Outsider Phenomenon

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FEM IN IST PERSPECTIVES

ON SOCIAL RESEARCH T

Ir

I s

i

Edited by

SHARLENE NAGY HESSE-BIBER

Boston College

M ICHELLE L . YAISER

New England Institute of Art

New York Oxford

OXFORD UN IVERSITY PRESS

2004

i

CHAPTER 20

The Ou tsider Phenomenon

NANCY A. NAPLES

The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the value of a feminist perspective oncommunity studies with particular attention to the debate con trasting insider andoutsider ethnograph ic research.1 The insider versus ou tsider debate-whether it ismore effective to conduct fieldwork as an insider or an outsider to the communities

you study-challenges those of us who use ethno graph ic methods in our research

in the United States to reexam ine our taken-for-granted assumptions abou t whatconstitutes

"indigenous" knowledge and how we use both our commonalities and

differe

nces to hei

ghten sens

itivity to others' comp le

x and

shifting worldviews

.

In this feminist revisiting of the insider/outsider debate, I argue that the insider/

outsider distinction masks the power differentials and experiential differences be-

tween the researcher and the researched. The bipolar construction of insider/

outsider also sets up a false separation that neglects the interactive processes throughwhich

"insidemess" and "outsidemess" are constructed . Insidemess and outsider-

ness are not fixed or static positions, rather, they are ever-shifting and permeable

social locations that are differentially experienced and expressed by comm un itymembers. By recognizing the fluid ity of insidemess/outsidemess,

we also acknow l-

edge three key methodo logical points: as ethnographers we are never fully outside

or inside the commu nity; our relationship to the commun ity is never expressed in

general term s but is constantly being negotiated and renegotiated in particular , every-

day interactions; and these interactions are themselves located in shifting relation -

ships among commun ity residents. These negotiations simu ltaneously are embed-ded in processes that reposition gender, class, and racial-ethn ic relations among other

socially constructed distinctions. From a feminist perspective, I argue that by shift-

ing the standpoint to those who are marginal to the mythic community insider, cer-

tain less visible features of commun ity life are brought into view.

The apparently clear distinction between insidemess and outsidemess falls away

| as we confront how region al differences, as well as class, gend er , age , parentingand marital status, sexuality, race , and ethnicity shape the multiple identities we

identify (with) in our research. I start with the assump tion that, rather than one in-

sider perspective, we all begin our work from different positions and social experi-ences that contribu te to numerous dimensions on which we can relate to residents

in various overlapping commun ities. Our social location shapes the way we enter

the field and how we relate to different members within a particular commun ity .For examp le, as a woman I have certain experience s that may give me greater in-

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Outsider Phenomenon