This resonated deeply, and gave words to the haze in which I existed last summer while doing my fieldwork. A few further reflections on performing gender and authority while doing elite interviews. 1/ https://www.thenewethnographer.org/the-new-ethnographer/ux7ugsabn07b457slo8rz7ltcsn2e4

To the extent that we talk about fieldwork with elites at all during grad programs, we talk about a power differential. I use the singular on purpose: the relevant dimension of power is assumed to be expertise. The elite knows things; the researcher does not. 2/

(Of course, this is true of *everyone* we interview—if we knew the things they knew, we wouldn't be talking to them. The difference between elites & others is perspective—differences in how elites make sense of what they know. I digress.) 3/

In reality, the relevant dimensions (plural) are different for every single interviewee. Figuring this out is exhausting. Performing different aspects of your identity in accordance is exhausting. Let me give you an example. 4/

For my research, I interviewed men & women pretty equally. Encounters with men were formal. Even if we met over lunch, I was constantly negotiating the degree to which I needed to appear as an expert to seem knowledgeable but not too threatening. 5/

I once asked a male friend who also interviews elites how he navigated it. "I schmooze," he said. "Same as we all do." Except when women schmooze, it's seen as flirting, which can be perceived as unprofessional—or, worse, be extremely dangerous in an unfamiliar context. 6/

The experience interviewing women was quite different, on average. We bonded over nondairy milk. We used personal anecdotes to make sense of each other's experiences and impressions. We had real conversations, not information negotiations. 7/

I was so relieved whenever I scheduled an interview w/ a woman. And the process was *still* exhausting, because once you clear one hurdle, another appears: age, political ideology, education, language… Even the most relaxed interview is, in a sense, a navigation. 8/

Should I lean into my youth (bc this person might want to "teach me the ropes" & I'll learn something), or should I play older (& thus seem experienced & earn respect)? Impossible to know before walking into the room. Impossible to change when you miscalculate. Very either/or. 9/

When I wasn't doing interviews (or cold-emailing, or arranging times/places, or researching my interlocutors) or running errands, I was on the couch of my sublet apartment, napping. If you know me, you know I hate napping. It wasn't a choice. 10/

Fieldwork is profoundly draining, even and especially when it’s going well. It is not a vacation. It is not an adventure. It is a privilege, but it also requires a ton of social and emotional capacity and acumen. Our students deserve better preparation. /fin

P.S. Every male interlocutor whom I met over lunch commented on my food choices, how much I ate, or some combination. Every female interlocutor asked if I had dietary restrictions before suggesting a place. This is gender in the field in a nutshell.