Analysis stage

Seeing no readings, I completely forgot to post!

So here is what's up with my project. I have re-read my field notes, my interview notes, and all emails sent back and forth with the interviewees. I am keeping track of my analytical notes by using the comment feature on word. Is that bad? What are the ramifications of using such a digital way of making notes?

I finished another transcription (though the first is still painfully long and in the works). I developed a method of typing insanely quickly and sloppily but intelligibly to try to make the process faster. Afterwards, I was able to line-by-line edit as well as analyze.

I have a preliminary outline established, though it is quite weak on its knees. I see some common threads forming, though; I just do not know how I will weave them all together. So far, identity construction and community construction intersect less than I expected. People do not self-identify as healthcare workers as much as I would expect. They do not wave the "health" banner on a high horse. Most seem more focused on getting through the day and dealing with normal social aspects of life. Some common ideas, though, I have found in my field notes and my interviews include the team or family nature of the clinical staff, the use of food to bring people together even at the work setting, the dependence on take-out and junk food, the easy and unintentional co-mingling of Spanish and English, and the use of the bureaucratic and hierarchal structure to deal with problems. Contrasting conceptions of stress and health have also emerged to some degree.

I am still perplexed about the structure of the final paper. Any suggestions??

Also, what kind of literature have people been able to drum up? Most articles I find are only tangentially related...I will try to weave them in with the aforementioned fraying threads as well.

Good to luck everyone. :)

questionnaire

i think i am going to make a questionnaire and give it out to non-feminists in order to get more data. I feel a little lacking in substantial non-feminist data, so it seems like a good idea to do. I think it will be quickly analyzed after this week, but make the study more substantial.Good luck to everyone else.

Musing on feminism + roller derby

Throughout American history, I feel that definitions of "femininity" have limited the athleticism of women. Not very long ago, it was not commonly considered "proper" or attractive for most women to be so physical or "sporty." There are substantially more outlets nowadays but I still wonder how much the legacy of these definitions impact the minds of contemporary women.

Even today, I don't feel that most women's sports get nearly as much attention as men's sports. For example, a friend asked me the other day - "How many women basketball players do you know off the top of your head?" I honestly couldn't think of any - while I'm not the biggest basketball watcher, I definitely know quite a lot about the men's teams because I hear much more about them without even trying. So that's one of the unique things about derby - it's predominately an all women's sport and it's still drawing in an increasing amount of attention. There are men's leagues popping up again around the nation but I have a feeling that the original women's teams will maintain their popularity.

• Something I find very intriguing about roller derby - I believe that this sport pushes you to be a strong, powerful athlete as well as an an active participant in your personal definition of femininity. I think it's interesting that to a lot of outside viewers, roller derby has a very "butch" connotation attached to it. Roller derby girls definitely an encompass a wide range of sexualities, however I think this is intriguing because I feel that a lot of people consider it "butch" in a somewhat derisive way. As in, if these girls are so physical and athletic, they must be not "normal" women. I think this is connected to a lot of stereotypes about homosexuality as well but I'm not sure...this is an area that I'm interested in exploring some more.

I don't think that women can deny the power of outside influences - our definitions of our sexuality or our femininity are not built in a vacuum. However, by introducing to me to such a diverse, eclectic, and smart group of women, I think that derby has helped me become more aware of these external forces and how they currently shape and manipulate me.

Fieldnotes

I'm still playing catch-up a little with my entries! So here we go:

4/4/10

We had our last practice today before our end-of-season game. I was getting kind of snarky and frustrated - our team was short today and mostly comprised of new girls. We weren't really playing well - derby is definitely a team sport and teamwork is really vital to scoring points, no matter how great the jammer is. So I was getting pretty antsy and my competitive side was really coming out that practice. "Build a wall! Hold the inside line!" *the other team's jammer breezes right by them* "Or not..."

Needless to say, I wasn't being the most supportive team player. I reprimanded myself however and apologized. (I like to think the extreme heat that day was a contributing factor - we like to call it "Bikram derby" in the hotter months.) That practice really made me think of how I felt when I started out playing derby - I was definitely a pretty shaky skater and I didn't really have a clue as to what I was doing. From my observation and participation, derby is not a sport that you can usually just jump into right away. There were definitely times when I became disheartened - I felt like I had plateaued and that I wasn't getting any better. (I still hate turn-around stops so much.) Plus, derby is a lot more fun when you're not getting the wind knocked out of you every jam. It's taken me a while to really feel more solid on my skates but the process has been worth it. Through conversations with my fellow skaters, being able to chart our progress and development is one of the really empowering things about derby, and athletics in general. It's a really great feeling when you realize that you can skate a lot harder and faster than you ever did before. (A lot of us remember when we felt like we were going to die after an hour and a half of practice - now we wish they went on so much longer.) It's great to be able to take a solid hit from someone much bigger than you and still stay on your skates. This sport helps our balance and agility - our core muscles definitely get a work-out. It's also a great brainteaser - derby is definitely a cerebral sport full of strategy and quick-thinking.

All in all, derby definitely takes time and commitment - I'm very grateful for how supportive, encouraging, and *patient* the other more experienced skaters have been during this learning process. Therefore, I want to make sure that I am emulating their positive influence as well for our newer skaters. This season is helping me to curb the snarkier side of my competitiveness - I definitely do like to win but when it comes down to it, it's much more important for me to build relationships and friendships rather than rack up points. *cheese*

confidentiality

Hey guys I just wanted to remind everyone that what we discuss in class needs to stay in class. While conducting an interview my interviewee told me that he had heard that his information had been talked about in class and that he had been called racist. Although I don't think anyone called him racist, its clear that my interviews had been talked about outside of class. This really isn't cool. He was hesitant to answer certain questions during the interview and rightfully so. I know who is responsible for this breech in trust but instead of singling anyone out I'd just like to use this opprotunity to remind everyone, and myself, how important the matter of trust is in this entire process. Among all of us and between interviewee and interviewer. What we discuss in the class room needs to stay in the classroom. Thanks

LATE POST

It has been too long since I have posted.

So I really enjoyed the speaker in class. His insight into his struggles and successes with his project was really helpful. I also thought his topic was really interesting and I would like to read his finished product.

After a good amount of time, I finally have contacts for my last interviews and am now waiting to hear back to set up times for the interviews. Also, I didn’t think I would have a chance to do some participant observation/take field notes but I was invited to attend The Georgetown Project board meeting this Wednesday.

Slowly but surely things are coming together. Although, I feel a little stressed since the paper is due at the end of this month. Is anyone else feeling as stressed as I am?

The Secret? "Each actual entity is a locus for the universe"

I thought the article was exceedingly interesting (probably for ethnocentric, Western-cultural-indoctrination reasons). But I have a lot of questions!

The greater notion of “reflexivity” that imbued the article was challenging. How do we go about “mak[ing] a problem out of what was once unproblematic” without winding up our own personal life into a psychological tangle? Can we make reflexivity simply an academic mindset? Do we want to? When adding the self into this already troubling equation, how can we be sure to think appropriately and not wind up reflecting ourselves through others? As young people with developing brains and personas, are we more apt to produce ego-centric or otherwise problematic ethnographic works?

Other than sex, what other “social construct[s] with a past” invade our thinking and skew our abilities as an anthropologist? How much of this is motivated by what is considered “fetchingly risqué” at the time?

Hmm....