[Last modified: November, 4 2024 10:20 AM]
Trying to find political angles to my pilot research project was somewhat difficult. I don’t feel that the reborn doll community is particularly political in most ways. I could try and make some assumptions about political leanings – perhaps many of these women are right-wing because of the emphasis on traditional gender roles – but I think through further research I could be proven wrong. In fact, the very fact of me making these assumptions could affect my research and the ways I interact with interlocutors, as I was raised in a conservative, religious culture but have now left that worldview. I would need to be aware of that positionality throughout my research, always striving toward an empathetic approach instead of judgmental.
One potential subject of political interest may involve the fact that interlocutors in the reborn community sometimes use baby supplies that may be in shortage, like baby formula. This is a topic of debate within the reborn community, and many participants choose to use a slurry of other substances – like lotion and water or flour and water – in order to simulate the appearance and texture of baby formula without potentially contributing to shortages.
I’m a mother myself, and while my kids are no longer babies, I could see my biases coming into play if I am interacting with community members who choose to use real formula in their role-playing during a shortage. It’s also possible that interlocutors would be afraid to share or be honest about their usage because of my positionality.
There is a slight but not negligible chance that my research could have political outcomes for the community. Perhaps the ethnography could lead to an outcry about the recreational use of baby formula or other supplies. Maybe it would be banned, or the sale of reborn dolls curtailed in some way.
Our discussions about activist anthropology has caused me to think about the ways I may choose to adapt my methods in response to some of these issues of positionality or potential effects on the reborn community because of my research. In all honestly, I’m still contemplating whether I WANT to avoid a possible backlash if it would help vulnerable families with infants. In activist ethnography, where is the line when you see the thing the interlocutors do as immoral? Or what if there is public outcry, even if you only sought to educate? The formula shortage is a theoretical for the most part, but if I someday choose to research an even more politically controversial group, I have to figure out where that line is. How much of this is personal choice, and how much is mandated by ethics committees?