Team Blue Ethnography Presentation

Focus: DesignPresentation by: Julie Hartzler, Rachel Billerbeck,

Tony Aylsworth, and Michelle Boettcher

Research questions“… [T]he goal of this study is to explain how

teenagers, teachers, and the institutional logics of schooling construct adolescent masculinity through idioms of sexuality. This book investigates the relationships between gender and sexuality as embedded in a major socializing institution of modern youth: high school.” (Pascoe, 4)

How?? Ask: How do high schools produce masculine

identities?

? Follow deployment of, resistance to, and practices surrounding sexuality & gender.

? Focus on school rituals while observing and interviewing students, teachers, and administrators.

Theoretical PerspectivesPascoe identifies the theories and methods she uses in this work. Herchoice is to use multiple approaches, rather than one single theory ormethod. This is driven, at least in part, by the fact that there is little pre-existing work in this area.

• queer theory• feminist theory• sociological research on masculinities• theories of sexualityMethodologies:• phenomenology • postmodernism • ethnography

ASSISTANCE: Previous Research & Literature

• Pascoe drew from diverse research in multiple areas to inform her thoughts and research planning. For example, she used Connell’s research on configurations of masculinity (p.7) to determine her need to “define masculinity as what men do.” (p.9).

• She then used the research advice of Carrigan, Connell, and Lee to look at masculinity through the lens of feminism. (p. 9)

• Butler’s work provided Pascoe with a interactionist approach to gender which she used to analyze male students at River High (p.14-15).

Digging Deeper:

Research questions• How do “gendered and sexualized identifications

and the institutional ordering of these identifications in a California high school both reinforce and challenge inequality among students?” (p. 18)

• Other questions: – What are the repudiation rituals at River High? – What are the confirmation rituals at River High? – How does race play into these rituals? – How are “masculine” girls treated at River High? – How are homosexual males treated at River High?

Where did these questions come from?

• Recognizing a phenomena at River High, such as the Mr. Cougar Assembly and wanting to explain how adolescent masculinity is constructed through idioms of sexuality (p. 4)

• Pascoe wanted to focus on the way sexuality constructs daily lives in youth compared to past research on teens as sexual actors, and “at-risk” behaviors, or non-normative sexual identities (p. 175)

Why Ethnography?• There are probably several reasons why Pascoe chose to use

ethnography. One reason she acknowledges is the lack of previous research in this area and specifically this type of methodology.

“The role of sexuality is understudied in ethnographic

research in general, and thoughtful analysis of it in methodological discussions of ethnographic research among youth is nearly absent.” (p. 175)

• We also feel she picked a type of research methodology that fit her epistemology and her personal research style. In order to get a true sense of how teenagers think, feel, and act she must have felt that in order to get a true sense of reality she would need to live with them in the place they spend the majority of their time.

Other MethodologiesMaxwell gives a broad definition of ‘methods’ including 4 core components (p. 82).

• The first component focuses on research relationships. Pascoe decided what role she would play at the high school. In her book she discusses assuming both a “least adult identity” (p. 178) and a “least gender identity” (p. 181). She wanted appear young but not too young. Her appearance also needed to help her gain admittance into the “boys’ worlds and conversations” (p. 181). She talks about gaining the students’ trust by promising them that their thoughts and conversations would be confidential. She also had to be careful with her relationship with the basketball girls and the GSA as both groups wanted her to be in “ ‘their’ group” (p. 187).

• Maxwell’s second component is site and participant selection. Pascoe chose a suburban high school in north central California that had similar statistics to other high schools in the nation. (p. 18) She conducted interviews at the school or a nearby restaurant. Her sites were in gender-neutral, fag, and masculine sites (p. 21). She formally interviewed fifty students (forty-nine from River HS and one from a rival school). She informally interviewed numerous students, teachers, and administrators. She found interviewees through classroom presentations and word of mouth. She also spent time at the school and at school activities. In addition, she observed various classes that fit the site categories listed above (p. 20-21).

Other Methodologies (cont.)

• The third area is data collection. Pascoe relies heavily on field notes and taped conversations as a means of data collection.

• The final area Maxwell lists is data analysis. Here Pascoe states her desire “to explore masculinity as a process, I attend to multiple levels of analysis including individual investments in and experiences of gendered and sexualized identities, institutional discourses, and collective gender practices” (p. 16). When she analyzes her data she is looking for ways in which the data informs her on “how gender happens in groups” (p. 17).

The Concept Map

Design & Impact on Methods

• The design of the study, interviews and observations, while researching adolescent masculinity impacted Pascoe’s methods in several ways throughout her research– She recognized an importance in “paying attention to” the teens’ voices

in her interviews, while discussing masculinity and also paying attention to the larger structural patterns of issues of inequality

– There was a need for balance in gaining rapport with the students in their settings while maintaining her neutral position as a researcher. To accomplish this Pascoe,

• Purposefully distinguished herself from other women in the boys’ lives, left out aspects of her life that made her seem more feminine and distanced herself from feminism but not actively disparaging it like the boys in her study creating a “least-gendered identity” (p. 182)

• Created a “less age defined” position by distancing herself from recognizably adult behaviors

Design & Impact on Methods (cont.)

• Reciprocating personal questions

• As a researcher she needed to remain neutral while maintaining the trust of the students

• One major question revolved around her own sexuality. Pascoe decided early in her research to not discuss this with students until her research concluded.

• She was honest with the students, recognizing how “out to be” during her research, and chose to tell the GSA girls upon completion of her research (p. 191)

Design & Impact on Methods (cont.)

• Maintaining feminist views– Pascoe was often unable to challenge the sexist and

homophobic behavior of the teens she was interviewing/observing (p. 192)

– This is a challenge for feminist researchers, maintaining rapport while not validating the others’ belief systems (p. 193)

– Pascoe was able to challenge gender stereotypes through her interactional strategies and cultural capital, however unable to challenge the sexist underpinnings at River High (p. 193)

– “Researchers’ own subjectivities are central to ethnographic research.” Recognizing her own feelings and desires allowed her to recognize processes of masculinity that she otherwise may have missed (p. 193)

Ethical Considerations

• Pascoe needed to make sure her presence and interactions at River High didn’t harm the students, teachers, or administrators. T

• She had to ensure that the students and the school were kept anonymous.

• She also had to decide whether or not to share her sexual orientation with the students. She addresses this issue and how she handled it in the appendix.

Design ConclusionsPascoe chose an ethnographic approach because of a lack of previous research in this area. In addition, it fit her epistemology and her personal research style.

The relationship development process Pascoe used was intentional and kept in mind her outcomes. She assumed identities both closest to (“least adult identity”) and neutral from (“least gender identity”) the students with whom she worked.

Pascoe was careful with both her individual and group relationships. She developed trust with students and promised that what they shared with her would be kept confidential. In addition, she navigated relationships with basketball girls and the GSA as both groups wanted her to be in their group.

Design Conclusions (cont.)

In regard to participant selection, Pasco chose a school with similardemographics and statistics to other high schools in the country. In conductingthe interviews, she chose settings in or near the school being studied. Shechose observational sites representing differently-gendered sites (neutral, fag,and masculine).

Her interviewees consisted of:• 50 students (49 from River HS and 1 from a rival school). • Teachers• Administrators

She compiled her interview pool through: • Class presentations• Via word-of-mouth• Attending school

She added to her observation and information by attending classes that fit the three site categories.

Design Conclusions (cont.)

In terms of data collection, Pascoe relied on field notes and taped conversations.

Pascoe sums up her data analysis process as one in which she explored masculinity as a process, attended to individual gendered and sexualized identities, interactions at the school, and gender practices within the students’ own social groups.

In conclusion, Pascoe looked to learn more about “how gender happens.”

questions1. If Pascoe had used narrative instead of ethnography

(combined with phenomenology), how would that have impacted her study? Case Study? What would have been gained from these approaches? What would she have sacrificed?

2. As a follow up to question 1, is it possible to use a little of everything (phenomenology, ethnography, narrative, case study) in doing research? Is it preferable to use multiple methods? If so, does research become stronger or “better” the more methods the researcher uses? Why or why not?

3. Did Pascoe use researcher bias to her advantage or did she approach bias with a defensive posture and try to avoid it?

questions (cont.)

4. In one of our slides, our group states, “We also feel she picked a type of research methodology that fit her epistemology and her personal research style.” How does one go about learning which works best for him or her? Acknowledging there are some challenges, what might the benefits be of working outside of ones research comfort zone?

5. What generalizations or other applications might one be able to make from Pascoe’s work? Is her choice of a school with statistical and demographic comparability enough to allow for generalizations of her work to other settings? Why or why not?

ReferencesMaxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An

interactive approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.

Pascoe, C. J. (2007). Dude, you’re a fag: Masculinity and sexuality in high school. Berkeley, CA: UC Press.

Concept map was made using bubbl.us. (unknown reference material)