The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (Full Version)

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littlesarbonn -> The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/10/2007 8:43:53 PM)

Okay, this is more for conversation than anything else. Over the years, I've actually been lucky enough to have lived in several houses of domination as either the live-in houseboy or as the headmistress's slave. Recently, I've been doing a lot of graduate work on ethnographies, and I started wondering how the community might actually benefit from an ethnography that is told from the observational perspective of someone who isn't criticizing those in the scene. In other words, someone who studies the processes and lifestyle from within the atmosphere itself.

So, this brings me to the ethics. Obviously, something like this would never warrant using anyone's name, other than made up ones for the study. But at the same time, to avoid the identification of specific individuals (by others recognizing themselves as realizing the place in conversation is about them), I was thinking how it might be possible to develop it as a community ethnography so that the characters are interspersed amongst different locations, instead of just focusing on one. So people reading it might get a good idea of how the lifestyle exists without a condemning eye but at the same time might be general enough to avoid pointing any fingers at any one person at any time.

So, my question is: What are your thoughts on something like this? This isn't designed to be about the sexual stimulation part of how a lot of these sessions go but more about the mannerisms of the people who interact within this type of community (or at least at the time when I was still actively involved). In other words, it wouldn't be x-rated, but it might make a paranoid Bible thumper a bit uncomfortable.



juliaoceania -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/10/2007 8:55:40 PM)

It sounds like Carlos Castaneda's work, and that work is not all that well regarded from an academic point of view.

Do you have any other ethnographic works that use this sort of fictionalized format (if that is what I understand you to be saying) so that I can better understand the methodology of this work? I am not completely understanding what you are talking about, and I would have a hard time deciding if it were ethical until I know more...



littlesarbonn -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/10/2007 8:57:44 PM)

It's not fictionalized. It's decentralized. In other words, everything actually happens, but numerous locations are combined into one so that no one house is pinpointed as the location of the study. The names are changed so that no one is called out, but the names all do represent specific people.



juliaoceania -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/10/2007 9:13:23 PM)

Have you asked people if they would be willing to do the study in a way that is not decentralized, but place names changed, occupations changed, and some other identifying information from the published accounts, although for documentation the original information is kept for referee purposes only?

You might be able to accomplish much just by not naming the locales, and other such identifying info.. while maintaining the integrity of the information



LadyHibiscus -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/10/2007 9:14:03 PM)

I wonder if combining characters and locations would dilute the study, and therefore diminish problems, and change behaviors. 

I think this is a very interesting idea, good luck getting permissions!



juliaoceania -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/10/2007 9:17:46 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyHibiscus

I wonder if combining characters and locations would dilute the study, and therefore diminish problems, and change behaviors. 

I think this is a very interesting idea, good luck getting permissions!


I would be concerned because some of the information maybe used by someone else one day for comparison purposes based upon geography and demographics. In other words someone may want to know how people in Atlanta are different from people in San Francisco, and use his information as a piece in the puzzle.. if the original information existed out of print, then such comparisons could be made much easier in the future.. and his study could help understand how practices and ideas have diffused across the country.. or not.



thetammyjo -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/11/2007 5:46:58 AM)

Trying to imbed it in a community requires a community and thus you'd limit the scope of the subjects to those both in or near larger cities and who attend such events. As long as you are clear about these limitations and can find funding to cover the research expenses, I say go for it.

Certainly nothing of this sort out there now so you are definitely doing something unique.



LadyHibiscus -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/11/2007 7:01:22 AM)

I understand your concerns, juliaoceania, and I think those are very valid points.  Certainly this will be an interesting project to design!



juliaoceania -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/11/2007 8:41:20 AM)

I am applying to graduate school in the field of cultural anthropology this fall.. in fact my ap is pending... so I am interested in this thread



AFlyInYourWeb -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/11/2007 9:40:14 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: littlesarbonn


So, my question is: What are your thoughts on something like this?


In terms of ethics, you have a responsibility to "disguise" the identities of the house and its characters beyond a reasonable doubt.

In terms of academics, you have a responsibility to make it as accurate as you can under the ethical limitations.

Personally, I'm not sure you can reconcile the ethical and academic imperatives in this case.

My suggestion: find another subject for your graduate work, and save this material for a good novel.  The fictional format would allow you to alter personalities and locations to better meet the ethical question without sacrificing academic integrity.



littlesarbonn -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/11/2007 10:57:00 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: AFlyInYourWeb

quote:

ORIGINAL: littlesarbonn


So, my question is: What are your thoughts on something like this?


In terms of ethics, you have a responsibility to "disguise" the identities of the house and its characters beyond a reasonable doubt.

In terms of academics, you have a responsibility to make it as accurate as you can under the ethical limitations.

Personally, I'm not sure you can reconcile the ethical and academic imperatives in this case.

My suggestion: find another subject for your graduate work, and save this material for a good novel.  The fictional format would allow you to alter personalities and locations to better meet the ethical question without sacrificing academic integrity.


This isn't for my graduate work. It's a side project. My graduate work is almost complete without this. I study international political communication, so I'm somewhat cemented in my work in that field. I thought this would be an interesting, yet useful, study to do utilizing ethnographic procedures. I usually have about nine projects I'm working on at once. This isn't my first graduate degree.



LadyHibiscus -> RE: The Ethics and Benefits of a BDSM House Ethnography (12/11/2007 11:36:54 AM)

I have a degree in anthropology as well, so I perked at this. Side projects are so much more satisfying than the ones done for circus act that is graduate school.



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