Surviving the field: Six strategies

The aim of feminist research is mainly twofold; mapping the experiences of different groups of women and dragging the voices of the oppressors into light. The piece being introduced draws on the researchers experience in the field, adressing issues that are likely to come up in when researching “up” instead of researching “down”. It is a reflexive tale based on fieldwork done at mostly male dominated workplaces. The piece is based on a project titled Work Cultures, Gender Relations and Family Responsibility, addressing the work-life balance at different sections of the labor market. The researcher was in the field in 2005-2006, being a participant observer, conducting interviews with managers and employees of both sexes, who have children, and finally handing out questionaries. The data was thus gathered on numerous seperate visits to the field. The piece is also based on the researchers observations and particiation in circumstances/events that took place when the recorder was turned off. The piece is written in the style/form of a movie script aiming at capturing the researcher emotions and feelings during this work. It is also written in the style/form of a self help material, coming up with six strategies to survive in a chauvinist and hostile environment. The aim of those strategies is firstly to aid the feminist researcher in (re)claiming her/his power in objectifying and abusive settings. The second aim is enabling the researcher to continue the work of dragging the voices of the oppressors into light.