Revisiting Feminist Ethnography: Methods and Activism at the Intersection of Neoliberal Policy

Abstract

In the wake of neoliberalism, where human rights and social justice have increasingly been subordinated to proliferating "consumer choices" and ideals of market justice, this article suggests that feminist ethnographers are in an important position to reassert the central feminist connections among theory, method, and practice. It draws on experiences of feminist anthropologists studying battered women and midwifery advocates to consider the role of feminist ethnography within the context of neoliberalism. It suggests avenues for incorporating methodological innovations, collaborative analysis, and feminist writing objectives and activism in scholarly projects. What does feminist ethnography look like in a historical moment characterized by increasingly diverse delineations of neoliberalism and post-neoliberalism? What are the possibilities (and challenges) that exist for feminist ethnography twenty years after initial debates emerged in this field about reflexivity, objectivity, reductive individualism, and the social relevance of activist scholarship? This article generates a contextualized dialogue about the possibilities for feminist ethnography in the twenty-first century—at the intersection of engaged feminist research and activism in the service of the organizations, people, communities, and feminist issues studied.

Tianguis as a Possibility of Autogestion: Street Vendors Claim Rights to the City in Cancún, Mexico

“…Additionally, half of my family has lived in Cancún for over 30 years, and I have visited and lived in Cancún over the past 20 years. Although I shared similar experiences with some of the vendors, I am careful in reflecting on my positionality and the situated knowledge that emerges from my fieldwork and analysis (Davis & Craven, 2011). To center vendor experiences, I analyzed the fieldwork data without preconceived categories nor with the aim to fit a specific theoretical framework.…”

Bridging Activism and the Academy: Exposing Environmental Injustices Through the Feminist Ethnographic Method of Photovoice

“…However, what makes feminist activist ethnography such a powerful tool and counter to neoliberal ideology is its attention to individual people's stories and experiences of injustice. As Davis and Craven (2011) argue, neoliberalism functions to wipe away the differences among individuals in society by falsely claiming that all groups have the same access to various benefits such as health care, a living wage, a healthy environment, and democratic participation. The particularities of disenfranchised groups' experiences have been erased by neoliberalism, experiences that feminist ethnography-as a rule-privileges.…”

The Conflicts of Crisis: Critical Reflections on Feminist Ethnography and Anthropological Activism

“…Feminist activist ethnography may disrupt the nodes of neoliberalism because of its potential to illuminate experiences that reflect structural impediments for poor and lowincome women, countering neoliberalism's reification of market principles to address social problems (Davis and Craven 2011). This perspective has reconfigured social welfare institutions and relationships of the state to those receiving public assistance.…”