On sex in fieldwork

Notes on the methodology involved in the ethnographic study of anonymous sex

Bibliographic Data

ID8048901
AuthorsJ A Langarita Adiego (0000-0002-7911-3109, Universitat de Girona, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume22
Issue7-8
Pages1253-1267
Publication date2017-12-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSexualities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1363460717716581
OpenAlexW2774641559
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited49

This article addresses the use of sexual relations with research informants in fieldwork for the purpose of gathering information. The analysis is based on the research that the author himself carried out between 2009 and 2014 on anonymous sexual encounters between men in public places in Catalonia. The article aims to demonstrate that sexual interaction with informants – notwithstanding appeals to scientific objectivity and professional ethics – can be a useful tool for gaining a better understanding of social reality. This study on anonymous sex shows that participating in sexual activity can provide the researcher with a great deal of information which would not be accessible via other relationships with research informants. However, the article also addresses certain limitations – which cannot be ignored – in fieldwork of this sort and in the interpretation of the data obtained

Objectivity (philosophy · Social research · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Sex work and related issues