From the ethnographers' side: escaping rocks and pitfalls in swinger research

Abstract

PurposeThis paper presents a model for organizational ethnographers that wish to find new methodological approaches for the study of swingers and other marginalized groups that deal with potential social stigma and form communities around the lifestyles of swingers and other groups.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic, qualitative study was conducted by (first author) in Spain and France using the methods of participant observation and in-depth interviews. Interviews were conducted in Spanish, Russian, English and French with 40 members of the studied scenes.FindingsThe authors claim that through wise participation, using ethnographer's positionality, communicating with the ethics review board throughout the project and skillful writing about this group, the authors can create a foundation for future ethnographies inside this subculture.Originality/valueVery few ethnographers reported on being in the field as participants, even as novice swingers, and how the positionality of ethnographers and the embodied ethnography can contribute to understanding swinger settings. Even fewer ethnographers addressed the contradictory sides of permission from their ethics board to study swinger settings and the implications of this for data collection.