Feminist Approaches to In-Depth Interviewing and Ethnographic Fieldwork: A Study of Male Anti-Violence Advocacy Groups

Abstract

From 2009 to 2013, I constructed a research project concerning the plight of male anti-violence activists on a public Southern California college campus in Los Angeles County. The group of men I studied served as peer advocates who worked with women's groups, campus leaders, police department personnel, community members, fraternities, sports groups, and fellow college students to create discourses and implement strategies focused on the prevention of violence against women. Prior studies on activism against gender violence have often focused on the growing need to engage men in violence prevention efforts, but few studies have used a feminist framework to critically examine the daily workings of men's anti-violence groups. This case specifically investigates the challenges and benefits of using ethnographic fieldwork observations and in-depth interviewing to generate data for qualitative research projects. Furthermore, this case study details the processes and outcomes of using a feminist approach to designing, carrying out, and completing the study. In efforts to remain consistent with feminist perspectives, I paid great attention throughout the project to incorporating feminist methodologies while remaining cognizant of my engagement with reflexivity and participant representation.

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