon feminist fieldwork strategies. It calls for a critical reexamination of our taken-for-granted assumptions about gender in order that we might better understand the issue of gender in societies not demarcated by a strong bias towards male actions and cultural interpretation. By examining my own field experiences with the Carrier people, I provide one example of a fieldwork situation where being a female is advantageous. I also bring attention to the need for a feminist critique of the male fieldwork experience as we struggle to better define, and overcome, the underlying causes of "gender blind" ethnographic work previously conducted by our male colleagues.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Downloads

Published

1986-04-01

Issue

Section

Original Research