Pulling Back the Curtain on Qualitative Research 1032341556, 9781032341552

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Pulling Back the Curtain on Qualitative Research

In Pulling Back the Curtain on Qualitative Research, the authors maintain that for sociologists the entire world is a laboratory. Seldom do they attend social gatherings without observing people and their interaction in a systematic and intellectually curious way. Regular trips to the grocery store, church services, and engagement with social media all open the door to sociological questioning and encourage forms of empirical observation and data collection. Here, in this practical and in-depth guide to conducting qualitative sociological field research, the authors offer step-by-step guidance to the processes of choosing a research question and forming research objectives; gaining entry to research settings; and reporting and analyzing findings. Each chapter features a past research assignment, wherein the authors draw attention to important ethical considerations and extract the many lessons, quirks, and unanticipated findings they experienced along the way that readers should prepare for and apply while conducting their own qualitative fieldwork. Over the span of several field studies, this book offers readers a behindthe-scenes look at some tested and trusted qualitative methodologies. Designed to be a guide for undergraduate and graduate level students, its real-life meditations would make a meaningful addition to anyone serious about conducting sociological research. William E. Thompson is a professor emeritus of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA. He was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was the first member of his family to receive a high school diploma. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University, a master’s degree from Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. Professor Thompson has authored and coauthored more than 50 articles in professional journals, including several reprinted in sociology textbooks and readers. Thompson also is the author of The Glass House, a nonfiction account of his mother’s two-year battle with cancer, and in 2012 authored Hogs, Blogs, Leathers, and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling.

Mica L. Thompson is an adjunct instructor at Texas A&M University Commerce, USA. She was born in Emporia, Kansas, and received her ba­ chelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and her master’s degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce. She has 16 years of public-school teaching experience and has co-authored several articles in professional journals as well as several major textbooks in sociology. Together, Thompson and Thompson have co-authored three major social scientific books: Sociological Wisdom, Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology which is in its 9th edition, and Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological Approach, now in its 11th edition.

Pulling Back the Curtain on Qualitative Research

William E. Thompson and Mica L. Thompson

Designed cover: Shutterstock First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Taylor & Francis The right of William E. Thompson and Mica L. Thompson to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. ISBN: 978-1-032-34155-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-34154-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-32076-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760 Typeset in Bembo by MPS Limited, Dehradun

To all those who are curious about the social world in which they live and want to use social science as a tool for more knowledge and better understanding.

Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Guide to Chapter Contents

xiv xvii xviii

1 Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research

1

2 Striving for Objective and Unbiased Qualitative Research

18

3 Visiting Old Order Amish in Oklahoma and Kansas: Case Studies

33

4 Working on a Beef Slaughter Assembly Line

50

5 Portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at a Shopping Mall

68

6 Studying Morticians and Funeral Directors

82

7 Interviewing Topless Dancers

96

8 Riding With Modern American Motorcyclists

110

9 Performing a Content Analysis of Popular Motorcycle Movies

126

10 Studying Kindergarten

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11 Pumping Iron in the 1980s and Working Out in the Twenty-First Century

154

12 Conducting Qualitative Research in the Age of Disenlightenment

172

Glossary Bibliography Index

186 191 196

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Guide to Chapter Contents 1 Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research

xiv xvii xviii 1

Grounded Theory and the Scientific Method 2 Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 4 Review of the Literature and Selecting a Research Design 4 Case Studies 5 Participant Observation 6 Ethnographic Interviewing 7 Team Research or Going It Alone 8 Gaining Entry: Disclosure or Nondisclosure 10 Unobtrusive Measures: Taking Field Notes 12 Analyzing Data and Reporting Findings 13 Ethical Considerations 14 Pulling Back the Curtain in Qualitative Field Research 16 Questions for Discussion 17 2 Striving for Objective and Unbiased Qualitative Research Choosing a Research Topic and Reviewing Literature 20 Framing Unbiased Research Questions 21 Designing Unbiased and Unobtrusive Research Methods 23 Using Technology to Avoid Bias 24 Significance of Feminist, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ Scholars 25 Gender Bias, Feminist Theory, and Research 26 Racial/Ethnic Bias and People of Color in Social Science Research 27

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Table of Contents Cultural Bias, Indigenous Peoples, and Non-oppressive Methods 28 Age Bias in Research 28 Ethical Considerations 30 Questions for Discussion 32 3 Visiting Old Order Amish in Oklahoma and Kansas: Case Studies Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

33

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 35 Gaining Entry to the Oklahoma Amish Community 36 Limited Participation and Ethnographic Interviewing with Full Disclosure 37 Findings 39 Gaining Entry to the Kansas Amish Community 44 Ethical Considerations 46 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 47 Questions for Discussion 49 4 Working On a Beef Slaughter Assembly Line Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

50

Gaining Entry 52 Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 56 Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure 57 Interviewing and Taking Field Notes 58 Findings 59 Ethical Considerations 63 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 65 Questions for Discussion 66 5 Portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at a Shopping Mall Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 69 Gaining Entry 69 Full Participant Observation and Teamwork with Nondisclosure 70 Team Research and Taking Field Notes 72 Findings 72

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Ethical Considerations 77 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 79 Questions for Discussion 80 6 Studying Morticians and Funeral Directors Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

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Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 83 Gaining Entry 84 Ethnographic Interviewing with Full Disclosure 85 Taking Field Notes 85 Findings 86 Ethical Considerations 92 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 93 Questions for Discussion 95 7 Interviewing Topless Dancers Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

96

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 98 Gaining Entry 98 Team Research, Ethnographic Interviewing with Full Disclosure, and Taking Field Notes 99 Findings 100 Replicating the Study A Decade Later 103 Differences Over a Decade 104 Ethical Considerations 106 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 107 Questions for Discussion 109 8 Riding With Modern American Motorcyclists Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson Gaining Entry 111 Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 112 Team Research and Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure 113 Taking Field Notes 114 Findings 115 Ethical Considerations 121

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Table of Contents Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 121 Questions for Discussion 124

9 Performing a Content Analysis of Popular Motorcycle Movies Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

126

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 127 Using the Internet to Determine Popular Biker/Motorcyclist Movies 128 A Content Analysis of The Wild One, Easy Rider, and Wild Hogs 128 Dominant Themes 129 Meaningful Symbols 132 Influence On Public Perception of Motorcyclists 134 Ethical Considerations 135 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 136 Questions for Discussion 137 10 Studying Kindergarten Principle Investigator: Mica L. Thompson

138

Background: Harry Gracey and Learning the Student Role 139 Gaining Entry 140 Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 142 Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure 142 Interviewing and Taking Field Notes 143 Findings 143 Ethical Considerations 150 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 151 Questions for Discussion 153 11 Pumping Iron in the 1980s and Working Out in the Twenty-First Century Principle Investigators: William E. Thompson and Mica L. Thompson Gaining Entry 155 Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives 155 Combining Qualitative Fieldwork with a Quantitative Survey 156

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Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure 156 Administering a Survey 158 1980s Findings 158 Four Decades Later: Team Research and Going Solo 162 Twenty-First Century Findings 164 The Two Fitness Centers 164 The Two Small Workout Groups 168 Ethical Considerations 169 Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings 169 Questions for Discussion 171 12 Conducting Qualitative Research in the Age of Disenlightenment

172

The Enlightenment and the Rise of Science 174 Uninformed Opinions and Conspiracy Theories Versus Science 177 The Covid-19 Pandemic: Science Versus Science Fiction 178 Demagoguery, Nationalism, and “Fake News” 180 The Need for Qualitative Social Scientific Research 182 Design Your Own Qualitative Research Project 183 Questions for Discussion 185

Glossary Bibliography Index

Note The research studies described in Chapters 3 through 11 are written in the first person from the perspective of the primary researcher(s) who is noted for each study.

186 191 196

Preface

To paraphrase Charles Dickens ([1859] 2003), for social scientists, this is the best of times and the worst of times. The second line from Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities, is equally apropos today, it is the age of wisdom, it is the age of foolishness (italics added). There never has been more need for or more resistance to solid, empirical, social scientific research. Now, more than ever, people must be observant, think critically, look beneath the surface, question political leaders, fact-check news stories and so-called experts collect and analyze data from reputable sources, require empirical verification, hold people accountable, and make informed, rational, logical decisions. In short, people need to pull back the curtain, examine what is happening backstage, and think sociologically. For social scientists, the entire world is a laboratory. Sociologists, for example, never attend a wedding, funeral, high school graduation, sporting event, cocktail party, or any other social event without observing people and their interaction in a systematic way. Routine trips to the grocery store or shopping mall, attending a church service or business meeting, and even watching television or participating in social media spawn social scientific research questions and encourage empirical observation and data collection. Pulling back the curtain forces one to walk a fine line between healthy skepticism and dangerous cynicism. Social media become an anathema, except as potential research topics or tools. It is difficult to navigate friendship, love, marriage, parenting, collegiality, or other social interactions and relationships without delving deeper to see what’s beneath the surface of these interactions. This book provides a practical and personal guide to conducting qualitative social scientific research. Chapter one provides an introduction and general step-by-step guide to conducting qualitative social scientific field research. Chapter two stresses the importance of recognizing and reducing biases while conducting qualitative research. Subsequent chapters outline specific qualitative social science studies describing in detail how the researcher(s) chose a research problem or topic, selected a research design, gained entry to the research setting, participated with and interviewed research participants,

Preface

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took field notes, wrestled with ethical considerations, analyzed data, and discovered some unanticipated findings along the way. Unlike many books on research methods, the authors do not gloss over the many personal challenges, inconsistencies, and ethical dilemmas both large and small that accompany any qualitative research project. For example, although the first step in any research project should be and usually is choosing a topic, the reader will note that in four Chapters (4, 8, 10, and 11), the authors actually gained entry to the research settings before choosing a research topic or outlining research objectives. In those cases, the authors were already participating in a particular subculture activity when they realized their activities provided a social scientific research-rich environment. This illustrates how the scientific method is not an archaic, rigid set of steps and procedures carved into stone to be slavishly followed, but are flexible guidelines intended to keep social scientists on track as they systematically select research designs, collect and analyze data, interpret their findings, and share those findings with fellow social scientists and the general public. Additionally, because qualitative research projects involving human beings rarely fall within the parameters of scientific research on inanimate objects conducted in sterile laboratories, in each chapter that describes a qualitative research project we include a section we call “Quirks, Perks and Unanticipated Findings,” to acknowledge the serendipitous and often overlooked aspects of conducting qualitative research. Finally, each chapter concludes with “Questions for Discussion.” These questions are designed to encourage readers to think above and beyond what has been presented in the chapter including queries such as how might they have designed and carried out the research project differently? What ethical considerations do they perceive that perhaps the authors overlooked or downplayed? How would they go about replicating the study? And, how do they think the age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and life experiences of the authors influenced the framing, design, methodology, analysis, and interpretation of each of the studies? The final chapter of this book could be polarizing but is not intended to produce political or social controversy. Rather, it alerts readers as well as social science researchers to a conundrum faced by all scientists today. Who would have guessed that more than five and a half centuries after Copernicus rocked the world to launch the scientific revolution and spawn the dawn of enlightenment, that science would come under fire and in the minds of many take a back seat to imagination, sorcery, superstition, demagoguery, and conspiracy theories? Social scientific thinking and research is more vital now than perhaps at any other time in our history. The twenty-first century has witnessed unprecedented genocide in developing countries, increasing income and wealth gaps between the richest and poorest in industrialized and post-industrial nations, and a host of natural as well as human-made disasters. Moreover, as the world has struggled to understand climate change, and limit the devastation of

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hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, diseases, pandemics, wars, bombings, mass shootings, and senseless violence, increasing numbers of people have turned their backs on science, facts, and data collected by experts in their field, turning instead to demagogues and celebrities offering conspiracy theories, mysticism, and folklore for potential solutions. In many ways the same civilization that progressed through the “Dark Ages,” into the “Age of Enlightenment, Science, and Reason,” is regressing to an “Age of Unenlightenment,” or worse, intentional disenlightenment. Today, there is as much, if not more, emphasis placed on disinformation as there is on information. Ignorance is sad, but forgivable. Stupidity is neither. This book sheds light on a rapidly darkening world. The book ends with a challenge for you to design your own qualitative research project. You are provided with a step-by-step guideline as well as a list of suggested possible topics for investigation. We also encourage you to come up with your own ideas based on what you have learned about qualitative field research from reading this book.

Acknowledgments

As with any academic and/or intellectual endeavor, a lot of people contributed to help make this work possible. We would like to thank Dr. Joseph V. Hickey, Donald L. Foster, Jackie L. Harred, Barbara Forbes, and Marilyn Thompson for their help and assistance in taking field notes, collecting and analyzing data, and participating as team members in various aspects of the research projects summarized in this work. Special thanks to Tyler Bay for seeing the value in this project and assisting in contractual matters as well as obtaining peer reviews and contributing to the overall project from inception to completion. We also thank the manuscript reviewers who made helpful suggestions for revisions to the prospectus and preliminary drafts of this work. We also thank all of those at Routledge who contributed to this work by participating in proofreading, copyediting, obtaining photographs, cover selection, and other aspects of publication. We extend a very special thank you to all those who were observed, voluntarily participated in interviews, and otherwise contributed to the research projects involved in this work. Finally, thank you to those who realize that science is real, valuable, and necessary in order to understand the world in which we live.

Guide to Chapter Contents

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Content Scientific Method Team Research Case Study Content Analysis Full participant observation Limited participant observation Non-participant observation Ethnographic Interview Ethical Issues Replicated Study Triangulation of methods Anti-intellectualism

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1

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-1

2

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is difficult, time-consuming, frustrating, and sometimes dangerous. So, why do it? Because, as one of our mentors once told a research methods class, “If you intend to study people, you gotta get out there among ‘em.” We do not intend to downplay or negate the importance of quantitative sociological research, as we encourage scientific research and discoveries of all kinds. We regret, however, that sociology has become so enamored with numbers and statistics, that we have somewhat ignored the importance of qualitative field research and the value of non-quantifiable data for understanding human social behavior. Naturalists, biologists, and entomologists long have known that the best way to study wildlife, animals, and bugs is to observe them in their natural habitats. Psychologists and animal behavior specialists have learned that laboratory rats behave differently than rats in the wild (Koizumi et al., 2018). Anthropologists contend that the same holds true for studying the human animal. Although they most often study people and civilizations from the past, they know they must go into the field and find artifacts that reveal how those societies and cultures lived their everyday lives. If anthropologists want to study cultures today, they often live among the people they want to study for at least a year and sometimes longer, observing, participating in, and analyzing their social interaction, language, meaningful symbols, and other aspects of society and culture. Consequently, anthropologists have developed some of the most sophisticated and productive research methods for conducting systematic social scientific research. Qualitative sociologists have borrowed (some may even say stolen) and adapted these qualitative field methods in order to learn about those aspects of human behavior that cannot and should not be reduced to numbers and statistics. As one prominent sociologist observed, “If you can measure it, that ain’t it” (Kaplan, 1964:206).

Grounded Theory and the Scientific Method Social scientific knowledge is amassed through the process of building, developing, and testing theories that strive to describe and explain human social behavior. Theories are much more than mere guesses, hunches, speculation, or opinions about how or why people do the things they do. Rather, a theory is a set of interrelated propositions or statements based on empirical evidence that attempts to explain some phenomenon. Building and testing theories is a critical part of any scientific research process and typically involves both deductive and inductive reasoning. Fictional detective Sherlock Holmes often congratulated his associate Mr. Watson with the admonition, “Brilliant deduction, Mr. Watson!” Deductive reasoning begins with a general understanding or theory that is then tested through the observation or study of specific situations. Deductions start with general knowledge and predict a specific observation or outcome.

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research 3

Thus, deductive reasoning is an important way of evaluating and testing existing sociological theories about human behavior. Inductive reasoning begins with specific observations and pieces them together in order to develop a general understanding of human behavior. If you are a fan of the fictional Sherlock Homes, it may have occurred to you that his praise of Mr. Watson’s “deductions” was misworded, as he and Mr. Watson instead used inductive reasoning to piece together clues in order to develop a general explanation for a crime. Although “Brilliant induction, Mr. Watson” does not have as familiar a ring to it, the phrase would be more accurate. In fact, Sherlock Holmes praised the merits of inductive reasoning when he remarked, “It’s a capital mistake to theorize before one has data” (Doyle, [1892] 1987:13). Social scientists, especially those who use qualitative research methods are often cast in the role of detective, gathering and sorting through specific clues and piecing them together to draw general conclusions about human social behavior. Consequently, much qualitative social science research is based on the premises and methodology associated with grounded theory. Grounded theory is derived directly from data collected from research participants in real-world settings using methods like case studies, ethnographic interviews, and participant observation. Grounded theory is an inductive methodology that is very compatible with qualitative research and is especially appropriate when little is known about a particular phenomenon (Glaser and Strauss, [1967] 2017). Rather than testing hypotheses derived from an existing theory, researchers using the grounded theory approach build theory as they go along by identifying research objectives linked to what they observe in the field (Birks and Mills, 2015). This theory-building process acknowledges the vital relationship between theory and methods and can render much more insightful data for analysis than typical quantitative methods such as questionnaires and experiments conducted in non-realistic social situations. Qualitative sociological field studies are one type of social scientific research and follow the same scientific method established and used by biologists, chemists, physicists, and other physical and social scientists for centuries. In general, the scientific method provides a set of guidelines for conducting research that follows these basic steps: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Choose a research question. Review of the literature. State research objectives (quantitative research develops hypotheses). Select a research design. Collect data. Analyze and interpret data. Develop conclusions. Share findings and pose new research questions.

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The scientific method should not be viewed as rigid steps that must be strictly followed in every single case. Rather, they provide flexible guidelines that produce a systematic scientific procedure for conducting research. Some of the most fascinating and impactful scientific findings, such as penicillin, quinine, x-rays, and the microwave were discovered serendipitously while researchers were conducting tests for something else. Similarly, more than one sociologist has been participating in a particular social activity, perhaps even conducting research on some other subject, when they had an “aha” moment and silently, or even loudly proclaimed, “Somebody needs to study this!” Nevertheless, when conducting qualitative fieldwork, sociologists generally follow the scientific method as closely as possible.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives The first step in any scientific research project is to choose a research topic or question. This appears so obvious that it seems unnecessary to mention it. Yet, this is an example of the first wisdom of sociology, that things are not what they seem (Berger, 1963). On numerous occasions, graduate students have entered our offices and asked, “Would you be willing to direct my thesis/dissertation?” Our typical response: “That depends, what is your research topic?” Sometimes our question would be greeted with a blank stare or is answered with, “I haven’t decided. Do you have any good ideas?” Other times, students responded with a vague general idea of a topic, such as “I want to do something in the area of deviance.” Although that shows some thought has gone into the process of choosing a topic, the student is a long way from narrowing down a manageable research topic, much less formulating a specific research question. Quantitative research designs that emphasize the use of numbers and statistics to analyze and explain human behavior most often begin with the statement of a problem, a concise and concrete social issue or problem to be researched, followed by one or more hypotheses, or proposed explanations for the problem made on the basis of previous research findings. Qualitative research designs involve research that uses systematic observation and focuses on the meanings people give to their social actions. These designs are descriptive in nature and generally begin with a research question focused on what those under study do and how they go about doing it. The information collected in this type of research cannot be readily recorded numerically or analyzed through statistics. A research question is then followed by a series of research objectives that outline the specific goals or purposes of the research project rather than hypotheses.

Review of the Literature and Selecting a Research Design Part of the process of narrowing down a research question and identifying research objectives involves reviewing the literature which involves searching

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research 5

out all sources of information and results from previous studies in order to determine what is already known about the topic. It is amazing how many rookie researchers want to embark on qualitative field research without the slightest notion of what has already been done in that particular area of study. What previously required numerous trips to the library as well as time delaying encounters with interlibrary loans, now simply involves sitting at the computer and accessing essentially anything and everything known about a particular topic including archives, images, digital content, and social media. The caveat, however, is one could usually assume that the information found in journals and books housed in academic libraries was peer-reviewed. Also, those studies established both validity or accuracy as well as reliability or consistency (which was not always the case, but mostly true). Information retrieved on the internet and through other cyber means, however, ranges everywhere from the absurd and ridiculous to the sublime and meaningful. Distinguishing the difference can sometimes be daunting. Thus, researchers must exercise more due diligence than ever in sorting through information about their topic. Nevertheless, virtually all important social scientific research findings are available literally at one’s fingertips and should be reviewed prior to embarking on any research venture. Once a research problem has been identified and research objectives established, it is time to select a research design or strategy for collecting data. The decision to conduct qualitative research has already narrowed the selection in that you have decided not to utilize large-scale surveys, massive data sets, or other techniques designed to collect vast amounts of quantitative data. You may want to consider, however, combining some quantitative methods along with your qualitative research in order to combine the two for a more meaningful analysis. For example, sometimes a very short questionnaire can be administered in order to collect standard demographic data that may be difficult or impossible to ascertain from observation and ethnographic interviewing alone. Qualitative sociologists are not opposed to using quantitative methods to gather data that lend themselves to numerical and statistical analysis, such as ages, number of times they participate in a certain activity, or other such data. The research projects discussed in Chapters 6, 7, and 9 involving topless dancers, motorcyclists, and participants at workout facilities, all used a combination of survey techniques that ascertained demographic data including age, sex/ gender, race/ethnicity, and other data that could be both quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. They also relied heavily on participant observation. Case Studies

Case studies are often part of a qualitative research design. A case study is an in-depth study of a person, group, or particular social activity. In a case study, the researcher observes and analyzes nearly every aspect of the individual’s

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or group’s life, history, and interaction in order to establish patterns that describe and explain their behavior. Chapters 2, 3, and 8 covering research on two Old Order Amish communities, a beef packing plant, and kindergartners can all be considered examples of case studies. Participant Observation

An effective research method designed to describe, analyze, and explain people’s behavior is to systematically observe them and what they are doing. The late Hall of Fame Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, once remarked, “you can observe a lot just by watching” (Berra and Kaplan, 2001:64; 2009). Sociologists sometimes do just that by conducting non-participant observation, when they systematically observe people’s behavior from afar without their knowledge. This type of research might be appropriate if sociologists want to observe the behavior of children on a playground, or people’s behavior when walking through a shopping mall or while standing in line waiting to purchase theater tickets. Sociologists do more than just watch when they conduct participant observation in which a researcher systematically observes the people being studied while participating with them in their daily activities. Limited participant observation describes when a researcher restricts participation to only one or a few aspects of the group they are studying. For example, a sociologist might gain permission to spend a couple of weeks living at a firehouse and perhaps even ride along on a fire truck and stand within a cordoned-off area to observe firefighters performing their jobs in order to learn more about that particular occupational subculture. They would not, however, participate in fighting fires, administering emergency medical procedures, or otherwise actually performing firefighters’ duties. The research highlighted in Chapter 2 on the Old Order Amish, Chapter 5 on morticians and funeral directors, and in Chapter 6 on topless dancers are examples of limited participant observation. Full participant observation is when a researcher becomes completely involved with the group under study and fully participates in their activities. Chapter 3 involving working on an assembly line, Chapter 4 on becoming the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at a shopping mall, Chapter 7 on modern American motorcyclists, Chapter 8 on studying kindergartners, and Chapter 9 on pumping iron and working out provide examples of full participant observation studies. More often than not, participant observation is combined with ethnographic interviewing. Ethnography refers to the study of a group of people in their natural environment through participant observation and extensive face-to-face interviewing. The goal of ethnography is to gain as much understanding as possible of a particular group or subculture of people learning what they do as well as how and why they do it. This necessarily involves observing and learning their values, norms, and activities, as well as understanding their meaningful symbols, especially language.

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research 7 Ethnographic Interviewing

Anthropologist Margaret Mead’s classic study resulting in her book Coming of Age in Samoa ([1928] 2001) as well as her research on sex and gender roles among the Tchambuli, Arapesh, and Mundugumor tribes of New Guinea are quintessential examples of ethnographic interviewing, or intensive indepth interviews, and their value for understanding unique groups and subcultures (Mead, [1935] 1963). A more modern example of sociological ethnographic interviewing can be found in Kathleen Lowney’s (1995) research on a group of teenage Satanists. Lowney spent five years observing and conducting ethnographic interviews with approximately thirty-five teenagers who called themselves “the Coven.” She discovered that this group, comprised of upper-middle-class males and females, although not involved in serious criminal activities, met regularly on Friday nights mostly during high school football season, to consume alcohol, perform Satanic rituals, commit petty vandalism, and otherwise provide a visible counterculture to the values of athletes, cheerleaders, and community members that dominated their hometown. All the studies highlighted in this book utilized ethnography and a form of ethnographic interviewing, combined with some level of participant observation for data collection. Ethnographic interviewing differs from other interviews in that it is much more extensive and takes place over a much longer period of time. Whereas a regular interview essentially involves reading a questionnaire to a person, ethnographic interviewing is much more flexible and enduring involving meaningful conversations during everyday social interaction. Although ethnographic researchers typically create a list of questions they want to make sure get answered, they weave them into the course of natural conversations and social interaction when and where appropriate. Consequently, effective ethnographic interviewing is both a science and an art. The goal of an ethnographer is to interview a person in such a way that they do not even realize they were interviewed. For example, once when attending a motorcycle rally with one of my colleagues at the university in order to collect data for research on modern American motorcycling, we encountered a married couple in their late fifties who were disembarking their bikes next to where we were parked. They greeted us, as fellow cyclists always do, and then I proceeded to engage them in conversation about where they had come from, how long they had been riding, how often they attended rallies, whether they always rode separate bikes or sometimes rode two-up as well as a host of other questions. I noticed my colleague seemed bored with the conversation and anxious to disengage and go into the rally so we could conduct our research. After about 30 or 40 minutes of what he thought was meaningless conversation, he turned to me, and said, “Shouldn’t we go on inside?” A bit frustrated at his impatience, I agreed, and the four of us entered the fairgrounds where the rally

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Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research

was being held. When the couple went their separate way, my colleague turned to me, and offered, “We should try to interview that couple later.” Shaking my head, I responded, “I just did.” I then headed to a picnic table, pulled out the small notepad and pencil I always carried with me, and jotted down important notes from my conversation with the couple. During the time we had talked, I had ascertained both their ages, how long they had been riding, the fact that she had taken a motorcycle safety course and he had not, that she always wore a helmet when riding, but he sometimes preferred to ride without one, as well as the answers to approximately thirty other pre-ordained questions I tried to ask every rider I interviewed. Two things occurred to me after that encounter: first, neither the couple on the motorcycle nor my colleague trained in social science research methods realized that I had just conducted an interview. Second, I realized that my hope that a particular colleague could assist me in team research on this project was not going to materialize. Team Research or Going It Alone

If possible, it is a good idea to solicit the assistance of another trained researcher when conducting qualitative field research (Guest and MacQueen, 2007). The benefit of having two observers instead of one is that they can view the situation and interaction from two different physical and ideational perspectives. Then, they can share notes, discuss what they have observed, and determine if they agree on what took place and whether it might be necessary to conduct more observations and other interviews in order to follow up on ambiguous data or to gain further information. Sometimes, such as in my research on the Old Order Amish, an informant can be so important that they almost act as a team member in the research project. Chapters 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9 all involved team research in which two or more researchers collaborate with one another. Sometimes, as a qualitative field researcher, you have to go it alone. In some of the examples of qualitative research discussed later in this book it was impossible to work with a colleague or collaborator while collecting the data. For example, when working on an assembly line in a beef packing plant, it was difficult enough to gain entry to the setting, try to observe other workers, conduct extensive interviews over lunch and during breaks, and still perform the unending necessary tasks of the job (Thompson, 1983). When interviewing morticians and funeral directors, it was difficult for one researcher to gain enough trust to get them to open up about the nuances of their business and take them behind the scenes into embalming rooms and “backstage” environments, much less two (Thompson, 1991). Conversely, when conducting a participant observation as Santa Claus (Thompson and Hickey, 1989) and as the Easter Bunny (Hickey et al., 1988) at a shopping mall, it was extremely beneficial to have a trained colleague (in those cases a cultural anthropologist) observing all the interaction from a distance as the

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research 9

primary researcher donned the appropriate costumes and played the part of the fictional characters. Later, the two discussed what had taken place, compared notes, and adapted research strategies for the next encounters. Sometimes a graduate student joined in data collection, providing a third set of eyes as well as another perspective on what had taken place and how it should be interpreted. Likewise, team research was a valuable component of the research on topless dancers (Chapter 6), especially when we added a female researcher to the team. When conducting research on the Old Order Amish (Thompson, 1981, 1984, 1986) and later on modern American motorcyclists (Thompson, 2012a,b; Thompson and Thompson, 2014), it was very difficult, and in the case of the Old Order Amish, almost impossible, for a male to effectively interview the women. The Old Order Amish are extremely gender stratified, and it is considered inappropriate and sometimes forbidden for a single female to be alone in the presence of a male who is not directly related or married to her. Moreover, at social gatherings, much like the non-Amish, the men collect in one room or one area, while the women congregate in another. Even their church services held in private homes, as opposed to church buildings, are segregated. Consequently, I discovered that although my wife had no formal training in sociological research, with a bit of coaching and pre-planning, she became a valuable team researcher who was able to interact directly with the Amish girls and women to collect valuable data and information that otherwise could never have been attained. Similarly, when conducting over five years’ worth of participant observation and ethnographic data on motorcyclists, having a female coauthor that also rode motorcycles made a good research team. Much like the Amish, American motorcycling is a male-dominated patriarchal subculture. Although women have always been part of the motorcycling subculture and more women ride motorcycles today than ever before, it is a highly stratified “man’s world,” and not only is it difficult for a male researcher to interview women participants, it can be dangerous. On one occasion, when interviewing a female rider, about ten minutes into the interview her boyfriend suddenly appeared and made it quite clear that he was not pleased at the attention he thought another male was showing her. Although cooler heads prevailed, the interview was cut short as a result of several thinly veiled threats and the realization that the costs were going to outweigh the benefits of any information gained through the interaction. That finding, in itself, was valuable data. The female author who rode motorcycles, however, posed no potential threat to male riders and could easily interview women involved in the subculture as well as help interview many of the male bikers. As with any team research, we could then sit down, compare notes, discuss findings, and adjust research objectives and questions as we proceeded. Studying kindergarteners was a one-person undertaking. Teaching 16 years in the public schools, several of them at the kindergarten level, provided the setting for one of the authors to participate with and observe

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various groups of twenty to twenty-two five-and six-year-olds over several nine-month periods. She also interacted with other teachers, administrators, and parents of kindergartners, which provided a wealth of ethnographic data. Probably every teacher could write volumes about their experiences in the classroom, but as a sociologist it was impossible for one of the authors to teach kindergarten without being mindful of an important sociological study of kindergartners conducted in the 1970s in which the researcher compared kindergarten to military boot camp (Gracey, 1972). As a final example, a male Ph.D. candidate in sociology and one of the authors teamed to conduct extensive ethnographic interviews with topless dancers in “Gentlemen’s Clubs” in a large southwestern metroplex (Thompson and Harred, 1992). This research was quite successful and our subsequent article garnered much attention and was reproduced in a number of sociological readers and textbooks. Ten years later, when we decided to replicate the study, we added a female master’s student as a third team member. Not only was she able to help with the interviews of the dancers, but she also literally went backstage and interviewed dancers in their dressing rooms both before and after performances, and gained entry and access to people, places, and information that two males never could have obtained (Thompson et al., 2003).

Gaining Entry: Disclosure or Nondisclosure Gaining entry to a field research environment can sometimes be the single most important as well as difficult aspect of a research project (Feldman et al., 2003). Some research environments are open arenas readily accessible to the general public and pose no barriers for sociological observation and participation. Grocery stores, shopping malls, public parks, public buildings, as well as streets and sidewalks are perfect settings for observing everyday human social interaction. Most churches, public university campuses, and some other venues are equally accessible. Observing, riding with, and even interviewing motorcyclists was not difficult for researchers who already did all those things, although not systematically and scientifically. Gaining access to and entry into the subculture of the Old Order Amish was more difficult and required much more planning, more tact, and a bit of luck. Not everybody is going to have the opportunity or desire to work at a beef slaughter/packing house or teach kindergarten. Those who venture into the world of illegal drug dealers, organized crime, hate groups, and other more nefarious subcultures find gaining entry even more difficult, dangerous, and ethically challenging. Qualitative sociological field research can be time-consuming and expensive as well as lead to being arrested, and even loss of life (Roguski and Tauri, 2013). Although the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Code of Ethics requires researchers to protect their research participants’

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research 11

anonymity, unlike the clergy, medical professionals, and attorneys, sociologists do not enjoy legal protection for keeping potential incriminating information confidential (ASA, 2015). Whatever the topic or setting of field observation or participation, the researcher must decide whether to disclose or hide the fact to their research participants that they are being studied. For decades, sociologists have wrestled with the ethics of studying people without their knowledge, and decided that as long as the guidelines of the ASA Code of Ethics are followed, people can be studied without their knowledge or consent. Sometimes university Internal Review Boards view that question differently and prohibit social science faculty members from studying people without their written consent. In those cases, much of what has been the heart of qualitative sociological research becomes limited if not thwarted altogether. Certainly, any research into the underworld of deviance, crime, and other socially taboo subjects would be impossible. Qualitative field researchers have several options in dealing with the conundrum of disclosure. One, is to conduct the research with full disclosure, informing their research participants that they are being studied and explaining to them the purpose and objectives of the research. For example, in the research on the Old Order Amish in Oklahoma and Kansas, I fully disclosed the nature of the research project, how and why I chose their particular community for study, and openly solicited their help in data collection and analysis. Another option is partial disclosure, where the researcher informs people that they are being studied but does not fully disclose the nature or purpose of the research. The research on morticians and funeral directors covered in this book is an example where the participants were openly asked if they would submit to being interviewed about their work, but were not fully informed as to the purpose or objectives of the research. In the case of the research on the beef packing plant assembly line when coworkers discovered I was a professor at the local university and repeatedly asked if I was conducting some type of research on them, I reluctantly acknowledged that I was indeed keeping field notes and hoped to publish the findings in a professional journal, but assured them that the name of the plant, their names, and any other potential identifying information would be kept confidential. The final option for a qualitative field worker is nondisclosure, where they conduct their research secretly without informing anybody that they are being studied. The research on Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny at the shopping mall are examples of full participant observation with nondisclosure. One of our undergraduate students had signed up to play those two characters as a seasonal part-time job. We discussed the possibility of one of the authors substituting for him on several occasions for research purposes and he could keep the pay. He responded that not only would the company he worked for that contracted with the mall to provide these characters not care if I substituted for him, but it was his responsibility to find a

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replacement if for any reason he could not meet the commitment for one or more of his shifts. Virtually everybody looks the same dressed as Santa Claus, and the person inside the Easter Bunny costume is completely indistinguishable. This allowed one of the authors to play the characters on several occasions while a colleague and team researcher observed from a distance posing as a shopper at the mall watching people interact with Santa and the Easter Bunny.

Unobtrusive Measures: Taking Field Notes Depending on the research setting and circumstances, taking field notes can be easy, somewhat difficult, very difficult, or nearly impossible. In research, an unobtrusive measure is a method of making and recording observations without intruding into the lives of those being observed. In the 1960s, qualitative researchers were warned that tape recorders, cameras, and other tools of the trade could alter behaviors and social interaction and distort research findings and analyses (Webb et al., 1966). With today’s technology, every researcher carries a small computer, camera, and recording device on their person in the form of a mobile phone. Computer software programs will even transcribe interviews, eliminating the long and tedious process involved in that procedure, coding, and categorizing qualitative data. This makes recording and documenting observations and interviews much easier than the days when such documentation required much larger and more intrusive devices. Still, even openly displaying a phone or any other technology can alter people’s behaviors and sometimes researchers must rely on listening carefully and later jotting down as detailed notes as possible from memory. This is when team research can be very helpful, as two memories are better than one, although each individual may recall conversations and events a bit differently. If the research is being conducted with full disclosure, it is much easier to record conversations and interviews and take photos to accompany them. Even then, however, extenuating circumstances can interfere with the process. When we interviewed topless dancers, we initially used small tape recorders to record the conversations. When playing them back however, we discovered that the blaring music in the background drowned out much of the interviews, making them very difficult to transcribe. Consequently, we found it easier to sit at a table with the dancers and jot down notes on 3 × 5 note cards as we interviewed them. After several sessions, our research team became trusted enough by the owners, club managers, and dancers that we were allowed to enter the clubs before they opened and interview the dancers when the club was quiet. This provided several advantages in that we could record all the interviews, and since the dancers were not working at the time, sitting and talking to us was not costing them money. Consequently, they were more willing to spend more time with us since we were not keeping them away from other customers who would be buying them drinks, soliciting lap dances, and tipping them.

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Note-taking was impossible while playing Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, but since one or more team members were observing from a distance, they could openly take notes and photographs of the social interaction. Those notes and photos combined with memories of detailed conversations that may have been out of earshot of the note taker made data collection more thorough and accurate. Among the studies cited in later chapters of this book, the most difficult note-taking experience occurred during the beef packing plant research. The plant was open and operated 16 hours per day Monday through Friday, with an eight-hour cleanup shift every night. In some special cases, the plant opened for one or more shifts on Saturday and even Sunday. During my ten-week stint during the summer, I worked eight-hour shifts that rotated every two weeks. During each shift there was a ten-minute break at the two-hour mark, a 30-minute lunch break in the middle of the shift and another ten-minute break at the six-hour mark. Each worker was required to clean their station before they could leave for break, so in reality, most days I had two 5-minute breaks and a 20-minute lunch. Although I could observe other workers during an entire shift, because of the speed of the assembly line and the noise in the plant, those three breaks were the only opportunities to talk to other workers and conduct interviews. Those also were the only times to use the restroom, intake water, and eat, so interviews necessarily were short and sometimes abruptly ended, to be continued at other times. I had to wait until I went home to sit down, reconstruct the day’s observations and interviews, and write them down in a journal. Whatever the research, it is important for all field notes to be well organized, written in a standardized format, and kept in a safe place where only the researcher and others working directly on the project have access. It helps while taking notes in the field to develop some type of shorthand method if recording devices are not used. In order to assure anonymity and confidentiality of research participants and research settings, it is best to assign pseudonyms or eliminate names altogether, and to keep all notes in password-protected or even encrypted files if possible.

Analyzing Data and Reporting Findings In quantitative studies, once data collection has taken place, the hard part is over. Sophisticated statistical packages and software can collate, categorize, and perform a myriad of mathematical calculations on thousands of subjects in nanoseconds. Quantitative studies often take nominal level data (categories or labels) and ordinal data (categories that can be placed on a scale or in order) and mathematically treat them as if they are interval level data (having differences with no true zero) or ratio level data (having differences with a true zero). Even though those statistical operations often violate their own assumptions, the numbers and statistics generated can be readily analyzed and interpreted mathematically.

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Collecting qualitative data is very time-consuming and difficult; analyzing and interpreting them are even more so. Because qualitative data collection is a developmental process, initial interview schedules and questions must be continually rethought and revised. Since there are few closed-ended questions, there are not many answers that can be easily categorized as binary (yes or no) or placed on any type of Likert-type numerical scale (always, often, sometimes, never). Because the researcher is observing and interacting with people, even some of the seemingly simple yes or no answers must be weighed subjectively and interpreted differently than if they had been marked on a survey instrument. During the motorcyclist research, for example, we asked riders if they always wore a helmet. On numerous occasions, the respondent would say “yes,” when only minutes earlier we had witnessed them riding without one. Sitting in a bar interviewing a couple of bikers who had just consumed four or five beers each, we asked if they ever drink and ride. Both responded negatively, with one asserting, “Hell no, riding is dangerous enough without doing it while you’re drunk.” After a couple of more beers each, we watched them leave the bar, mount their motorcycles, and ride out of the parking lot. Consequently, the qualitative researcher must take all information with a grain of salt and trust that observed behaviors are more valid than verbal assertions. And, as with any social scientific research, it is important to look for patterns and trends rather than individual responses or actions. Also, because of the subjectivity required in certain aspects of data collection, analysis, and interpretation, it is critical that qualitative field researchers be aware of the ethical issues to be considered. Sometimes reporting the findings of qualitative studies can be challenging. Although there are professional journals that specialize in qualitative research, many of the most prestigious journals in the social sciences have become almost singularly interested in quantitative studies that feature sophisticated mathematical analyses. Even journals that primarily or exclusively feature qualitative research sometimes use peer reviewers who favor quantitative analysis and do not fully comprehend the nature of qualitative data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Statistical analyses often seem much more sophisticated and technical, even though much of the quantitative analysis is based on inaccurate responses or nominal level data having been transformed into ordinal or ratio level numbers in order to perform the statistical operations.

Ethical Considerations Although ethics had been discussed in relationship to social science research for decades, the American Sociological Association did not adopt its first official Code of Ethics until 1970. The code was revised in 1997, and expresses six major principles to guide all sociological research (ASA, 2021):

Designing and Conducting Qualitative Research 15

1 2 3 4 5 6

Professional competence—sociologists must maintain the highest level of education and training, realize their limitations, and undertake only research for which they are professionally qualified. Integrity—sociologists must be honest, fair, and respectful, instilling trust and confidence in their work. Professional and scientific responsibility—sociologists take responsibility for their work as well as that of their research colleagues as well as disassociate from and report any unethical conduct. Respect for people’s rights, dignity, and diversity—sociologists strive to avoid and eliminate any bias and will not tolerate any form of discrimination. Social responsibility—sociological research is conducted to advance scientific knowledge and promote public good. Human rights—sociological research is intended to promote human rights worldwide.

This code of ethics was designed to provide principles to be followed in all sociological research, but has been most tested and debated in regard to qualitative fieldwork. One of the most hotly debated qualitative sociological studies from an ethical standpoint was conducted by Laud Humphreys (1970) and published in his book Tearoom Trade. In this critically acclaimed controversial work that won the C. Wright Mills Award for Critical Sociology, Humphreys combined qualitative fieldwork in the form of participant observation and ethnographic interviewing with a quantitative survey that accumulated a wealth of demographic data about those he observed while studying covert homosexual activities in public restrooms. After learning about this previously unstudied form of deviant behavior, Humphreys assumed the role of voyeur in order to observe participants engaged in impersonal sex in public restrooms. The research topic alone generated much controversy, as it involved men engaged in behaviors that were illegal at the time. The methodology, although applauded for its creativity and combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, generated even more ethical concerns. First, the men engaged in these activities assumed Humphreys was one of them and was solely there to act as “Watchqueen” to warn them if anyone, especially the police, were approaching. Consequently, they did not know they were being observed for research purposes. Humphreys’ face and vehicle became familiar enough with twelve of these men he labeled as the “intensive dozen,” however, that he was able to disclose to them his research project and interview them at length. Complicating ethical matters further, Humphreys jotted down the license plate numbers of the participants’ vehicles, and with the help of a friend, was able to illegally acquire the men’s names, addresses, and other information included on vehicle registration forms. Finally, and perhaps most controversial, with permission of the director of a grant-funded health survey, Humphreys included the men

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in his study in that research sample. In disguise, Humphreys went to these men’s homes and interviewed them, collecting data including age, occupation, political practices, religious affiliation, and a host of other demographic and personal information as part of the health survey. These methods sparked even more ethical controversy as Humphreys was accused of violating the law by tracing the men’s license plates and gaining their identities, invading the men’s privacy, threatening their anonymity, endangering their marriages and perhaps their jobs, as well as violating the terms of a research grant by contaminating its research sample and misrepresenting its purpose and objectives of that study. Some of these accusations, such as tracing the license plates and including the men in the health research study were indisputable, while the others were less clear-cut and could be rationalized, even justified, on the basis that there was no other way to gain such valuable sociological information through any other methods. Humphreys insisted that he had protected everyone’s privacy and anonymity by faithfully executing the role of “Watchqueen,” had kept all of his field notes under lock and key, and did not reveal the true identities of those involved to anyone else (Humphreys, 1970). Qualitative studies such as Humphreys and others have raised a number of ethical questions, including, but not limited to: 1 2 3 4

Do sociologists have the right to study people without their knowledge? Do sociologists have the right to intentionally deceive the people they are studying? Do sociologists have the right to violate the law in the course of conducting research? Do sociologists have the right to collect data under the guise of one type of study when they are actually collecting it for another?

Depending on who is asked and how the ASA Code of Ethics is interpreted, the answer to question one is probably “yes”; the answer to question two is “maybe”; and the answers to questions and three and four are “no”. All of these questions are peripheral to the essential ethical question of social scientific research: What does the scientist have the right to know and where does the scientist’s right to know end, and the privacy of the research participant begin?

Pulling Back the Curtain in Qualitative Field Research We have outlined and described the qualitative research process. The remainder of this book features real-life examples of qualitative field research conducted by the authors. We try to be as detailed as possible in outlining the research steps and procedures we followed in each study, from choosing a topic and gaining entry to the research setting through the processes of observing, interviewing, and taking field notes. We also discuss some of the

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ethical issues we faced, as well as sprinkling in a few of the more interesting findings and analyses of the studies. This type of book is not unique, as other social scientists have published similar manuscripts. What makes this book different, however, is we include the foibles, slip-ups, mistakes, and outright blunders we committed along the way. As sociologists, we are human, and humans are not perfect. We are proud of the research presented in this book and stand behind its scientific validity and sociological accuracy. We followed the tried and true guidelines of the scientific method and adhered to centuries-old processes for collecting, compiling, analyzing, and interpreting qualitative sociological data. We were faithful to the American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics. Research findings were submitted and accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Despite our coursework, training, and research experience, however, we made a few mistakes along the way. Occasionally, researchers include a list of delimitations of their studies, and include some things they would do differently if they were to replicate the study. Nevertheless, the scientific nature in which those revelations are presented gloss over the imperfections that they know threatened their research at times and caused them to question what they were doing and how they were doing it. It is reminiscent of guests complimenting the host at a banquet on how smoothly and perfectly everything is going when only moments before unseen chaos reigned behind the scenes, threatening to ruin the event. This is not to imply that the research studies that follow or qualitative field research in general is chaotic, but a reminder of the first wisdom of sociology that things are not what they seem (Berger, 1963:23). Consequently, in each chapter that describes a qualitative research project, we pull back the curtain to provide a view of what happens backstage by including a section we call “Quirks, Perks and Unanticipated Findings,” to acknowledge the serendipitous and often overlooked aspects of conducting qualitative field research. In some cases these are the most fun, interesting, and informative aspects of qualitative field research.

Questions for Discussion 1 2 3 4 5

What are some of the major advantages that qualitative field research may provide over quantitative studies of human social behavior? What specific challenges can gaining entry to a research setting present? What are some ways to overcome these challenges? Why is it important to use unobtrusive measures in qualitative sociological field research? What are some of the advantages team research have over going it alone? What are some of the most important ethical issues all social science researchers must address? What are some of the unique ethical issues faced by qualitative field researchers?

2

Striving for Objective and Unbiased Qualitative Research

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-2

Objective and Unbiased Qualitative Research 19

Scientists maintain that objectivity, or lack of bias, is the cornerstone of scientific research. One of the criticisms sometimes leveled at qualitative social science research, especially by natural scientists as well as social scientists who favor quantitative research methods, is that it is subjective, and therefore reflects the biases of the researcher. As one social scientist noted, however, … social sciences focus on human subjects rather than the objects, symbols, or abstractions typically investigated in the natural sciences. The subjective plays an important role in the social sciences and is often ultimately what the researcher seeks to uncover and understand—how the social world is experienced, understood, and produced. (MacKellar, 2022) The reality is that all research whether in the natural sciences, social sciences, quantitative or qualitative, contains some inherent biases and is subjective to some extent. The choice of research topic, for example, is necessarily subjective in nature or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions. Virtually any and every social action of human beings is a potential topic for social scientific research. Those that a social scientist chooses to investigate reflect what they are most interested in studying. Our interests are often created from our personal experiences or at the very least topics and groups that appeal to us on a personal level. Rarely, if ever, will you come across a social scientist who studies topics they have no tie to on some level. Choice of research design is also subjective in that there are at least a dozen different ways any research project can be constructed and carried out, but designs must necessarily be limited to one or two in order to be efficient and effective. The most common step in the research process where biases can be critical in shaping the outcome is during data analysis and interpretation. Just as when several different people witness an event such as an automobile accident, although they all saw exactly the same thing happen, there may well be several different variations of what occurred when the scene is reported. As with the topics we are studying in the social sciences, variables such as the age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, and political leanings of the researcher may have a significant influence on what, how, and why the study is chosen, designed, and reported. Since it is nearly impossible to eliminate all bias and subjectivity from the research process, it is extremely important to acknowledge their existence. Biases include preconceived notions, prejudices (prejudgments), unfairness, favoritism, and stereotypes—oversimplified ideas about a group or category of people. Everybody has them to some extent, and refusal to acknowledge that fact is as much a problem as having them in the first place. All researchers, whether in the natural sciences or social sciences need to be aware of their

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own personal biases, accurately identify and acknowledge them, and then work diligently to try to reduce their influence on the project as much as possible.

Choosing a Research Topic and Reviewing Literature How does a social science researcher decide what to study? Since virtually any and everything that people do in a social setting is a potential research topic, social scientists must narrow down what they want to study in a systematic and scientific way. In addition to required general theory and research methods courses, most graduate programs in the social sciences require students to declare areas of specialization on which to focus their studies. Logically, students tend to choose those specialty areas in which they are most interested. Students who are most interested in issues related to aging and the elderly might choose to specialize in gerontology, while those most interested in adolescents might focus on adolescent development or juvenile delinquency. Others may be more interested in gender studies, marriage, and family, or other specialty areas. This means they take a series of courses that focus on that particular specialty and at the end of their master’s and doctoral programs they must pass comprehensive examinations in those specialty areas as well as write and defend a master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation on a related topic. It is not uncommon for a successful master’s thesis to be expanded later into a doctoral dissertation, and after graduation, at least one or two articles from the dissertation be published in professional journals. Sometimes, entire professional careers focus on that one particular area of specialization, with the social scientist teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in that area and conducting years or decades of research on that particular topic, thus becoming an academic expert on the area of specialization. Reviewing existing literature seems inherently objective, especially if the researcher exhausts all possible resources. In this day and age, however, with the exception of a few highly specialized topics, there often is more research and existing knowledge available than can possibly be reviewed, synthesized, and digested. Moreover, with the myriad of internet and social media sources available, researchers must be more careful than ever to screen existing literature for (accuracy of findings), reliability (consistency of findings), and reputable sourcing. Social scientists need not only to be aware of all the legitimate research done in their own particular discipline, but also to be cognizant of research conducted in related areas. Anthropologists, economists, political scientists, and sociologists often study the same basic social phenomena from different, but similar and often overlapping perspectives. Since each researcher is likely to be most familiar with and somewhat biased toward their own discipline’s scholarly journals and websites, they may either inadvertently

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or even intentionally overlook some important research findings from other disciplines outside their own. Beyond the social sciences, important research from the natural sciences such as biology, physiology, genetics, or chemistry may also make a valuable contribution to the existing knowledge on a particular social science topic. Once the debate over nature versus nurture was resolved with the understanding that people and their behavior reflect a combination of both nature and nurture, scientists have become more aware of the importance of reviewing literature in all the sciences that might make a relevant contribution toward knowledge of the particular topic under study. Since the choice of research topic is directly related to a scholar’s special academic interests, they must be vigilant to guard against any preconceived ideas and other possible biases determining how they frame their research questions and objectives. This is sometimes more difficult than it sounds.

Framing Unbiased Research Questions Once a general research topic is chosen and a thorough unbiased review of existing knowledge on the subject has been reviewed, the next research step is to develop a researchable statement of problem or overarching research question. It is equally important to be aware of and attempt to overcome any biases in this part of the operation. Sometimes it is readily apparent that a proposed research question has biased wording, such as the time a student wanted to do her master’s thesis asking the question, “Why is abortion wrong?” That question is so loaded, that it needs little explanation as to why it is inappropriate as a research question. Other potential research questions can be much less obviously biased, however, and may seem like valid research questions on the surface. For example, listed below are several different proposed research questions that students have brought to us at one time or another. Do you discern any potential biases in any or all of them? If so, how could they be modified to reduce or eliminate the potential bias? • • • • •

Why do professors not allow students to use Wikipedia for research papers? Why has the patriarchal structure of the nuclear family remained intact despite the successes of the Women’s Movement? Why do minorities convicted of violent crimes receive harsher sentences than Whites who are convicted of the same crimes? Why do conservatives refuse to support reasonable gun control legislation? What factors contribute to higher suicide rates among males than females?

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All of these research questions have the potential to be viable research topics, but each of them (some more than others) includes some bias in the wording. For example, the first question assumes that all professors do not allow students to use Wikipedia as a source for research papers. Some do, and some do not. The two of us, for example, do allow students to use Wikipedia as a legitimate source for research papers with some limitations and qualifications. Over a decade ago the American Sociological Association struck a deal with the originators of Wikipedia that experts in sociology would monitor entries of sociological content for accuracy and immediately remove any erroneous and inaccurate information as soon as possible. Although that agreement significantly improved the accuracy of sociological content and lent some academic credibility to Wikipedia as a source of information, it is virtually impossible to ensure that bad information does not get posted and used from time to time. We allow students to use information from Wikipedia in their research as long as they do not rely upon it as the sole source of information, and as long as the information they glean from it is collaborated with other more traditionally accepted academic sources such as peer-reviewed journals. The question as stated also implies that professors should allow Wikipedia to be used as a source for research papers. If a student is genuinely concerned about why some professors do not allow the use of Wikipedia as a source for research papers, rewording the research question slightly, might make it a more objective research venture. For example: “Should Wikipedia be considered a viable source for college research papers?” might allow the student to pursue the same avenue of research without the built-in biased assumptions of the first version of the question. The reworded version does not guarantee that the research that follows will be totally objective, but it does avoid at least a couple of “built-in” biases that should be noted and avoided. Can you look at the remaining proposed questions and think of better ways they could be worded? Once an overall research question is established, research objectives need to be developed with the same attention to potential biases. Since objectives often dictate potential methods to be used, care must be taken to ensure that the goals and objectives of the research project will help ensure as much objectivity in the research process as possible. It might be argued that this part of the process in qualitative research is often more objective than the process of stating hypotheses to be tested in quantitative research projects. After all, hypotheses are statements about perceived outcomes of the research. Although all scientists may be committed to objectivity, it becomes a little more difficult to acknowledge research findings that contradict what the researcher anticipated. This can sometimes inadvertently lead to focusing on findings that support or confirm hypotheses while overlooking or downplaying those that challenge or conflict with them.

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Designing Unbiased and Unobtrusive Research Methods As noted in Chapter 1, team research is one of the ways to address potential bias in observations, analyses, and interpretation of data. There is an old adage that proclaims “two heads are better than one,” and there is, or at least can be, a certain amount of truth in that statement. Two researchers can simultaneously observe social interaction and/or interview research participants and then compare notes to discover and resolve any discrepancies in their findings. If two are better than one, then it may logically follow that three observers are better than two. In both quantitative and qualitative research projects, designs that incorporate triangulation, the use of multiple (usually three) techniques to gather and/or analyze data can help combat the effects of researcher bias. In Chapters 5 and 7 that follow, we found it effective to use a team of three researchers in order to triangulate observations and interviews, as well as to codify, analyze, and interpret findings. It is also important to remember the first wisdom of sociology—that things are not always what they seem (Berger, 1963). Having multiple researchers can help eliminate biases in research, but having too many involved can create problems of its own. As we mentioned earlier about eyewitness accounts to accidents, there is a possibility of getting so many varied interpretations, that no solid interpretation is made. This is why it can sometimes be more beneficial to recreate studies over the course of several years than to add multiple researchers to one specific study. Combining quantitative with qualitative measures can help reduce bias in research, but it is erroneous to assume that quantitative data are necessarily more objective than qualitative assessments. Although assigning numbers and using mathematics as well as statistics appear to be totally objective, they are more proof that things are not what they seem. Much of the quantitative data used in the social sciences are derived from questionnaires that use Likert scales for measurement. A Likert scale is a rating scale used to assess opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. It is used to convert nominal data, which are simply labels and categories, into ordinal and interval level data, so that they can be manipulated mathematically. For example, if you have ever been in a hospital emergency room, you know that one of the things you are asked to do is to assign a number to your level of pain, usually on a scale from 1 (no pain at all) to 10 (excruciating pain that is intolerable). After treatment, you are again asked to rate your pain, and the expectation will be that the number is lower than it was before. These numbers can then be charted, graphed, added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided, depending on how the person who collected them wants to use them. This method has proven fairly effective in evaluating treatments but is far from objective. For one thing, almost every individual has a different threshold for pain. What may rate as 9 or 10 for some people and send them to the emergency room, may be

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considered only 2 or 3 by somebody else who would not even stop what they are doing to address what caused the pain. Another problem is that the level of pain is assumed to directly correlate to the severity of the affliction. In other words, there is a cause-and-effect assumption based on the idea that the more serious the issue, the more severe the pain. Although there may be a certain amount of logic to that assumption, it is not always true. Have you ever experienced a paper cut? Although the pain can be excruciating, and it could potentially get infected, paper cuts are rarely serious. Conversely, when the body experiences a traumatic injury like the severing of a limb, a person often goes into shock and experiences little or no pain. In the case of using Likert scales and other mathematical and numerical measures for human attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors, there is a certain amount of subjectivity built into the measuring system. Most Likert scales pose questions with which respondents are asked to strongly agree, agree, have no opinion, disagree, or strongly disagree. In some cases, where emotions and feelings are particularly fierce on a topic, respondents may have no difficulty in deciding whether they simply agree or strongly disagree, and they are absolutely certain whether they agree or disagree with the statement. In other cases, however, respondents may read a statement with which they agree, but just arbitrarily decide in the moment whether they only agree or strongly agree with it. Some scales even add choices that include somewhat agree and somewhat disagree as possible responses to a statement. If you somewhat agree with a statement does that not automatically mean you also somewhat disagree with it? Nevertheless, once a number is assigned, the subtleties and ambiguities that separate the categories disappear, and mathematics reign supreme. A 5 is very different from a 4 mathematically, and the more of them you add together, the greater the difference becomes.

Using Technology to Avoid Bias Acknowledging that it is virtually impossible to eliminate all bias from research, the most subjective phases of qualitative research where bias can arise is during data transcribing, coding, analysis, and interpretation. If obtrusive measures such as phones or digital recorders have been used to record interviews verbatim, there is less danger of error or interpretation bias than if the researcher takes notes during or shortly after an interview. Technology can be a tremendous help and can make recording, transcribing, coding, and analysis faster and easier. This does not mean that no bias can enter the process, however, as transcribing interviews word for word is a tedious and laborious process. Computer software involving voice recognition and other technological strategies can help reduce interpretive bias, but much like the auto-correct feature on smartphones, voice recognition and computer software transcription programs are far from

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perfect and must be carefully monitored to avoid errors, confusion, and other potential problems. As all of us who have used technology know, when it is working well, it can be wonderful; when it is not working well, it can be a disaster. Codifying qualitative data has always been labor-intensive, and is one of the phases of the project where it is very difficult to ensure objectivity. In the past, the best insurance against researcher bias during coding was to have more than one coder (again, three is a desirable number). Today, there are several computer software programs that can help both in transcribing interviews and coding data. These programs are not magic, however, and still require a lot of time and energy devoted to screening for accuracy and objectivity at every step of the process. You will notice in reading the qualitative studies that follow in this book that very little technology was used in collecting, coding, or analyzing data. The reason is simple: with the exception of tape recorders, there was little or no technology that could have been used at the time most of these studies were performed. Yet, in the cases of replicating the weight room studies, and conducting the motorcycle research, there was technology available, but a conscious decision was made to not use it. As an old-timer who was educated and trained in qualitative research methods during the 1970s, emphasis was placed on listening attentively, taking copious field notes, coding data by hand, recruiting other trained researchers to help in the process, triangulating methods and data whenever possible, and remaining as objective as humanly possible throughout the entire process. There was a firm commitment to unobtrusive measures, interrupting the lives and daily activities of research participants as little as possible, and removing one’s personal feelings, beliefs, and biases from the research process while adhering as closely as possible to the ASA Code of Ethics. Although qualitative methods are subjective by design, social science researchers who use them and analyze the data collected with them can and should devise and utilize methods most likely to provide objective and unbiased findings. In today’s world, more important than creating and using technology to reduce bias, researchers and research methods need to reflect the diversity of the people being studied.

Significance of Feminist, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ Scholars One of the limitations of social science research has been due to the patriarchal history of all the sciences and their research methods. The Age of Enlightenment was monumentally progressive in shattering myths about nature and human behavior and replacing them with scientific facts and data, but it was still an era in which knowledge was carefully guarded and its pursuit limited to an elite few. Knowledge is power, and power is rarely equally distributed.

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It is important that researchers as well as research participants reflect the diversity of larger society and culture in regard to race, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, religion, and other social variables. The lack of diversity among research participants has serious ethical and research consequences. Paramount among these consequences is the inability to generalize study results. In the past, the vast majority of social scientific as well as other scientific studies were conducted by white males with white males as subjects. In addition to limiting the ability to generalize the findings to populations including women, indigenous groups, people of color, and other categories of marginalized people, it severely limited those populations from experiencing the benefits of research findings. Moreover, it influenced social, political, and economic policies that may have either intentionally or inadvertently helped promote systemic racism, sexism, and other forms of disenfranchisement. Women, people of color, and indigenous peoples face varying types of discrimination and prejudice from a wide variety of sources. Systemic racism continues to oppress, invalidate, and deeply affect their lives in ways others may not necessarily understand, or worse even acknowledge. Awareness of these inequities and issues in research is the first step in addressing them, but awareness alone, is not enough.

Gender Bias, Feminist Theory, and Research Historically, much of social science research has been a product of men researching men and generalizing to entire populations. Although there always have been important women involved in all the sciences, especially the social sciences, many of their contributions went overlooked or were attributed to men. For example, sociologist Harriet Martineau (1837) is often credited for having translated Auguste Comte’s works from French into English, but her independent contributions to the understanding of social life and cultural norms as well as social stratification in America have been largely ignored until recent years. Even now some professors continue to exclude her from the list of founders when discussing her male counterparts with students. The feminist perspective studies, analyzes, and explains social phenomena from a gender-focused viewpoint. For example, Dorothy Smith (1989) developed the perspective of Standpoint Theory which asserts that knowledge stems from social position and emphasizes the important influence of gender on virtually every aspect of human social interaction. Today, feminist scholars abound, and their influence on the social sciences affects choices for theoretical approaches, research questions, research designs, and especially analysis and interpretation of data. In the twenty-first century, contributions of LGBTQ+ scholars have provided valuable insights on a wide variety of topics including, but

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not limited to human sexuality, sexual orientation, sexual identity, and non-binary perspectives on human social interaction. LGBTQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, plus other non-traditional, non-binary sexual orientations and gender identities. These terms are fluid and may hold different meanings for different groups. Since landmark studies on human sexuality conducted in the 1940s, we have known that sexual identities as well as sexual orientations can better be plotted on a continuum rather than to be placed in binary categories (Kinsey et al., 1948, 1953). Nevertheless, patriarchy, homophobia, and other gender and sexual orientation biases can both subconsciously and consciously creep into social science research questions, designs, and analyses. Although it is extremely difficult to remove all sex and gender bias from social scientific research, every effort should be made to avoid sexism, the ideology that one sex is inherently superior or inferior to the other. Viewing sex as non-binary and more fluid helps reduce sexism, as does carefully avoiding any hint of sexist language, sexist methods, or sexist analysis and interpretation. Team research combining people of different sexes, gender identities, and sexual orientations may provide one of the better mechanisms for reducing or eliminating traditional patriarchal and sexist research strategies. Chapters on the Old Order Amish, topless dancers, motorcyclists, and kindergartners all benefitted greatly from women participating in the research and contributing a feminist perspective on data collection and analysis. The chapter on kindergartners, in particular, replicated a study conducted by a man in the 1970s, and by utilizing feminist theory, design, and analyses, provided a totally different and more insightful analysis of the role of kindergarten as an agent of socialization.

Racial/Ethnic Bias and People of Color in Social Science Research BIPOC refers to black, indigenous, and people of color, and acknowledges the importance of those scholars’ contributions to social science research and understanding. Sociologists in the tradition of W.E.B. DuBois who earned his doctorate from Harvard and pursued postgraduate studies in sociology, history, and economics at the University of Berlin, have made invaluable contributions to sociology and other social science disciplines. Dubois is considered the founder of African American sociology as well as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and demonstrated how Max Weber’s insistence on verstehen, or empathetic understanding of human behavior and those being studied, can best be achieved by scholars who share racial, ethnic, and other characteristics with those being studied.

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Cultural Bias, Indigenous Peoples, and Non-oppressive Methods It is particularly important when researching indigenous groups, people native to a specific region, to review research conducted by, or at least seek input from, a member of that group or somebody with expertise on that group’s cultural values, norms, and beliefs. Traditionally, research has reflected a certain amount of ethnocentrism, or the tendency to evaluate the customs of other groups according to one’s own cultural standards. For example, research on Inuits, Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, Pacific Islanders, and numerous African tribal cultures are but a few examples of how research conducted by White western Europeans and Americans overlooked or misconstrued many of the meanings of language and other important cultural symbols and traditions. One of the best ways to overcome ethnocentrism in research is to practice cultural relativism, evaluating other groups by their cultural standards, not ours. The chapter on the Old Order Amish in Oklahoma and Kansas could never have been completed without a thorough review of the research conducted by John Hostetler (1963, 1993, 2013) and numerous others intimately familiar with the Anabaptist movement and those groups who settled in Pennsylvania and the Ohio River valley. By learning about the history and cultural values associated with the Anabaptist movement, it is easier to understand the rejection of modernity and materialism reflected in Old Order Amish communities. Moreover, realizing that the Old Order Amish values are based on preserving the family, hard work, and subsistence style living, makes their selective use of technology in which they control it rather than letting it control them negates many of the preconceived notions that may have been suggested by popular television programs or movies that stereotyped their communities as old fashioned, stubborn, and repressive. In Chapter 1 we pointed out the value of using unobtrusive measures when conducting qualitative research. In addition to using methods that do not intrude into research participants’ daily lives, when conducting research with racial and ethnic minorities, and especially indigenous peoples, it is important to also use non-oppressive methods that acknowledge and avoid sexism, racism, and colonialism as well as other forms of bias that have contributed to structural, systemic, and personal discrimination and oppression of groups and individuals.

Age Bias in Research Ageism is the belief that people in certain age categories are inferior to people in other age categories. Everybody experiences ageism at one time or another in life. Early on we are deemed too young to do certain things such as cross the street, be left alone and unsupervised, and make our own decisions about our daily lives. Later, we get to do those things but are too young to drive a

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car, purchase or consume alcohol, or vote. Eventually, we can do those things, and for a period of time we experience very little discrimination based on our age. Later in life, however, we once again experience ageism in that employment opportunities in general are limited and certain jobs have mandatory retirement ages; as some Departments of Motor Vehicles have different requirements for driver’s licenses for people over a certain age, and at a certain point adult children or medical specialists may determine that we can no longer drive a car, make our own financial decisions, or live alone unsupervised. One area that has drawn very little attention in regard to ageism, however, is social science research. When we are mentioning ageism in social science research, we are not merely referring to how research is conducted on aged individuals and elderly populations, although gerontological and geriatric research are sometimes guilty of unnecessarily intruding into the lives of older people for research purposes, and perhaps even putting them at some type of physical or psychological risk that they would not do with a younger population. There are numerous scholarly articles and entire books on that subject and we will defer to them. Instead, we want to draw attention to the possibility that social science researchers may unknowingly overlook age biases in designing, conducting, and analyzing the findings of their research projects. When studying the Old Order Amish in Oklahoma (see Chapter 3), it was a coincidence that the first member of the community I met was approximately the same age as me. Yet, because we were so close in age, we discovered that despite our cultural differences, we almost immediately developed a friendly rapport and realized that we had a great deal in common. As a result, he soon became a trusted and valuable liaison by introducing me to other members of the community. I did not take notice initially, but it became apparent as time went by that his closest friends and my other most cooperating interviewees in the community were also around the same age as us. As noted in the findings, older Amish men were more reluctant to open up to me, and some refused to speak English around me, preferring to communicate with each other in their Swiss/German dialect, or what is sometimes referred to as “low Deutch.” I interpreted this phenomenon as being attributed to a correlation between age and conservatism in the Amish community, assuming that older Amish men were reluctant to interact with a nonAmish researcher. Although that interpretation may indeed be accurate, upon reflection, it may just as logically be that if I had been an older researcher in my sixties or seventies, the Amish men of that age group may have been much more willing to talk to me, and the young informant I got along so well with may have been more reluctant to interact with me. Likewise, my wife became good friends with my informant’s wife and she introduced my wife to many of the Amish women of relatively the same age. Older women, like their male counterparts, while

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friendly, were more reluctant to open up to my wife when she interviewed them. When we moved to Kansas and gained entry to that Amish community, it was through the parents of my male Oklahoma informant that we met other members of that settlement. Not surprising, they introduced us mostly to Amish couples relatively their same age, some thirty to forty years older than us. We were accepted by almost all with whom we interacted, but found that we received more cooperation and got more useful research information from the members of the community closer to the same age as us (their children, nieces, and nephews), than we did from them. In other words, age was clearly an important variable in establishing more open lines of communication in the interviewing process. Age also was both a help and a hindrance when interviewing workers at the beef slaughter plant (Chapter 4), morticians and funeral directors (Chapter 6), topless dancers (Chapter 7), and people in the workout groups (Chapter 11). Our ages were much less relevant in portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus (Chapter 5) as we were wearing costumes that hid our ages. Interestingly, age seemed much less important when interviewing motorcyclists (Chapter 8) as riding seemed to be the “great equalizer” that bonded us with other motorcyclists, regardless of age. Rather, sex and gender were much more important, as I found it much easier to get valuable information from male riders while my wife and daughter found it easier to interview female riders. The point is, no social scientist is consciously ageist and intentionally biased their research techniques, findings, and analyses, but may be unaware of the important role their age as well as the age of their research participants may have on the entire research process. As with all the other potential biases mentioned, it may be impossible to totally eliminate the mediating effects of age on the research process, by being aware of the potential age bias and working consciously to avoid and overcome it is important to increasing objectivity.

Ethical Considerations As one researcher noted: Research whether quantitative or qualitative, experimental or naturalistic, is a human activity subject to the same kinds of failings as other human activities. Researchers are fallible. They make mistakes and get things wrong. (Norris, 1997:173) It is not unethical to make a mistake. Ethics require, however, to acknowledge any and all errors, to make every effort to remedy them, and to avoid future inaccuracies.

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Although subjectivity in qualitative research is not necessarily a bad thing, the social scientist must consider the ethical issues that arise from potential bias in research. It may be impossible to eliminate all bias from social science research, but there are some positive steps that researchers can take to minimize bias and adhere to the ethic of objectivity in their projects. We have discussed most of these to this point, but to summarize: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Carefully word research questions and objectives to avoid potential bias. Use team research when possible. Triangulate data using multiple research techniques, including the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods if appropriate. Use multiple people and multiple programs to code qualitative data. Check data and findings against previous research findings and multiple reputable sources. When possible, have research participants review your findings, analyses, and interpretation. Submit findings, analyses, and interpretations for peer review.

Researchers, academic disciplines, and research funding sources must take positive steps to ensure that feminist, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), as well as LGBTQ+ scholars as well as research participants are adequately represented. Moreover, the use of unobtrusive non-oppressive qualitative research methods is essential to recognize and protect diverse cultural attitudes, values, beliefs, and cultures while conducting research Resolving the epistemological debate as to whether it is possible to be truly objective in social science research is far beyond the scope of this chapter and this book. Sociologist and political scientist Max Weber wrote exhaustively on this subject and scholars have been analyzing, interpreting, misinterpreting, and reinterpreting his stance on this subject ever since (Lassman and Speirs, 2002). Essentially Weber maintained a two-tiered approach in regard to facts and values. Facts, he noted are objective statements that can be proven to be true. They can be studied, analyzed, and evaluated objectively. Values are inherently subjective ideas about what is socially desirable. Therefore they cannot be evaluated objectively. Although he maintained that there was no such thing as value-free analysis, he insisted that once a scientist identifies their values and takes them into consideration, they can conduct value-free investigation and analysis. Identifying a social issue, and labeling it as a social problem is very much a value-laden process. Thus, even though Weber maintained that values could not be evaluated objectively, he did maintain that social problems could be objectively scientifically studied and resolved as long as there was acknowledgment of the values involved in identifying the problem in the first place (Hoenish, 1996–2020).

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Questions for Discussion 1 2 3 4 5

Why is it important for social scientists to strive for objectivity in qualitative research? What steps can be taken to develop unbiased research questions and objectives? How have sex, gender, and sexual orientation biases affected social science research? What steps can be taken to reduce and eliminate these biases from future research? Why is it important to include feminist, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ scholars in all phases of social science research? How can age bias in social science research be addressed and reduced?

3

Visiting Old Order Amish in Oklahoma and Kansas: Case Studies 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-3

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In the spring of 1979, I officially began my career as a sociologist when hired as a Visiting Instructor of Sociology at the University of Tulsa. One morning, an article in the Tulsa Daily World newspaper caught my eye and stimulated my sociological imagination, or quality of mind that links biography to history and places individuals within the context of larger society. Energy demands in northeastern Oklahoma had prompted a major utility corporation to purchase land approximately thirty miles east of Tulsa on which they planned to build a large nuclear power plant. These plans had been met with enthusiasm for providing new jobs as well as lower-cost electricity, until just a few weeks earlier when a near meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility near Hershey, Pennsylvania threatened to destroy millions of lives and render thousands of acres of land inhospitable for occupation by humans or animals. Additionally, the article indicated that the state of Oklahoma had announced plans to widen U.S. Highway 33 to four lanes as it traveled past the proposed plant site and served as the main east/west thoroughfare between Tulsa and the Arkansas border. Highway 33 had a notorious reputation for being one of the most dangerous roads in the state as it was only two lanes wide with very narrow or no shoulders and it was filled with dangerous curves and hills that limited visibility to oncoming traffic. The highway also intersected with a large number of smaller blacktop and gravel county roads that crisscrossed that part of the state. Further compromising safety on the road was the fact that a Mennonite community, as well as an Old Order Amish community resided on both sides of the highway near the proposed site of the nuclear power plant. Although the Mennonites drove cars, they tended to be older models that traveled much slower than the posted highway speeds, and the Old Order Amish traveled by horse and buggy, often crossing the highway at various locations or driving along the narrow shoulder of the road. Numerous highway signs warned of slow-moving vehicles and depicted horse-drawn buggies, but every year several accidents occurred in the area when a car traveling at highway speed would top a hill or round a curve only to be confronted by a slow-moving vehicle or a horse and buggy crossing the road or partially blocking a lane. The article indicated that the Old Order Amish community was facing a major dilemma in that the proposed new four-lane highway would divide it almost perfectly in half and new laws would forbid horse and buggy traffic from driving alongside the highway or crossing over it at any point. My sociological mind recognized not one, but at least two paradoxical social issues posed by the proposed projects for that area. The Old Order Amish who choose not to use modern technology and appliances and thus do not use electricity in their community would soon be living in the shadows of a major nuclear power plant that posed a threat not only to their way of life but to their very existence. This conundrum would be coupled with the fact that the proposed four-lane highway would divide a community that does not use automobiles literally in half, separating families

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and friends who lived on either side. Within a matter of months to a few years, a centuries-old ethnic group that personified Tonnies’ gemeinschaft small community with traditional core values that emphasized family, community gatherings, group worship, and social solidarity would be torn apart and face possible extinction, in order to better serve the nearby gesellschaft, a large community comprised of diverse groups with competing values and norms of Tulsa and its surrounding metroplex area.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives My coursework, comprehensive exams, and dissertation behind me, I realized that a sociological research project had been figuratively dropped in my lap. I grew up in Oklahoma and spent a lot of my youth trying to dig holes, plant things, and build fences in the inhospitable mixture of rocks and clay that dominated the soil. Consequently, I was intrigued and wondered, Why would a group whose sustenance relied on farming with horse-drawn implements move to a place where farmers with high-powered tractors and other high-tech farming equipment find it difficult to till the soil, plant, raise, and harvest crops? Second, How do they survive and make a living in such a hostile physical and social environment? These became the general overarching research questions that guided my study. More specific research objectives included: 1

2 3 4 5

Documenting and understanding the history of the Oklahoma Old Order Amish community by determining when, how, and why they migrated from the northeastern part of the United States to their current location. Comparing and contrasting the values, norms, and lifestyle of the Oklahoma Old Order Amish community to their Amish counterparts in other parts of the United States. Determining what type of relationship members of the Older Amish subculture have with their non-Amish neighbors in Oklahoma. Exploring what will be the impact of living in the shadow of a nuclear power plant on people who do not even use electricity. Asking how the Old Order Amish will adapt to having a four-lane highway divide their close-knit community in half when they do not drive cars and cannot legally or safely move from one side of the community to the other.

I spent a few days in the university library reviewing the literature by devouring everything I could find related to the Old Order Amish. Their history was well documented. Menno Simons, who was ordained as a Catholic priest in the early 1500s, broke from the Catholic Church as part of the Anabaptist movement. He believed the church had become too worldly and was no longer focused on traditional spirituality, becoming involved in the materialistic aspects of the world sacrificing traditional

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values for materialism, modernity, and technology. His followers became known as Mennonites. As often is the case within religious subcultures, before long an Anabaptist minister by the name of Jakob Ammann believed the Mennonites were going down the same path the church had taken and broke from the group to form a more conservative religious sect committed to traditional Christian values as well as the rejection of technology and modernity. His followers were referred to as Amish. Almost all the research on the Amish in the United States focused on the areas of Pennsylvania and along the fertile Ohio River valley where settlements developed in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. John Hostetler’s (1993, 2013) research and writings on the Old Order Amish provided some of the most widely recognized and practical data for understanding Amish religion, culture, society, and lifestyle. Hostetler had been born in an Amish community in Pennsylvania and from the age of eleven on raised in an Amish community in Iowa. His works documented Amish migration from Europe to North America, as well as provided indigenous scholarly information about their cultural lifestyle in the northeastern part of the United States. Existing literature provided virtually no information about the Amish moving to or living in Oklahoma.

Gaining Entry to the Oklahoma Amish Community Familiar with the general area where the Old Order Amish community was located I drove to the nearest small town in that vicinity and went to the local grain and feed store figuring that would be the most logical place that Amish farmers would trade if they came to town. I approached the man behind the counter and briefly explained that I was interested in meeting and talking to members of the nearby Old Order Amish community and asked if they frequented his business. He pointed to a young man standing at the back of the store with his back to us and said, “There’s one right there.” I had not noticed the man when I entered the store, but as I approached him I recognized the quintessential small-brimmed black hat, accompanied by a pale blue collarless shirt, a pair of plain black trousers held up by suspenders, and a pair of plain black boots. I cleared my throat to signal my approach, and the man turned toward me revealing, the typical Amish beard with no moustache. I was surprised at the openness and friendliness of the young Amish man upon our meeting, and within only a few minutes of introductions and conversation I learned that he and I were roughly the same age, both were married, both had a son approximately three years old (my only child, his one of three), and that he owned and operated a small farm in the Amish community just a few miles from where we were standing. I briefly explained to him that I was completing my doctorate in sociology, was on the faculty at the University of Tulsa, and had read the newspaper article about the proposed nuclear power plant construction and highway project.

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The Amish man acknowledged that his community had concerns about the proposed nuclear plant and highway changes. After assuring him that I was not affiliated with any newspapers, magazines, or television stations and that any information I obtained or wrote about the community would be done with strict regard to protecting the community and all its members and would only be published in academic journals, he invited me to follow him home where he would introduce me to his wife and family. After he made a few purchases, I followed the Amish man to his horse and buggy that had been parked out of sight behind the building and told him I would follow him in my car to his farm. The three- or four-mile journey took the better part of an hour as we followed the paved highway only about a half mile and then traversed the remaining distance on narrow gravel roads. Along the way I noticed typical small Oklahoma farms, and then began to notice some subtle differences as electrical utility and telephone poles and lines disappeared. Simultaneously, the farms’ appearance became more uniform, orderly, and better kempt. Fence posts were straight and wires were drawn taut. Farmhouses were painted white, plain and simple, but unusually tidy and well maintained by rural Oklahoma standards. Barns were larger than the homes and their surrounding corrals, feedlots, silos, and farming implements resembled a Norman Rockwall painting more than real life. A few antique tractors with large steel wheels could be seen, but noticeably absent were the huge tractors with pneumatic tires, combines, and other farming equipment typically seen in the surrounding area. I almost felt like a time traveler turning back the calendar approximately a full century. When we finally pulled off the road into a gravel drive, a young woman dressed in traditional Amish clothing emerged from the house holding a baby with two other children at her side. The children were dressed as miniature replicas of their parents. The woman stood on the large front porch, waved to her husband in the buggy, and stared with a bewildered look at the pale blue Volkswagen Beetle trailing behind the horse and buggy. She no doubt had heard the small engine and knew that this was not going to be a typical day on the farm in Amish land. I had just gained entry to my research setting. Moreover, serendipitously, I had stumbled upon a very reliable informant who would be a valuable asset in gaining entry to the community as well as helping to collect and interpret research data. One of the most challenging aspects of researching the Old Order Amish had been accomplished mostly by being in the right place at the right time. Limited Participation and Ethnographic Interviewing with Full Disclosure

When conducting qualitative ethnographic research on a subculture, the researcher must make several decisions about what specific methods to employ. I knew that it would be impossible to infiltrate an Old Order

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Amish community and go unnoticed while trying to interview its members, observe their behavior, and collect meaningful data. Instead, I decided to conduct ethnographic interviews with full disclosure and perhaps limited participant observation, if possible. I would attempt to locate a suitable informant (which luckily happened) who could help me gain entry to the community and access to as many of its members as possible. Little did I know at the time, but the man I met in the feed store was precisely the person I had hoped to find. In addition to becoming a model research informant, over time he became a close friend—something that proved personally gratifying but later led to ethical issues with the research as I lost my objectivity in studying him, his family, and his community. Over the next year, I visited the Amish community almost every weekend, often taking my wife and son with me. They stayed with my informant’s wife and children while I accompanied him to his barn or fields to watch and help him perform his numerous chores. I quickly learned the meaning of the old adage that farmers work from sunup to dark-thirty. After a few visits, my informant began taking me around the community as he introduced me to other Amish men, most of whom were directly or indirectly related to him. My wife, although not sociologically trained, was a good listener and became a valuable research assistant throughout this venture as she sat for hours with the women in this gender-segregated community and collected data and information that otherwise could not have been obtained. Thus, we conducted team research as much as possible. We chose to use unobtrusive measures foregoing tape recorders or other devices and instead taking copious field notes as well as discussing and comparing our observations and findings after each visit. The local library and county courthouse provided documents that helped me sketch out a rough history of the Amish community and corroborated much of the information I gathered from the community members themselves. In a few cases, dates and notable events did not match perfectly, but for the most part, I discovered that most of the men, especially the older ones, were well versed in the community’s history and development. Virtually all the men told me the community had been founded around the turn of the century (nineteenth to twentieth), and courthouse records indicated the exact year to be 1910. The early migrants had come primarily from Ohio when their community there outgrew the available land. The Old Order Amish tend to have large families and each male child is traditionally given a piece of land to start his own farm when he marries and joins the church. Young married couples whose families had run out of land to bequeath ventured out, some settling in Missouri and Kansas, while the more adventurous made their way to former Indian Territory that had become the state of Oklahoma in 1907. Although most of the northeastern part of the newly formed state was occupied by Cherokee, Creek, and Osage tribes, there were no formally identified reservations or large cities and towns in that part of Oklahoma, so land was readily available

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to those brave enough to stake a claim and try to inhabit it. The Cherokee capital was located in Tahlequah, the Creek in Okmulgee, and the Osage in Pawhuska. If you connected the dots of that triangle on a map, the unclaimed area near the center would come very close to pinpointing the location of the Amish settlement.

Findings On a few occasions, I spent Friday night at my informant’s home and awakened a little before sunrise to accompany him the next morning into the fields where I attempted to help him till the land, sow seeds, spread fertilizer, or perform other chores. I discovered that because of the hostile soil, the Amish in that community had voted to introduce tractors into their farming methods. Rather than high-tech modern tractors, however, they chose to use ancient versions from the early to middle 1900s equipped with steel tires and minimal accouterments. Some, they even hitched behind horse teams that dragged them through the fields, but most operated under their own underdeveloped power. When asked why they chose such primitive equipment as opposed to something more modern that would make their jobs much easier, my informant responded in what became a pattern to his answers to most of my questions throughout the study with two important aspects: one always had a religious connotation usually accompanied by a biblical quote; the other was always one of pragmatism, often explained with a simple utilitarian example. In this case, the first part of his response quoted two or three Bible verses that emphasized the value of hard work and toiling in the fields as he explained that the tractors were intended to make farming the land possible, not easy. The second part of his answer pointed out that steel tires worked well in the fields, but if one opted to take them into town for the sake of convenience, they were terribly uncomfortable and impractical for driving on the gravel roads. Similarly, to the question of why Amish men grow beards but shave their moustaches, he responded: “Jesus admonished his disciples that they should be clean shaven, yet the crucifixion scenes describe blood dripping from the crown of thorns down into the chin whiskers of Christ.” Thus, he contended one should shave the moustache and grow a beard. Then, he immediately followed up with, “Plus, when you eat or drink, food and liquid get caught in a moustache, but typically not in a beard.” He followed that with a question for me as to why I sported a moustache at the time, but no beard. I had neither a religious nor a practical answer and was embarrassed to admit it was simply a style choice dictated by popular culture. Over the next several months, my informant introduced me to the majority of adult men in the community. Younger males close to his and my age welcomed me and seemed almost eager to answer my questions as well as asked me several of their own. Older men in the community were less open and in a few cases were reluctant to speak to me at all, reverting

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to German or Pennsylvania Dutch to politely, but firmly, explain to my informant that they either were too busy to spend any time with the “English,” or felt they had nothing meaningful to contribute to my study. I was concerned that my presence might cause problems for my informant with the Bishop or church elders, but he assured me that was not the case. Over time, some of the older Amish men became friendlier and more open to my inquiries, but to this day I wonder if my informant suffered any informal consequences for inviting an English intruder into the Amish world. My wife and I attended several community picnics, took meals in people’s homes and attended a traditional Amish barn-raising on one occasion. As I interviewed men, my wife met with women at these gatherings and conducted informal interviews with them based on a set of questions she and I had established to be woven discreetly into conversations, if possible. Amish children were fascinated by us and often gathered around to stare, ask questions, and sometimes even touch these strangers who had entered their social circle. My son played with the Amish children and although he did not interview them, by observing their play, we learned a bit about Amish childhood. One instance stood out as my informant and I were talking our sons approached us with the Amish boy holding a small snapping turtle he had captured from one of the ponds on the farm. He teased the turtle by touching its snout with his finger and then jerking it back before the turtle could bite it. My son looked on in fascination. A couple of times during our conversation, my informant turned to his son and issued a warning in Pennsylvania Dutch. Suddenly, the boy screamed in pain and dropped the turtle as it reacted quicker than the boy anticipated, taking a bloody chunk of his index finger with him. My son gasped in horror as the Amish boy ran toward his house screaming for his mother. My informant turned to me and said, “Perhaps the turtle can teach my son something that I cannot.” Today, that might be considered a form of child endangerment or neglect, but at the time, I was convinced that the turtle had indeed taught both the Amish boy and my son a valuable lesson. Amish girls were particularly intrigued by my wife and often climbed on her lap, touched her painted fingernails, or marveled at her jewelry. Our blue Volkswagen Beetle became a familiar sight throughout the community and it created a great deal of curiosity among almost all community members, male and female, young and old. My informant sometimes asked to ride in the vehicle and remarked that because it was German-made, he thought the community was a little more receptive to it than they would be to another make of automobile. I wondered if that would be true if it were an expensive Mercedes Benz or BMW as opposed to a humble Volkswagen. On one occasion, he asked if we could take it into an open field and let him drive it. We did so, and I was surprised at how quickly he learned to operate the clutch and gearshift. He did such a good job that I encouraged him to take it out on the gravel road and get a real feel for

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driving, but he declined, indicating it would not appear “proper” if he were seen by others driving the vehicle. At every opportunity, I asked how people in the community felt about the proposed widening of the highway that ran through their community and the construction of a nuclear power plant in their backyard. In every case, the response was the same. Although disappointed about the projects, and concerned about how the highway would divide their community into two separate entities, each person contended that they understood the need for such modern developments, and despite the fact that they did not use electricity or drive cars, they did not have the right to deprive the rest of society from doing so. A significant segment of Tulsa residents, including faculty members at the university, wrote editorials to the local newspaper, appeared on local television broadcasts, and held rallies protesting the construction of the nuclear power plant. When the Three Mile Island disaster occurred, a large group of protesters decided to camp out overnight at the proposed construction site and display signs, sing songs, and otherwise attract media attention to their cause. Local media advertised the protest and police indicated they would be present to discourage violence and arrest for trespassing anybody who crossed the fence onto the property of the proposed site where some preliminary work with heavy machinery was already in progress. Protesters were told that trespassers would be temporarily taken into custody, and then issued a citation that would result in a $200 fine. As with any controversy, counter protesters announced that they too would attend the event to support the construction of the plant. The faculty members in my department committed to attending the protest, and my wife and I agreed not only to accompany the group but to provide a large tent in which several of us could spend the night. The week before the planned protest, I told my informant about our plans and encouraged him to spread word throughout his community, encouraging as many Amish people as possible to join in the event. I could envision the powerful impact of people in dozens of horse-drawn buggies who do not use electricity showing up to protest the construction of a major highway and nuclear power plant in their community. My vision was shattered, however, when my informant responded that members of the community would never do that. First and foremost, he indicated that the Amish had lived in that community for almost a century, going almost totally unnoticed by the people of Tulsa and anyone other than those that lived in the immediate area. They would not do anything that would draw attention to themselves, their community, or their lifestyle. Second, he reiterated the common refrain that although they neither drove cars nor used electricity; they had no interest in depriving others of those perceived necessities in their lives. Case closed. Eventually, although the highway project moved forward, backlash from the Three Mile Island event as well as growing resistance from prominent local and state politicians halted the

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construction of the nuclear power plant. The highway construction progressed as planned, but some concessions were made to allow horses and buggies as well as other slow-moving farm equipment to cross the road at designated intersections. I always took a camera on our trips to the Amish community and often stopped along vacant roads to snap photographs of homes, barns, and other things in the community, careful not to take pictures of any people. I was intrigued by the presence of a pay telephone booth alongside a gravel road nowhere near any of the farmhouses. When I asked about it, I did not receive a biblical quote, but was reminded that communication with family was paramount and that although their preferred method of communication was written letters, on occasion, such as the death of a loved one, or in case of an emergency, there was a need to contact a family member in another community or state more quickly. In those situations, they could go to the phone booth and make a call when necessary. When asked, why they did not simply put a phone in their home, they immediately responded, “That would make the telephone convenient, and there would be temptation to use it when not absolutely necessary.” They also pointed out the importance of control over the technology. If a phone is located alongside the road, a person must make an intentional and inconvenient effort to use it. Thus, they control when and how the device is used. They can answer a prearranged phone call from someone, such as once or twice when I wrote to my informant and told him I would like to call him at a certain time on a certain day, or once when he wrote me to call him in the same fashion. If they bring a phone into the home, however, in addition to temptation to use it when not necessary, anybody can call the number at any time, disrupting interaction with friends and family. Having been the victim of numerous unsolicited calls in my home, I acknowledged that the argument made a great deal of sense. The camera and photographs posed a few problems in my research. After several visits, I confided in my informant that I was taking photographs around the community and asked him if he had heard of any negative repercussions. I reassured him that I was photographing farms, buildings, livestock, and objects, being careful not to include any people in the photos. He encouraged me to be discreet and asked about my purpose. I explained that I might try to write a book about the community at some time in the future and would seek permission to use any of the photographs before submitting them for publication. His facial expression and body language told me that despite his lack of saying so, he was not thrilled with that information. Shrugging it off, however, he indicated it was fine with him if I took photos of his farm as long as I was careful not to include any of his family in the photographs. I again assured him I would not take any photos of his family or other members of the community and would respect their privacy and religious beliefs. As a teenager, I had once visited a

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Hopi reservation outside of Albuquerque with my first cousin, who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He discouraged taking any photographs and alluded to the Hopi belief that a photograph captured the soul of the person photographed. I wondered if the Old Order Amish had a similar belief. I shared that experience with my informant and he laughed, indicating that the Amish had no such superstitions or beliefs. Instead, he explained that a core value of the Amish was demut or humility, and that hochmut or pride, was considered a sin. Having their photograph taken would symbolize hochmut and not only would be frowned upon by the community, but also would cause a certain amount of personal stress or need for self-reflection and perhaps even penance. A few weeks later, upon my arrival to their home, my informant came running out to the car and asked me if I had brought my camera. I told him that I had, and he asked me to bring it to the barn. Almost jogging to the barn, he threw open the door and pointed at twin horses, a colt and a filly, to which his mare had given birth a couple of days earlier. Bursting with pride, he almost shouted, “You can take a photo of them!” Before I could react, he explained that successful twin births were rare among horses and something to be celebrated. I took several photos and assured him that I would get them developed and would enlarge the best one so he could display it in his home. A look of consternation came over his face, and he replied, “Your wife is an artist, instead of giving me the photos, could she paint a picture of them instead?” Realizing that I had never seen any photos in any of the Amish homes and that there were few decorations or wall hangings anywhere with the exception of perhaps a cross, or a picture calendar that was prominently displayed in almost every Amish home. Occasionally, a pencil drawing or piece of artwork depicting horses, barns, or farmhouses might be displayed. It was clear that my informant desired a painting of his twin horses that could be displayed. I talked with my wife and she agreed to do the painting. A few weeks later, we delivered the small painting to my informant and his wife. Both were visibly pleased and grateful and they hung the painting in a very prominent spot in their kitchen. After completing my brief stint at the University of Tulsa, I took a tenure-track Assistant Professorship at a regional university in central Kansas. During one of my visits with my Oklahoma informant and his family, I broke the news that it might well be our last since I had taken a new job and would be relocating to another state. After noting his disappointment, my informant asked where we were moving. When I told him, a large smile appeared, and he informed me that his parents, several of his siblings, and many cousins resided in an Old Order Amish community about 30 miles from the town in which we would be living. He indicated that he had already told them about my wife and me and that he would write them to let them know that we were moving to the area and would soon come to visit them. He assured me that they would welcome

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me to conduct research there, and insisted that he wanted my wife and me to meet his family. Perhaps one of the greatest compliments ethnographic researchers can receive is when their contacts not only welcome them into their world but also introduce them to those in another sphere beyond their immediate social circle. Before moving, I already had gained entry to another Old Order Amish community and would have cooperative informants waiting for me when I arrived.

Gaining Entry to the Kansas Amish Community After getting settled into a new home and job, I wrote a letter to my Oklahoma informant’s parents indicating that my wife, son, and new baby daughter would like to visit them. A few days later I received a letter extending an open invitation saying they would love to have us visit any time, and welcomed us to come the following Sunday afternoon weather permitting, as they were hosting a picnic that would give us an opportunity to meet several members of their community. That Sunday I gathered up the family and made the short journey to the small Old Order Amish community. On the way, we passed a huge construction project along the highway where Kansas Power and Light was building a nuclear power plant. Déjà vu. The coincidence and irony were striking that here was another Amish community that did not use electricity faced with living in the shadow of a nuclear power plant. Construction of this plant was well underway and there was little doubt it would be completed. Almost anybody who has driven through rural Oklahoma and rural Kansas probably noticed some subtle but remarkable differences between the two scenes. Not trying to overgeneralize or stereotype, a lifetime of observation has led me to conclude that small towns and rural areas in Oklahoma tend to reflect poverty and be unkempt. Homes often need painting. Lawns need mowing and weeds along with bare spots are plentiful. It is not unusual to see rusted cars or trucks parked in yards or up on blocks and discarded furniture or appliances on front porches or in the yard. Litter abounds alongside streets and in yards alike. In contrast, with some exceptions, small towns and rural areas in Kansas, although not affluent, tend to be clean. Houses are neatly painted, yards are well kept, and rarely are old cars, furniture, junk, or litter visible from the street. This was noticeably apparent as my family and I made our way toward the Old Order Amish community. Once there, as in Oklahoma, Amish farms were even more tidy and better kept than their non-Amish counterparts. We were welcomed by my Oklahoma informant’s family and community members upon our arrival. It was amazing, and yet predictable, how many of them already knew about us and were either acquainted with or directly related to the Amish families we had met in Oklahoma. Traveling

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through Amish communities in both Oklahoma and Kansas, simply reading the three or four surnames that appear on mailboxes tells you that many of the community members are either directly or indirectly related. For the most part, the Kansas Old Order Amish community was remarkably similar to the one in Oklahoma. Adaptations had been made to allow old tractors to be used in the fields, and most barns had some form of electricity to meet minimum standards for milking cows and selling milk to a nearby dairy. There was one lone pay phone booth located alongside a gravel road almost in the center of the community. Whereas primary farm crops in Oklahoma had been oats, soybeans, corn, and, in some cases, cotton, in Kansas, they were soybeans, milo, and wheat. In order to harvest wheat, the community had purchased a large combine that was shared by all when harvest time rolled around. A few of the Amish farmers were experimenting with a new cash crop that non-Amish farmers had discovered to be profitable—sunflowers. Although they grew wild alongside all the roads, fields, and drainage ditches in Kansas, “the sunflower state,” the increasing popularity and price of sunflower seeds made them a viable source of income. Some of the older Amish boys and young men in the Oklahoma community hired out as day labor to nonAmish farmers in the area and a few worked in town at feed stores, grain elevators, or other agriculture-related enterprises. My informant there dabbled in making original furniture pieces such as small tables, chairs, and cabinets, and sold them to a local dealer. Many of the women sold their quilts to a small shop in town. This was also true of the Kansas community, but I discovered that several of the young men there had also gone to work for the construction company that was building the nearby nuclear power plant. Because they had experience driving tractors and the large combine, these young men could operate the large earthmoving equipment at the construction site. When I inquired about the irony of working to construct a nuclear power plant whose negative aspects would directly affect the community without them deriving any of its benefits, the typical response amounted to the old adage, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” More specifically, the Amish pointed out that the young men were “working the land,” and earned high wages that they brought back to the community in order to help maintain and preserve their traditional way of life. Most importantly, the young men were not married and therefore had not officially joined the church, so technically they were not held strictly to the Ordnung (book of rules) as they would be if they were older and married. One enterprising family in the Kansas Amish community had two teenage boys who had discovered that raising an unusual form of “livestock” was much more profitable than the typical cows, goats, pigs, or sheep. They had purchased a registered male and a registered female Yorkshire Terrier and bred them once or twice per year, selling the litter of three to five puppies at $500 to $600 each. Essentially, operating a small

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“puppy mill,” they rationalized that the overhead was low, upkeep was inexpensive, and the profit was substantial. Moreover, they were raising and selling animals, something well established and accepted in the Amish community. Again, these were unmarried young men who experienced a broader range of tolerance than adults in the community.

Ethical Considerations Two articles I wrote about the Oklahoma Amish community were published in peer-reviewed professional journals. I showed the manuscripts to my informant before submitting them for publication in order to assure their accuracy as well as to ensure that I was not violating our initial agreement about preserving the anonymity of the community and protecting its members. Although not seeking his approval of the manuscript, I wanted to ensure accuracy as well as avoid publishing anything that might cause him embarrassment or discomfort within the community or result in sanctions from the church elders or Bishop in the unlikely event they became aware of the article. On one occasion he was reading a manuscript in which I mentioned the painting of his two newborn horses, when I noticed a look of trepidation cross his face. In the article I pointed out the paradox that although fear of being guilty of hochmut forbade him from flaunting a photograph of his foals, that instead he was proudly displaying the painting my wife had done, rationalizing that he was exhibiting the gift of her artwork and not showing pride in the young horses. The words proudly and rationalizing must have leapt off the page as he read them. Although an accurate sociological assessment of the situation, the harsh reality of it caused him much consternation. I felt a pang of guilt for revealing an element of hypocrisy in a friend, and yet, as a sociologist, knew that my analysis had merit. For the first time in my career, but not the last, I faced an ethical dilemma: how do you balance protecting your research participants without compromising valid sociological analysis that might make them uncomfortable? Also, what do you do when the people you are studying become your friends? I reflected on the many other examples contained in the manuscript where Amish values were simultaneously reinforced and violated. Most of them focused on how Amish men used several modern techniques in their barns and fields to simplify their farming operations and make them more efficient, but refused to allow Amish women to do the same thing in their homes. For example, electricity was forbidden in the homes, but many of the Amish farmers, including my informant, used small generators to operate automatic milking machines in their barns so they could efficiently milk a small herd of Holstein cows and keep the milk refrigerated until it could be collected by a large transport truck that made its way through the community on a daily basis except for Sundays. When I asked my informant about the manuscript, he looked at his feet and muttered,

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“It is accurate.” I followed with “Do you think anything in it needs to be changed?” After a long pause, he replied, “I suppose not.” This was the first, but certainly not the last time that I felt simultaneous satisfaction in my sociological analysis and yet guilt in having caused discomfort in another person, especially one who had been so cooperative and helpful in making the research possible. Another ethical consideration for me was the taking of photographs in the Amish community. Although I had been honest with my informant about doing so, I could tell that he preferred that I not take or use any of the photographs. I was cautious not to include people in the photos, but I still felt like I was invading the community’s privacy by taking pictures of their farms. I decided that since I had lost my objectivity about the Amish that I would not pursue writing a book about the communities and would not share or use the photographs in any publications. In the end, despite some ethical qualms and considerations, I was confident that I had protected everyone’s anonymity, caused no harm, and adhered to the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings As a researcher, you know you have been accepted when the people you study ask to come visit you. One evening, while living in Kansas, I received a phone call from my Oklahoma Amish informant. He told me that a relative in an Amish community in Ohio had died and that he and his family planned to attend the funeral. They were going to rent a van and hire a driver and wanted to know if they could stop at our home on the way to spend the night. I was elated as I felt this signaled validation of my research relationship with them, as well as confirmed our friendship. He told me the date and approximate time they would arrive and we made preparations to host him and his family. Near the time he predicted, a 15-passenger van pulled in our driveway and the driver honked the horn. My wife and I stepped out on the front porch and watched our friends disembark. First came my informant, then his wife holding a baby. Next came another woman holding a baby, then a third woman holding a baby, followed by a man, then another man, then three or four children, followed by still more Amish people—seventeen people in all, counting the driver. My wife and I were stunned as we felt like we were watching clowns emerging from a small car at the circus. When my informant said “his family,” I should have realized that to the Amish, family includes much more than just husband, wife, and their children. We were also receiving his parents, a brother, and family, as well as a few aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces. Once over the initial shock, we welcomed them into our home and immediately began preparing more food and revising sleeping arrangements.

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When the Amish visited our home, we discovered that they responded to visiting us much the way we did when visiting them. The children were mesmerized by our children’s separate rooms, toys, games, electronics, clothing, and many material possessions. They were particularly fascinated by the three television sets in our home. The adults were also intrigued by our modern trappings, and the women were especially fascinated with the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. All the adults fought back laughter, except my informant, who laughed aloud when they spotted the small 8-foot square vegetable garden I had constructed with old railroad ties in the backyard. My informant’s wife even asked in a serious tone, “Where do you grow the rest of your vegetables?” We ended up putting all the boys in our son’s bedroom and all the girls in our daughter’s. All adults declined the offer to sleep in the bed in our master bedroom. We had a split-level home with a large living area upstairs as well as one down. My informant’s parents took the sleeper sofa downstairs and two other couples slept on pallets on the floor. The driver was afforded the upstairs couch while the remaining adults slept on the surrounding floor. Once or twice we heard one of the women shush giggling children, but despite the overcrowded conditions, we all made it through the night. The next morning around 5:00 a.m. my wife and I awoke to the smell of frying bacon. By the time we arose, dressed, and entered the kitchen and dining area, we discovered the women had prepared eggs, bacon, biscuits, and a few other tasty morsels. The women had even brought a couple of loaves of homemade bread, along with hand-churned butter, and jars of jellies and marmalade that now adorned our table. None could figure out how to use our coffee maker, so that task fell on my wife as I hustled around trying to find enough plates and silverware to accommodate the crowd. One could make the case that my qualitative field research on the Old Order Amish was a rousing success, and testimony to the value of qualitative field research in studying a previously unstudied subculture. After publishing three articles in professional journals (Thompson, 1981, 1984, 1986), I became regionally, if not nationally, recognized as an “expert” on the Old Order Amish in Oklahoma and Kansas, and any subsequent research necessarily cited my findings. Moreover, as a young sociologist, I seemed to have established a research agenda that could have prevailed throughout my entire scholarly career. Yet, despite my research and publishing success, I realized that my relationship with my Amish informants, as well as other members of their communities, had evolved from them being research subjects to them becoming friends. I not only had developed a thorough knowledge of their culture, values, norms, and lifestyle, but I had come to admire them. Consequently, I knew that my objectivity had been compromised, so I rethought my plans of writing a book on them, knowing that I would not want to publish photos I had taken or bring unwanted attention to them or their communities. Besides, as a sociologist, I realized that the entire world was my research laboratory and there were dozens if

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not hundreds of other research topics I wanted to explore. To paraphrase Frank Zappa, “So many research projects and so little time.”

Questions for Discussion 1 2

3 4 5

If you were going to conduct research on an Old Order Amish community, what have you learned from this project that you would want to replicate? What things might you want to do differently? How might this research project have gone differently if the researcher had not accidentally stumbled upon a cooperative informant at the very beginning? How else might the researcher have gained entry to the community? Would the second study on Kansas Amish have been possible? Do you think the researcher “crossed the line” ethically on any occasions during the research? If so, when and how? Should the author have continued research on the Old Order Amish and proceeded with plans to write a book about them? Discuss the quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings related to this study.

Note 1 Results of these studies were previously published in Thompson (1984, 1986).

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Working on a Beef Slaughter Assembly Line 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-4

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When I took my first tenure-track university teaching job in Kansas, I was assured that the meager nine-month salary in my contract would be augmented with summer teaching. As the spring semester rolled around and our department prepared the summer class schedule, I was informed that due to unanticipated budget cuts, as the newest junior faculty member in the department, I would not be teaching in the summer after all. Contrary to the myth that public school teachers and university faculty enjoy a threemonth paid vacation each year, in reality, teachers are hired and paid for nine months annually. Although they are not eligible to draw unemployment benefits, they are for all practical purposes, unemployed for the three months of summer. Most school districts as well as colleges and universities offer their faculty members the option of taking the nine-month salary in nine-month installments, or spreading the nine-month payments over 12 months. In the latter scenario, the school district or university withholds a portion of the salary already earned each month and places it in savings where they, not the faculty member, draw interest on the proceeds. The accumulated monthly withdrawals are then paid out over the summer months without interest in three equal payments. Any logical adult realizes it is better to take the nine-month’s pay over nine months and put a portion of it in savings that draw interest and pay yourself over the summer months. If you indeed get summer teaching you then have an additional paycheck coming in during the summer months. Being a brand-new Ph.D., having taken out a 30-year mortgage, and with a new baby on the way, I opted for the nine-month salary paid over nine months. I certainly was smart enough to calculate how much to take from each paycheck to put in savings for the summer. Unfortunately, each month it proved necessary to use our entire monthly income to meet house payments, utility bills, absorb the costs of moving and establishing a new home, and other unanticipated expenses, making it impossible to voluntarily put any money back each month to cover the summer. Anticipating summer teaching was not going to be a problem, but suddenly I was faced with three months of unemployment with no income. I learned a valuable life lesson from that experience. Since the age of 12 I mowed lawns and performed various chores around the house and neighborhood to make a little money. I took my first official job sacking groceries at age 15, and was shocked when I received my first paycheck to discover that it was much less than anticipated because of money withheld for income tax deductions, as well as union dues and something called OASDI, which I later learned stood for Old Age Survivors Disability Insurance. Minimum wage was $1.25 per hour and I was making a whopping $1.30 because of our union contract, so the $5.00 per month dues to the union seemed worthwhile. But, why was I paying into social security and Old Age benefits at the age of 15? I still wondered that at age 21 when I began teaching in the public schools and in addition to all the aforementioned deductions was also required to pay into a state teacher

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retirement fund. Retirement was 40-plus years away, and I needed the money now! At age 29, in my first tenure-track university appointment I continued to wonder and complain about substantial portions of my paycheck each month being withheld for retirement funds, social security, and other things. I reasoned that as an intelligent and conscientious person, I could decide how much money I should put back each month to take care of myself in old age, and with compound interest, I would be far better off than relying on the government to forcefully do it for me. Wrong. Although a capitalist at heart, I learned that socialism ain’t all bad. My experience in trying to stretch nine months’ pay over 12 months verified that I, like many others, lacked the self-discipline to save for even a few months down the line, much less withhold monies that I would not see or use until 40 or 50 years later. Now, as I sit with colleagues and friends most of whom are retired and benefitting from Medicare, drawing social security, and enjoying monthly retirement checks, and listen to them complain about the government and socialism, I realize that for most of us those funds never would have been voluntarily withheld. Consequently, maintaining any semblance of our pre-retirement lifestyle in our old age would be a lot more challenging, if not impossible. I digress, but that phenomenon would also make a nice study. Back to the beef packing plant.

Gaining Entry One of my students who worked at a large national beef packing plant in the community where the university was located mentioned on several occasions that I should study the assembly line work at the plant. I knew nothing about the beef packing plant other than the smell that it emitted as well as a little that my student had shared with me. Since I took the job because I needed the income as opposed to the research opportunity it offered, I did not develop a research question or objectives until after my first day on the job. Consequently, I gained entry to the research setting before establishing a research question or research objectives, so those steps are reversed in this chapter. Faced with no summer income, and needing to meet tenure-track research and publication expectations, I asked my student to speak to his foreman without mentioning the research aspect to see if I could get summer employment. The next day, the student brought me an application that I completed and returned, and within a few days I reported to the main office, filled out a handful of other forms, and was hired on the spot. I watched a 30-minute video on the history of the company and the local plant and then a 15-minute video on plant safety. I was issued an identification badge with my photo and name and was told to report to the plant one hour before my 7:00 a.m. shift started on the first Monday in June to receive my uniform, hard hat, indoctrination, and work assignment. I was in.

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Minimum wage at the time was $1.60 per hour. The beef plant paid $7.05 per hour with time and a half ($10.58) for anything over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. If I had to work on a Sunday I would be paid double time ($14.10 per hour). Additionally, payday was each Friday and included with each paycheck was an order form where employees could check off beef items to be purchased the following week at cost—a substantial savings over retail prices. My family and I would be able to financially survive the summer, and lesson learned, I decided that I would spread my nine-month salary over 12 months the following school year in case I was faced with a similar situation. My first day was unbelievable. Upon arrival at the plant, I was stopped at a security gate where I flashed my I.D. badge and was told to park in a designated lot. Before I could enter the building, I was stopped at another security booth where I was required to again show my I.D. and open my lunch box (the only item a worker was allowed to bring into the plant) for inspection. This routine was repeated at the end of each shift when exiting the building and the plant. I learned later that the security checks were designed not only to control entrance and exit from the plant but also to discourage industrial espionage and employee theft. Each new hire was issued a locker and our uniforms which consisted of a white shirt, a pair of white pants, a pair of reddish-brown rubber boots, and a white hard hat equipped with a pair of earplugs that was attached to the back of the inside of the hat. This uniform was never to be worn outside the plant, as we were to change clothes upon arrival and place the soiled uniform (which was often bright red or dingy brown with blood) in a laundry bin at the end of each shift. Employees then could take a shower before changing back into their personal clothing if desired, or could simply change and leave the plant. Then, we were expected to clock in no more than ten and no less than five minutes before our shift. First tardy would result in a reprimand and written warning, second offense would add the docking of one hour’s pay to those punishments, and a third offense would mean termination of employment. The plant consisted of two separate operations: slaughter and processing. The processing side was chilled to a little over 50 degrees to keep meat cool and employees on that side of the plant complained that working conditions were too cold. The slaughter side had no air conditioning, instead using huge fans to pull outside air into the facility. Since the outside air often topped 95 to 100 degrees in the summer, it was even hotter inside. Employees on that side of the plant complained that the building was too hot. Those of us assigned to the slaughter side were given a brief tour of that side of the plant and then reported to our work stations. There, I was met by the foreman of the Offal section (referred to all the workers as the “awful” section) where I was told that my job would be to hang tongues. Production speed on the assembly line was set at 197. That meant that 197 cows or steers were slaughtered per hour. Each one of them had a

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tongue. Consequently, I would be expected each hour to retrieve 197 beef tongues out of a stainless-steel tub containing swirling water, brand each one with a hot brand hanging above my head that indicated they had been USDA inspected (which they were supposed to have been before they reached my station), place them in a plastic bag, and hang them on a rack containing stainless steel hooks. When the rack was full, I would run pushing it approximately a 100 feet or so to the freezer unit which was kept below 30 degrees, grab an empty rack, enjoy the cold temperature for a few seconds, and return to my station to repeat the process. The math works out that I would hang between three and four tongues per minute (that also translates into 1576 tongues per eight-hour shift). That sounds doable, and after a few days of experience, it was. That first day, however, it was not. Because I had to perform all the duties described, by the time I got back to the swirling tub, several tongues had already been deposited and needed to be branded, bagged, and hung. Consequently, all shift long I was “running behind the line,” a phrase I became all too familiar with throughout the summer. About mid-summer, the plant decided to increase production and efficiency by speeding the line up to 205. That added eight more tongues per hour, which sounds like nothing, but made a huge difference in the demands of the job. I will let you do the math. On some occasions, the line suddenly stopped. An unanticipated event or breakdown required the line to be stopped and slaughter temporarily halted. Experienced line workers cheered and took advantage of the opportunity to sneak in an extra bathroom break or sometimes visit a vending machine in the break room for a snack. Those of us running behind the line took the opportunity to catch up, which was a good thing, but provided no relief from work. On two occasions during my time at the plant the line was halted because a cow that had been “knocked,” (had a steel rod approximately six inches long driven by the force of a 22-caliber bullet through its skull and into its brain), had been stunned, but not killed, and decided to jump up and run wildly through the plant. Workers usually cheered and threw chunks of raw meat at the beast to encourage the escapade, while I watched one of my 197 tongues running amok, realizing that I would pay the price later when the line was sped up to offset the lost production time. Twice on one of my shifts, the line suddenly stopped, and almost immediately after the initial cheer, a solemn silence went over the entire slaughter side of the plant. An alarm was sounded as the plant nurse, a number of foremen, and a few plant executives in suits, ties, and hardhats ran to the “knock station” with looks of horror on their faces. On one occasion, a “knocker” who stood on a raised platform and placed the knocker gun against the forehead of cows, two at a time, had failed to successfully kill one of them. When the animal stood up, the knocker tossed the knocker gun down to the “shackler” standing below, an absolutely forbidden act that occurred at least once or twice per shift, so the shackler

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could finish the slaughter process by knocking the cow a second time. In this particular case, when the shackler reached up to catch the gun it touched his forehead (his hard hat was always turned around backward with the back so it did not interfere with the shackling process). The springloaded firing mechanism in the knocker gun was activated and the six-inch steel rod drove through the shackler’s skull and into his brain. That was one of three employee deaths that occurred during my ten-week tenure at the plant. The other two were equally horrific. One involved a forklift driver on the processing side of the plant was moving a pallet of meat in one of the huge freezers. He was looking backward while driving forward with his head and neck protruding outside the forklift’s protective cage. His head struck a steel support beam and was severed immediately. The third death involved a shackler who was killed when a cow kicked him in the head while he was attempting to place the chain around its leg. “Shackler” was without question the most dangerous job in the plant. As a result, it paid a whopping 15 cents per hour more than my job, which was considered to be one of the safest jobs on the slaughter side because I neither handled a sharp knife nor was ever around a live animal. Also, because of the extreme danger associated with the job, the shackler was issued two more pieces of protective equipment than the rest of us: a pair of baseball catcher’s shin guards and a pair of leather gloves. The shackler’s job was simple. After each animal was “knocked,” the squeeze shoot would tilt to the side rolling the animal out onto the floor kicking and writhing as its nerves reacted to the kill. The shackler would reach above his (all shacklers were males) head, grab a huge stainless-steel hook at the end of a large stainless-steel chain that was hooked to what looked like an upside-down stainless-steel railroad tie suspended from the ceiling. The shackler would then quickly wrap the chain around one of the animal’s hind legs, and jump back as a timed mechanism jerked the chain with enough force to lift the animal off the floor and leave it dangling with its head about two feet off the floor. Below the animal was a sixinch drain to catch the blood after the animal’s carotid artery was slit, and it’s head removed and placed on a stainless-steel hook going the opposite direction from the carcass each of which would pass through several more work stations down the line. The second time of the two sudden stops involved another shackler-related incident that did not result in death, but a gruesome injury. A shackler did not successfully secure the chain to the leg of the animal, and when the chain jerked up with enough force to lift a cow, the hook caught inside the shackler’s mouth shattering his jaw and ripping off the side of his face. He was rushed to the hospital, and although I cannot confirm it, I was told he survived the accident and actually returned to work about three months later. When those workers were killed on the job, I expected that not only the line would shut down, but perhaps the entire plant would close so that employees could attend the funeral and mourn the loss of a coworker.

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That was not the case. The forklift driver worked a different shift than me and worked on the processing side of the plant, so I was much less informed about his death. When the shackler was killed, after a few minutes of panic and silence, the line was back up and running within the hour. There was always a long list of applicants waiting for jobs at the plant as foremen often reminded us if we slacked off, came in late, or otherwise seemed to not be performing at expected levels. Nevertheless, I could not help but wonder what the replacement shackler must have felt and thought as he buckled his shin guards, donned his leather gloves, and took over the tasks vacated by a man who was gruesomely killed only minutes earlier. Shackler was by far the most dangerous job in the plant. In addition to the horrendous injury and the death, I saw lots of shacklers come and go during my brief stint on the job. On several occasions, shacklers quit and had to be replaced during the middle of a shift at break time or during lunch. During each shift, once the line was up and running, if there were no unforeseen issues, it ran continuously for two hours. Then, it would shut down for ten minutes. Every worker was supposed to clean their immediate work area and then could take the remainder of the time for a short break to use the restroom, get a drink of water, or simply rest. My first couple of days I spent the entire ten-minute break catching up to the line and cleaning my station. The line would then begin again and run for two hours until it would shut down for a 30-minute lunch break. Again, workers were expected to clean their station before leaving for lunch. The first day or two I managed to get about 15 or 20 minutes for lunch before reporting back for two more hours when workers were afforded a second ten-minute break. Then, it was two hours until quitting time. For the entire summer, I divided my work commitment into two-hour chunks. At the beginning of each shift I told myself that no matter how bad things got or how much I wanted to quit, I would make it to first break. After that break I would promise myself that I could make it to lunch. I repeated my pledge after lunch to make it to second break, and then I rationalized that in only two more hours I could quit and go home. I repeated that ritual every day I reported to work. The work was grueling, degrading, and dangerous. I wondered if all the workers were using the same two-hour strategy. This led me to my overarching research question.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives How and why do people work at such an arduous, demanding, and dangerous job as assembly line work at a beef packing plant? That was my overall research question. I assumed and later verified the simple answer to that question was because it required virtually no education, no marketable skills, no experience, and very little training, yet was one of the highest paying jobs in and around the community. Beyond that question, I developed the following research objectives:

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Why do people come to work at the beef packing plant? Do workers see their employment at the plant as a temporary job or a long-term career? If the job is viewed as temporary, why do many of the workers stay so long? Whether temporary or permanent, how do workers cope with the monotony, dehumanization, and dangers associated with assembly line work at the beef packing plant? Would workers want or recommend their sons, daughters, family members, or friends to work at the plant?

In order to conduct this study and answer those questions my options for research methods were limited. I decided to keep a daily journal documenting my full participant observation with non-disclosure and ethnographic interviews conducted with as many coworkers as possible and practical. After only a few days of work and journaling I developed a rudimentary interview schedule comprised of questions I would ask and relevant information to be pursued. As with any qualitative field research, my methods had to be fluid and flexible, adapting to observations and experiences on the fly.

Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure There is no such thing as limited participant observation on an assembly line. I read as much as I could, including a couple of sociological studies about assembly line work, but nothing could prepare me for the physical and mental demands the job imposed. An assembly line worker is merely a non-automated piece of the assembly line. Every movement and every minute spent is dictated by the line. You start when it starts; you work at its pace; you stop when it stops. The work is monotonous, dangerous, demeaning, and dehumanizing. My mind wandered, but could not wander too far or I ran the risk of getting too far behind the line. Or worse, if my attention waned too much, I sometimes bumped my hard hat against one of the eye-level stainless steel hooks moving by at the pace of 197 per hour that threatened to hook an eye or rip a gash in the side of my face. More than once I went home with “USDA Inspected” burned on the side of my hand when my attention drifted while branding a tongue. Once I asked my foreman if all the tongues were actually inspected by a USDA official, and if so, why didn’t they brand the tongues instead of requiring me to do so? Several USDA inspectors circulated throughout the plant dressed in white lab coats and blue hard hats, but I never once witnessed one inspecting a tongue. He rolled his eyes and replied, “keep your mind on your work and just stamp the damn tongues!” I indeed kept my mind on my work and stamped the tongues, but my thoughts were split almost evenly between hanging tongues and the

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research I was undertaking. While performing my work tasks, I meticulously recorded observations in my memory, formed outlines of a research paper, framed and answered numerous research questions, and went over my research objectives noting whether they had been accomplished or not. I had indicated my educational level on my work application and listed my former employer as the university, but other than that told nobody in the plant that I was a faculty member at the local university. I was careful not to reveal that I was conducting sociological research. My student who had helped me get the job also worked in Offal and always called me “Doc,” so several members of our crew put two and two together and figured out I was one of his professors. I never lied to anybody about the fact, but instead of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell,” I asked lots of questions of my coworkers, but never told them anything about myself unless directly asked by them. Then, although I answered honestly, I was careful to be as vague as possible, sometimes lying by omission, but not commission. At least two of my co-workers with whom I became well acquainted through conversations over breaks and lunch, after learning I taught sociology at the university remarked, “you oughta study this place,” to which I responded, “Yes, I probably should, but when would I find the time?” I did find the time, however. I watched my co-workers intently, and the minute I arrived home, I used the adrenaline rush from the job to write at least an hour or two in my journal recording in great detail observations and conversations.

Interviewing and Taking Field Notes The plant was open and operated 16 hours per day Monday through Friday with an eight-hour clean-up shift every night that began at 11:00 p.m. In some special cases the plant opened for one or more shifts on Saturday and even Sunday. During my ten-week stint during the summer, I worked eight-hour shifts that rotated every two weeks between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Although I could observe other workers during an entire shift, because of the speed of the assembly line and the noise in the plant, those three breaks were the only opportunities to talk to other workers and conduct interviews. Those also were the only times to use the restroom, intake water, and eat, so interviews necessarily were short and sometimes abruptly ended, to be continued at other times. I waited until I went home to sit down, reconstruct the day’s observations and interviews, and write notes in a journal. Once I mastered the job tasks and could keep up with the line, I learned to actually work “ahead of the line” before each break and lunch, cleaning my station as I hung the tongues so that I could enjoy (if you could call it that) the full ten minutes for breaks and 30 minutes for lunch. This gave me more time to take care of bathroom and sustenance needs and also talk to my coworkers. I always knew when breaks were coming, because as

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soon as the “knocker” slaughtered the last cow, he began banging the knocker gun on a steel rail at his station before leaving for break. When the “shackler” put the chain on the last cow’s ankle, he banged his hard hat against the floor. The “head dropper” (his job should need no description) banged his knife against the tile drain, and every worker along the line picked up the banging routine in turn. The last tongue would reach my station exactly ten minutes after the last kill and the first banging signal. That gave me time to actually run ahead of the line grabbing tongues off hooks before they reached my station, dip five or six of them at a time in the swirling water, brand, bag and hang them as quickly as possible. By the time the last tongue would have reached the tub and dropped into the swirling water had I not run ahead and collected them, I had already pushed the last loaded rack to the cooler, cleaned my station, and reported for break or lunch. These acts were all strictly forbidden by workplace rules and if the foreman caught me doing them he would be required to “write me up” and reprimand my actions. The foreman, however, well aware of informal workplace norms was always “preoccupied” during the last ten minutes of each line run, and never witnessed the rule violations. On those occasions when I accidentally dropped a tongue in my haste, I quickly grabbed it up and dipped it in the tub before anybody noticed. If a foreman or USDA inspector saw any piece of meat touch the floor it was deemed unfit for human consumption and had to be placed in the inedible bin reserved for beef that would be turned into pet food or other beef by-products. Conveniently, no tongue was ever officially seen touching the floor. This dual set of official work rules and practical work routines made interesting findings for my research, but also posed some ethical considerations that are discussed later.

Findings The summer ended and I was confident I had accomplished my research objectives and answered my research question. To no surprise, workers unanimously said they took jobs at the beef packing plant because it paid well, had excellent benefits, and required no formal education or experience. There were three major employers in the community: the university, a regional production and distribution plant for a major corporation that sold snack cakes, and the beef packing plant. Two prevailing and totally opposite smells permeated the community on a daily basis. The snack cake factory emitted heavenly smells of freshly baked bread, cakes, and cookies while the beef plant discharged an indescribable stench that only someone familiar with it could describe. When workers left work they carried the smells of their employers (as well as remnants of the work such as cake crumbs, jams, chocolate and whip cream or blood and random meat remains) with them on their clothes and in their hair. The university, for the most part, was odorless.

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There was little mystery as to why most of the workers took a job at the beef packing plant. To teach or be an administrator at the university required advanced academic degrees that the beef plant workers neither had nor wanted. Secretarial, janitorial, and other staff positions only required high school diplomas, but many of those positions were held by spouses or family members of faculty members and administrators who also had college degrees and graduate degrees. Consequently, it was almost impossible for locals with less formal education to compete for employment there. Moreover, those jobs paid minimum wage. The snack cake plant was a far more attractive job, at least on the surface, although after touring that plant, I saw the same looks of despair on its workers that I recognized from the beef plant. A major drawback in the attraction of the cake plant was the pay. Although it paid almost double the minimum wage, it started workers at about $4.00 less per hour than the beef plant. Almost all of the beef plant employees I interviewed saw the job as temporary. Some of those who saw the job as temporary had been there two years or less, but an astonishing number of them had been employed there more than five, and several had been there more than ten years. If the job was viewed as temporary, why would they stay so long? The answer was revealed during my second week and confirmed almost every week thereafter. Fridays were paydays. Mondays I came to call “show and tell” days. Almost every Monday during the lunch break one or more of my coworkers would invite the rest of us out to the parking lot to admire what they had purchased over the weekend. A new car, new van, new pickup, new boat on a new trailer hooked to a new truck or a new motorcycle were commonly parked in a conspicuous space for all to see. Men who the week before had told me that they only had three or four payments left on their vehicle, and as soon as it was paid off, they were out of there, were pointing at new vehicles and accessories that required three, four, and five more years of monthly payments they could barely afford. If we were not led to the parking lot to view the latest acquisition, workers would show photographs of new camper trailers, new mobile homes, jet skis, snow mobiles, other expensive item, or even new homes that were attached to 30-year mortgages. When a coworker reminded them that they were going to quit as soon as their boat/car/motorcycle/home was paid off, each boast of a new purchase was almost always followed with the exclamation, “Yeah, but now I figure I can make it two/three/four more years, and then as soon as this is paid off, I’m, gone!” I began to call this the “financial trap,” and realized that not only did those expensive purchases prohibit the workers from quitting their jobs, but they also provided one of the coping mechanisms for staying. Observation, interviews, and personal experience taught me the most common mechanisms workers used to cope with the monotony, dehumanization, and dangers associated with assembly line work at the beef packing plant. Daydreaming was one of the most common coping

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methods, but as previously mentioned, did not come without risks. Just as I spent much of my shifts thinking about and organizing my research project and subsequent articles in my head, other workers told me about rebuilding car motors or old motorcycles, while others mentioned various hobbies and projects they completed in their heads. My former student as well as a couple of other workers who were taking classes part-time at the university indicated they mentally went over their textbooks or class notes, and sometimes even recalled entire lectures in their heads to help prepare for class. My former student also indicated that he had taken a couple of years of Spanish in high school, and while he could read and say a few words or phrases, he was nowhere near proficient in the language. After four months working at the plant listening to and speaking with coworkers (approximately 75% of which were Hispanic), he had become fairly fluent in “Spanglish,” or the prevalent combination of everyday Spanish and English vernacular in which most of the workers communicated. Another coping mechanism used by more than a few of the workers was sabotage. There were a number of rules, regulations, and protocols governing almost every activity that took place in the plant. Many of them were related to safety and like most factories and industries, one of the most prominent pieces of signage that greeted anyone who entered the plant was one that proclaimed how many days had passed since a work-related accident occurred. Although the routine cuts that required a visit to the nurse’s station and the chronic tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome that affected almost every employee in the plant that used a knife were not counted, rarely more than a day or two went by that some employee was not injured badly enough to require a trip to the emergency room. Consequently, safety rules were strictly enforced, and violations resulted in a reprimand, loss of pay, and/or termination. A notable exception, however, was the rule about wearing earplugs. The decibel level in the plant was almost deafening and every employee was issued a hard hat equipped with earplugs that dangled from the headband in the back. An employee (even the office workers and executives) spotted on the floor not wearing their hard hat would be severely reprimanded if not fired. The rules also stated similar penalties for not inserting the earplugs, yet, almost none of the workers wore them. I was the only worker in my crew that routinely wore earplugs and as a result experienced a great deal of teasing and taunting from my coworkers, and even my foreman. Fellow workers more than once walked behind me and cut the strings that connected the earplugs to my hat. Routinely, they would point to their ears, or swing their heads so that I could see their earplugs dangling from their hard hats. On rare occasions when a top executive was touring the kill floor, a signal only known to the line workers would go out, and all would immediately insert their earplugs. As soon as the “all clear” signal was given, the earplugs were pulled to dangle down their backs.

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Because the workers were handling food products intended for human consumption, employees found ways to sabotage the assembly line and some of the products without contaminating what eventually would end up on someone’s table, in some cases, even their own family’s. The tongue hanging station was located next to the “head table” where workers cut off something called “sweetbread,” along with the eyelids, eyeballs, and lips as well as every piece of muscle, fat, sinew, and anything else that was not bone, leaving nothing left but the skull. These pieces did not go into the inedible bin unless dropped on the floor. Instead they went into a stainless-steel tub the contents of which would go into the making of bologna, hotdogs, and a variety of canned meat products. I was amused by health-conscious friends and family members who insisted on purchasing only “all beef” luncheon meats or hotdogs not realizing that anything that comes off a cow is considered to be beef. I learned that there was a small gland behind and below the ear that was removed and put in a separate bin that was collected once per shift and sold to a major cosmetic manufacturer for use in their lipsticks, eyeliners, and other forms of make-up. Again, not something of which most consumers of expensive high-profile cosmetics are aware. I was struck by the fact, that like the early Plains Indians and the buffalo, the beef packing plant did not waste a single part of the cow. The hide was sold to leather companies, the hair went to manufacturers of brushes, the hooves would be ground and used in gelatins, the blood was collected and sold as were the contents of the stomach which ended up being used in fertilizer and other products. What did not end up on a table, was still sold and used in some form or fashion. One significant difference between the Plains Indians and the beef plant (and there were many) was that the Native Americans saw the buffalo as a gift of nature and ceremoniously cut off the end of the tail and returned it to the earth to symbolize their gratitude and understanding that the herd was not an infinite resource but needed to be replenished. The beef plant assumed there would always be another load of cattle brought in and would never have wasted even the smallest portion of the tail because it too could be sold for profit. A particular form of harmless sabotage that the workers at the head station found amusing was poking a small hole in a cow’s eyeball and then squeezing it to project a stream of bloody liquid a distance of 15 to 20 feet. More experienced workers had become adept with their aim and could hit a fellow worker at another station in the ear or mouth with remarkable accuracy. I was a popular target for the less experienced among that group since my station was close and was an easy target for perfecting one’s aim and technique. As they became more proficient, they took aim at more difficult and challenging targets, a favorite of which were foremen, inspectors, or best of all, executive brass whose backs were turned as they walked through the plant and suddenly found themselves sprayed with a foul liquid whose origin was unknown.

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One of the most serious forms of sabotage was to do something that forced the line to shut down. Those endeavors were infrequent and quite risky, as a first offense would result in immediate termination of employment. Nevertheless, they sometimes occurred. A worker who had already given notice of leaving, or one who was almost certain their act would go uncaught would sometimes place an object in one of the gears or otherwise impede the normal flow of the line causing it to suddenly jerk to a stop. In the chaos that ensued, the perpetrator might covertly high-five the coworker next to them, or slink away toward the break room with a satisfied smirk of satisfaction on their face. Every worker I interviewed at the beef plant indicated they took the job for the pay and almost all of them saw the job as temporary. Once they felt financially secure enough, had paid off debts, and put a little into savings, they planned to leave. Many of them said they intended to enroll at the local university in order to obtain educational credentials that might provide better occupational opportunities. Others anticipated moving on to a cleaner and easier job in the community, or moving somewhere they thought job opportunities would be better. Then comes the aforementioned “financial trap.” One of the most obvious and common ways the workers coped with the negative aspects of their job was to reward themselves with “goodies.” They might have a lousy job, but they can drive a nice car. Their neighbors may have a better job, but they have a new boat. Their job might be dangerous, but they thrive on dangerous activities and that is why they own a motorcycle capable of going over 150 miles per hour. Some of the workers seemed unaware, while others begrudgingly acknowledged, that those expensive items that softened the impact of their horrible jobs also ensnared them further almost guaranteeing they would never escape its powerful grip. The findings from this study were summarized and reported in an article published in Qualitative Sociology, entitled “Hanging Tongues: A Sociological Encounter with the Assembly Line“ (Thompson, 1983). The double entendre of “hanging tongues” was not lost on reviewers and readers as it literally was my job, and also metaphorically described almost every worker in the plant who had to rush and struggle to keep up with the demanding pace of the assembly line.

Ethical Considerations The first ethical concern, conducting research without informing those being studied, provided little consternation on my part. I needed the job, performed all tasks as best I could, and it was a wonderful research opportunity that would have been wasted if I informed plant officials or the other workers of my intent. This particular ethical issue had already been widely debated and pretty much resolved in the discipline of sociology long before I undertook the project.

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Another potential ethical issue that I dismissed almost immediately was reconciling the discrepancy between official rules and protocol and the informal norms that governed everyday work activities. I had held enough part-time and full-time jobs to realize that there is always a difference between how workers are supposed to perform a job and how they actually do it. In my first real job as a “sack boy” at a large grocery store we had the standardized ways to place items in a bag and the pragmatic and quicker ways that we learned on the job. The grocery chain had a policy that if an employee was caught consuming any item in the store or taking any item home without paying the full retail price for it, they would be fired. In reality, our store manager told us that during our ten-minute break we could choose between taking any candy bar, or packaged snack item under $1.00 (in those days there were lots of choices as most candy bars sold for a dime, as did bottled soft drinks, and most snack items). Any bent can, torn package, or otherwise damaged item was taken to the back of the store and could be consumed on break, or taken home at the end of the day. This led to some “accidents” occurring sometimes where a popular brand of cookies might “accidentally” get torn in the process of shelving, or a tasty canned item might get dropped, and therefore deemed as unable to sell. The most powerful unwritten worker code, was you never “ratted out” a fellow worker who violated any of the official rules. That norm has held true in every job I’ve ever experienced. In the beef plant, I have already mentioned that almost all safety protocols were followed and strictly enforced, except for the requirement to wear earplugs. Also, despite the policy that any meat products that touched the floor were required to be placed in the inedible tubs, that rule was routinely violated in practice unless a foreman or inspector saw the event. Working ahead of the line was technically not allowed, but was routinely practiced so that workers could start cleaning up early in order to get the full ten minutes for breaks and 30 minutes for lunch. Most of the workers were equipped with razor-sharp knives and were required to work at a pace that inevitably resulted in numerous minor, and sometimes major cuts. Consequently, horseplay of any kind was strictly forbidden. Nevertheless almost all the workers found ways to have a little bit of fun on the job to break the monotony of the work. I found keeping pace with the line difficult enough that I had little or no time to fool around on the job. My coworkers told me, however, that previous tongue hangers used to put the huge tongues in their mouths and shake their heads making the tongue swing from one side to the other. I have mentioned that head trimmers became quite adept at squirting eye liquid on others, and I am certain that workers at almost every station except the shackler found a way to have some fun and make the work environment a bit more palatable. Sabotage was one of the ways that workers could symbolically and practically retaliate against the inhumane working conditions in the plant. Because beef plant workers were handling items that eventually end up

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being consumed by human beings, perhaps their own family members and themselves, workers were careful not to sabotage the meat in ways that could potentially make it dangerous to consume. Rather, the target of their sabotage was the assembly line itself. The assembly line was comprised of hundreds of pieces of moving mechanized equipment, all of which had to work in perfect synchronization, or the assembly line would stop altogether. Moreover, because of the nature of assembly line work, the workers were in effect, proverbial cogs in the machine themselves. Consequently, if any worker temporarily stopped performing their duties, those further down the line could not perform theirs. The “domino-effect” of one station stopping, essentially caused all stations to come to a halt. If a worker left the line for only a few seconds or minutes, a coworker or foreman stepped in and temporarily performed their duties. If they were gone for more than just a few minutes, however, the line was required to shut down. A shutdown necessarily required a half an hour or more to resume full operations, giving the line workers an unscheduled break. Although some, if not most, of the temporary shutdowns were results of mechanical failures of some sort, it was not uncommon for at least one shutdown per shift to be the result of human error, usually impossible to be determined if it was intentional or not. As with my teenage grocery store experience, the strongest norm among assembly line workers was to cover for each other and never report a rule violation by a fellow worker. Sociological research literature indicates this is true of virtually every occupational subculture from the mafia to the police, drug dealers to medical doctors, and from assembly line workers to university professors. In the end, despite some ethical qualms and considerations, I was confident that I had protected the workers’ anonymity, caused no harm, and followed the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings One of the quirks and perks of working at the beef plant was that despite having a Ph.D. and being a professor at a university, I made almost as much money in ten weeks at the beef plant as I did in nine months at the university. When you include the fact that I could purchase beef products at cost, I may have actually earned more. The beef plant’s insurance plan was less expensive and provided better coverage than that of the university, and included dental, vision, and prescriptions, none of which were covered by my university policy. I have known people that have worked in restaurants and because they had seen behind the scenes would never eat there. Heard people who worked around chickens and chicken processing say they could never eat that meat again, and talked to workers at the beef plant who said they had

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practically become vegan as a result. Working at the plant did not affect my affinity for beef products at all, and because of the discount, my family and I probably consumed more beef during that summer than at any other time in our lives. An unanticipated ethical issue arose a few years after I had completed the study. The ASA Code of Ethics requires, and I was committed to protecting the anonymity of the research site and people under study. That commitment was tested approximately a decade after completion of the study and publication of the work when out of the blue I received a phone call from an attorney who was representing the beef packing plant in a class action lawsuit filed by its employees alleging racism, sexism, and intolerable working conditions. Initially, I feigned ignorance of the company and refused to acknowledge ever working or conducting research there. The attorney indicated that his firm had secured employment records of the company during the time under question and had read my published article. Since the beef plant was located in the same town as the university where I taught, they presumed that I could be a key witness in the case. The lawyer threatened that he could subpoena me to testify as a hostile witness and that if I falsely denied working there or conducting research in the plant, I could be charged with perjury. To that threat, I responded that I would refuse to answer any questions about either employment or research, resulting in the lawyer informing me that if that were the case, I could be charged with contempt of court. Neither of those outcomes was appealing, so after some thought, I informed the attorney that if I indeed had hypothetically worked at the plant and had theoretically conducted research there, it might not be in the lawyer’s best interest to subpoena me as a witness as I hypothetically might have indeed witnessed racism, sexism, and intolerable working conditions. In that case, I could very well become an expert witness for the plaintiff rather than his client, the defendant. After a long pause, he thanked me for my time, and indicated he would get back to me if they decided to subpoena me as a witness. Although I never heard from the attorney again, I spent some sleepless nights, and struggled with the uncertainty of exactly what I would have done if subpoenaed in the case. Thankfully, I did not have to discover the answer to that question.

Questions for Discussion 1 2

If you were going to conduct research on an assembly line, what have you learned from this project that you would want to replicate? What things might you want to do differently? How might this research project have gone differently if the researcher had not been a full participant employed by the beef packing plant and simply been an outside observer in the study? How else might the researcher have gained entry to the assembly line?

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Do you think the researcher “crossed the line” ethically on any occasions during the research? If so, when and how? What possible different results might the study yield if replicated with today’s new technologies? What things would remain the same? Discuss the quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings related to this study.

Note 1 Results from this study have been previously published in: Thompson (1983). Excerpts reprinted with permission of Qualitative Sociology and Springer.

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Portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at a Shopping Mall 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-5

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Everybody in America loves Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Or, do they? When discussing participant observation as a research technique, one of my students casually mentioned that he was contracted to play the Easter Bunny at a local shopping mall. He wondered if he could complete an extra credit project by taking field notes while playing the role and perhaps writing a paper about the experience. I seldom allowed extra credit in my classes as I had observed that two types of students tend to want to do extra credit: those who have an A in the course, and somehow want an even higher A, and those who are failing the course and hope that extra credit will somehow make up for the fact that they did not meet even the minimum regular credit assignments to pass the course. This was a different situation. Although this particular student was in the former category, already knocking the top out of the class, more than the extra credit, what he really wanted to do was try his hand at real-life participant observation research. I told him to meet me after class and we would discuss the possibility of developing a research project, perhaps one that could even result in publication in an academic journal.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives When we met to discuss a research strategy for the mall Easter Bunny, my cultural anthropologist colleague Joe Hickey, who also had this student in class, joined us, as he and the student had already discussed him conducting such a project for his anthropology class. Joe had spent a year living with the Bokkos Fulani in Nigeria for his doctoral dissertation, was a true scholar and good friend who had impeccable qualitative research skills. The three of us decided that since the student would be encumbered by the bulky Easter Bunny costume, especially the huge plastic head that limited vision and hearing, that Joe and I would act as non-participant observers taking copious notes of mall patrons’ interactions with the fantasy character, that could be compared and compiled later. If the project went as projected, we agreed that it could earn the student some unneeded extra credit points, but more importantly result in a published article in a peer-reviewed journal. Our essential research question: How do people interact with the Easter Bunny at the mall? More specifically, our research objectives were to ascertain how sociological variables such as age, race/ethnicity, and sex/gender affected social interaction with the Easter Bunny at the mall.

Gaining Entry Each year a photography company contracted with the local shopping mall to provide two fantasy characters in costume in exchange for exclusive rights to take and sell photographs to the mall patrons. During the month of April the company hired someone to dress as the Easter Bunny, and from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, someone to dress as Santa Claus.

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Our student had already been hired to portray the Easter Bunny, so we had already gained entry to the research setting. Later that year, he also was hired to play Santa Claus at the same mall, which led to a companion study of social interaction with that fantasy character.

Full Participant Observation and Teamwork with Nondisclosure We decided since our student was going to wear the Easter Bunny costume and fulfill his work obligations as faithfully as possible while Joe and I observed and took notes from strategic vantage points, there was no need to inform the mall executives, the photo company, or the patrons of our research intentions. Thus, our study would include both full and limited participant observation and teamwork with nondisclosure. The requirements for fulfilling the Easter Bunny role were simple. Our student would don the Easter Bunny costume which consisted of a one-piece gray flannel bunny suit with a white stomach and a white fluffy ball for a tail as well as a huge plastic bunny head with a huge smile. There was a small opening in the bunny’s mouth covered with a wire screen through which the bunny actor could breathe and see enough to maintain balance and not run into something directly in front of them. Visibility and hearing were severely limited, however, as the person playing the bunny could not look down to see the floor and could not see more than just a few inches peripherally. Unless someone spoke directly into the screened mouth area, they could not be heard, and the sounds of people talking and the music played by the shopping mall echoed inside the large plastic head. Although these were distracting to the person inside the costume, they did not seriously affect their performance as the Easter Bunny as they were instructed to not speak or make any other discernible sounds and simply to walk and wave to people as they were led around inside the mall. The photographer’s wife, a woman in her early to mid-twenties dressed as a little girl in pigtails, held the Easter Bunny’s hand/paw and escorted him throughout the mall, handing out candy as well as greeting patrons and informing them that the Easter Bunny would be available to pose for photos later at a designated area in the mall. After a couple of rounds, which served to drum up business, the Bunny was seated on a huge throne-like chair sitting on a raised platform in the center of the mall where a photographer (her husband) took commemorative photos with an Instamatic camera of mall patrons with the Easter Bunny for the price of $5 each. Photos of two people with the Easter Bunny cost $10 each and a group photo with the Easter Bunny was priced at $15. In order to get two different perspectives on playing the Easter Bunny, I took over the role on two different occasions. This did not violate any terms of employment between the student and photography company as our student had been instructed to find a replacement actor any time he

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could not fulfill the role himself. This change in roles also allowed the student to experience being an observer who took field notes during the study. It also allowed me to experience the helpless feeling the person inside the bunny costume experienced. The huge plastic head created a sense of claustrophobia, although I had never experienced that sensation in the past. There also was a feeling of helplessness as the person inside the suit was totally dependent on the eyes and ears of the young woman leading him around the mall. As discussed later regarding findings, this made the Easter Bunny particularly vulnerable to the shenanigans of teenaged boys who enjoyed taunting and even physically assaulting the Easter Bunny. A little over six months later, shortly after Thanksgiving, our research team was back at the mall with our student hired by the same photo company; this time to perform the role of Santa Claus. Playing Santa’s role was a bit more complicated than portraying that of the Easter Bunny, as Santa is supposed to be a person. Rather than hiding inside a bunny costume, our Santa actor donned a fake belly, fake beard, and wig, as well as the familiar red costume trimmed in white. Otherwise, the Santa actor was unencumbered as to walking, talking, or performing any other actions. Moreover, since Santa is human, he not only can talk but he is obligated to do so. Our Santa character was instructed to wave to passersby and occasionally let out a loud “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!” He also was expected to hand out candy canes to children and talk to them and their parents, encouraging them to come to see him at “Santa’s House” located in the center of the mall for photographs. The same photographer and wife were present and the routine was familiar with the wife escorting Santa around the mall drumming up business for photos that would be taken later at Santa’s throne in the center of the mall. This time, the photographer’s wife was dressed as an elf, wearing a Santa hat, pointy ears, a green and red striped one-piece leotard with a short white skirt, sporting pointed elf shoes. She also handed out candy canes and spoke to mall shoppers, especially children with parents, encouraging them to have their photo taken with Santa Clause at the appointed time and place. While taking photos, both Santa’s elf and Santa interacted with those who came to sit on his lap asking “What do you want for Christmas?,” and “Have you been a good little boy or girl?” Santa also waved at shoppers in the mall and shouted “Merry Christmas!” periodically to them. Santa’s elf usually acquired the child’s name and introduced them to Santa as well as sometimes providing Santa with a helpful hint as to what should and should not be suggested as possible forthcoming gifts. Because Santa is supposed to be an elderly man, we found it advantageous, even though I was only in my mid-thirties, for me to play Santa on several occasions as opposed to our student who was a decade younger. This allowed me to interact directly with mall shoppers, parents, and children, as well as the photographer and his wife. Again, our student also

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was provided the experience of being a non-participant observer who took copious field notes.

Team Research and Taking Field Notes Team research provides several advantages over solo research projects. Although it was impossible for the person playing the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus roles to take field notes, we always had two independent observers, watching, listening, and taking notes. This allowed for viewing the interaction from three different perspectives, comparing notes, and discussing any inconsistencies that might occur in observations. Although the Easter Bunny’s interactions with people were limited, Santa Claus was free to talk with, ask questions, and otherwise fully participate in interaction with everyone with whom he met. Following the tradition of using unobtrusive measures, no filming or recording devices were used. Both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus actors worked eight-hour shifts, starting at noon and ending at 9:00 p.m. when the mall closed. There were two 20-minute breaks and an unpaid lunch hour included in the day. During the breaks the Bunny and Santa actor retired to a large storage room in the mall and enjoyed water or a soft drink and a light snack while chatting with (interviewing) the photographer and his wife. During the lunch hour, the actor could remove the costume and go to one of the several food vendors in the mall or leave the mall entirely to eat elsewhere as long as he reported back for duty within an hour. During this time, the person playing the role met with the other two team members to compare observations and discuss field notes. Field notes were remarkably similar between the two independent observers, and usually aligned well with the experiences of the Easter Bunny and Santa actor. If there was a discrepancy of any kind, all three researchers discussed the situation until there was consensus on what had taken place. There was a tremendous difference in experience for the person playing the Easter Bunny as opposed to playing Santa Claus. Because of the huge plastic head, interaction for the Easter Bunny was severely limited. Conversely, Santa Claus had almost complete freedom in interacting with the photographer, the photographer’s wife, as well as adults and children in the mall.

Findings Findings for both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus projects were very similar. Not surprising, age was an important variable in how people interacted with and reacted to the fantasy characters. Babies were oblivious to the characters and often slept or cried while being held for a photograph. Almost every shopper with a baby who passed the photo area with either the Easter Bunny or Santa stopped to have a photo taken. In many cases,

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especially in regard to Santa Claus, it was obvious that the sole purpose of coming to the mall with the baby was to have its photo taken with Santa. With few exceptions, toddlers tended to be afraid of both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Because both the Easter Bunny and Santa, as well as their helper, offered candy to the young children, they were easily lured into interacting with them. One could not help but wonder how this act conflicted with how many times the youngsters had been cautioned by their parents to not talk with or take candy from a stranger. Although initially eager to see the two fictional characters, it often took a lot of coaxing, and sometimes even threats from parents, to get toddlers to hold the Easter Bunny or Santa’s hands, sit on their laps, and/or pose for photographs. Elementary school-aged children almost universally loved the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. They often ran up to the characters shouting with excitement wanting to touch, hold hands, and hug these familiar fictional characters they had heard about, read about, and seen on television and in movies. Most of the children under ten years of age seemed to believe the fantasy characters were real and eagerly accepted candy, held hands, sat on laps, hugged, and posed for photos with the characters. Even those old enough to no longer believe the characters were real usually were willing to go along with the ruse, especially if it seemed to please their parents, or if they were accompanied by younger siblings. This posed a problem for the photographer’s wife, who simultaneously encouraged the children to have their photos taken with the characters, but also discouraged parents from taking their own photographs. This research took place before the advent of mobile phones, so many of the parents did not have cameras with them. Still, some parents had come prepared for the occasion and insisted on taking photos of their children with the two characters. This activity threatened the profits of the photo company and both the Easter Bunny and Santa were told not to pose with the children. This posed a bit of an ethical dilemma for the actor portraying the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, because the children were so eager to have their pictures taken, and for some, their parents were not going to pay what in their minds were outrageous prices for a simple photograph they could easily take themselves. Teenagers were the most problematic encounters for both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. The teen years also seemed to be when the variables of sex and gender became important factors in interaction. Teenage boys seemed determined to prove they did not believe in the fantasy characters and often showed disdain toward them. The Easter Bunny character was actually punched in the fake head and in the stomach as well as hit in the back a few times by teenage boys. The most common show of contempt and disbelief involved teenage boys grabbing the Easter Bunny’s white cotton tail, ripping it from the costume, and running through the mall with it held high overhead in triumph. Our anthropologist observer likened the act to that of counting coup displayed by Native American

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warriors who would take scalps or cut the tails or ears off live animals to show their prowess. The Easter Bunny was virtually helpless in preventing this act due to lack of visibility and mobility. The photographer’s wife tried to protect the Easter Bunny as much as possible, but could do little to prevent the harassment, especially when teenage boys showed up in groups, which they often did. Stealing of the tail was so common that the photo company began attaching them with Velcro so that the costume would not be torn or damaged, and kept an abundant supply of extra tails in the storage room for replacements. The counterpart for showing contempt for Santa Claus on the part of teenage boys usually involved pulling Santa’s fake beard down or off. Unlike the Easter Bunny, however, Santa could better protect himself from this mischief, so he was victimized less often. Also, it seemed that male teens were much more comfortable attacking the Easter Bunny—an animal, than they were attacking Santa Claus—a human being. Nevertheless, teenage boys seemed determined to express their manhood by openly showing disbelief and disdain for the both fantasy characters. There were exceptions to this general finding, however, when teenaged boys were with their parents, or with younger siblings who were anxious to greet the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. In those cases, teenaged boys displayed their adulthood either by assuming a more parental role, or replicating the behavior of middle-aged males, by simply ignoring the two fantasy characters altogether. Teenage girls also seemed determined to indicate they no longer believed the fantasy characters were real, but demonstrated their transition from little girls to young adult women differently, often by flirting with the characters. They hugged both characters and when photographs were being taken, sometimes whispered suggestive comments to the person in the costume. Because of the huge fake head, the Easter Bunny could rarely hear the comments, but during breaks the photographer’s wife recounted some of the more outrageous things said to the bunny character. Many of them alluded to the sexual proclivities of bunny rabbits. Teenaged girls often had their pictures taken in small groups with the Easter bunny while one or two sat on his lap and others hugged and pretended to kiss him. Santa also was subjected to open flirtation and learned not to ask teenage girls if they had been naughty or nice, because that often invited sexually inappropriate responses. While teenage boys usually refused to pose for photos with either the Easter Bunny or Santa, teenage and young adult girls relished the opportunity. This was also true for young women in their late teens into their early and mid-twenties. Since the mall was located in a college town, it was not unusual for entire sororities to gather around the Easter Bunny or Santa for group photos. In those cases, girls competed to get to sit on the character’s laps. College girls also liked to pose with the characters, especially Santa, while their boyfriends looked on, sometimes hugging or even kissing Santa on the cheek in apparent attempts to make their boyfriends jealous.

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Young adult males, college age and up, however, either totally ignored the Easter Bunny and Santa, or occasionally demonstrated to others through body language and facial expressions, or even verbally, that they did not believe in these characters. There were no fraternity photos taken with either the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. When the Easter Bunny and Santa walked through the mall, young adult males went out of their way to avoid interacting with them. Yet, many of them flirted with the photographer’s wife, and some made open comments about her outfits. Both middle-aged women and men usually ignored or attempted to avoid interacting with the two characters, especially Santa Claus, unless they were accompanied by young children. In those cases, the parents tended to exaggerate their belief in the fantasy characters, and on occasion used them as threats to their children, indicating that if they did not behave, somehow the Easter Bunny or Santa would punish them. Middle-aged men were the most amusing to watch as they attempted to totally ignore the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, but could not refrain from stealing glances at the photographer’s wife who, dressed as a young girl for Easter and as an Elf for Christmas, attracted a lot of male attention of all ages. Elderly men and women with few exceptions openly enjoyed interacting with both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Older women, especially, went out of their way to greet and carry on conversations with both characters, feigning belief that they were real. The fact that the Easter Bunny could neither hear nor respond to the women did little to deter them from engaging in conversations. Santa Claus could hear and respond, and during slow periods, spent several minutes in conversations with the women. Those conversations usually began with the women feigning belief that they were talking with Santa Claus, but quickly developed into routine conversations between two people, who because of the white hair and beard, they seemed to think were close to each other in age. Many of them explained that they came to the mall daily to walk for exercise, and several discussed their battles with arthritis, past injuries and surgeries, and a variety of other ailments. Very few elderly men or women purchased photographs, but a few of the women did, usually indicating they planned to give the photograph to their grandchildren. Very few elderly men approached or interacted with the Easter Bunny, but most of them talked openly with Santa Claus. Unlike the women, they did not begin as if they were talking to Santa Claus, but started with the acknowledgment that they were addressing another male. Despite the age differences between them and the Santa actor, however, they too, acted as though they were speaking to another elderly man. On more than a couple of occasions, older men approached Santa Claus and asked how they could get the gig to play the character, hoping to supplement their retirement incomes. Race and ethnicity, usually powerful sociological variables in social situations, did not play a significant role in interaction with the Easter Bunny

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or Santa Claus. The mall in the small college town in Kansas where all of the Easter Bunny research and most of the Santa Claus observation took place was overwhelmingly patronized by white customers. Although the part of the Easter Bunny could have been played by any sex and any race, it was obvious that Santa Claus was being portrayed by a white male. The few racial and ethnic minorities who interacted with the Easter Bunny and Santa at that mall were Hispanic or Latino and there were no noticeable differences in their interactions from those of whites, with one notable exception: the teenage boys did not assault either the Easter Bunny or Santa. For the most part, they did not interact with the characters unless they were required to by parents or if they were accompanied by younger siblings. Otherwise, they ignored the two fantasy characters. The same was true for the one or two blacks who frequented the mall during the research project. Age as well as sex and gender were the most important factors influencing interactions with both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at the primary research site. In order to see if race or ethnicity was more important in other settings, Joe Hickey and I went to two different malls in a much larger nearby city where there were predominantly minority shoppers—one that was almost entirely frequented by Hispanic and Latino customers, and one that was almost exclusively used by black constituents. Since it is impossible to determine the age, race, ethnicity, sex, or gender of who is playing the Easter Bunny, we only went at Christmas time to observe interaction with mall Santas. In most situations we discovered that Santa was played by a white male even in malls with minority populations. Also, although there were different photo companies involved, at both of those malls the photographers were white, as were all of Santa’s helpers (other employees of the photography company). On only two occasions did we observe a black male playing the role of Santa Claus, and that was at the mall frequented by black shoppers. In both of those situations, younger children seemed unaware of the race/ethnicity of the character, and interacted with him the same way as they interacted with a white Santa. Children a bit older, roughly between five and ten years of age, occasionally mentioned that they thought Santa Claus was white, but engaged in virtually the same types of interaction with the character. In the mall setting with predominantly Hispanic shoppers, on one occasion a woman played the part of Santa Claus. In that situation, several children, even some below school age, commented that they were certain that Santa was actually a man, and volunteered that she must be one of his helpers. In one of the large malls, in addition to the Santa Claus who was located in the center of the mall, at least four other large department stores had their own Santas on duty. Young children seemed impervious to the fact that several Santas existed, and seemed eager to interact with all of them. Older children were also willing to interact with any or all of the Santas, but in a few cases, we heard children in the five to ten-year age

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range asking about the multiple Santas as parents offered explanations about Santa being so busy that time of year that he required several helpers. Similar to our observations at the first mall, elderly people were more than willing to interact with Santa Claus regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, or gender. Initially they played along with the character of Santa Claus, eventually interacting with the Santa actor as if socially engaging with another older adult. Although they rarely posed for a photo with Santa, they seemed to enjoy interacting with Santa the character, the actor portraying Santa, as well as with the photographer’s wife.

Ethical Considerations There were very few ethical issues related to portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at the mall, other than the exploitation of young children for profit. Although it did not seem to bother patrons, especially the parents of young children, there was a huge profit margin involved in selling the photographs with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. The people playing the roles were paid minimum wage. The costumes were old and obviously had been used for several years. The candy handed out to children and patrons was supplied by the mall. There were no fancy photography equipment or props, as the characters simply sat in a large chair on a small stage owned by the mall. Photographs were taken with an inexpensive Instamatic camera that developed the photos within seconds. The cost of film amounted to approximately 25 cents per photo and they were sold at a minimum of $5 each. Two children in the same photo were charged $7.50 or $10 and large groups were charged between $10 and $15 each depending on the size of the group. The enterprise was truly capitalism at its best. In short, the entire commercial enterprise involved very little overhead costs with maximum profits. A rationalization for participating in such a purely capitalistic venture was the apparent joy that children experienced while interacting with the fantasy characters, and the satisfaction parents showed when viewing the purchased photographs. Observing interaction with the Eater Bunny and Santa Claus without disclosure presented no ethical issues as the shopping malls were public arenas where anyone and everyone could observe the social interaction taking place. There were no attempts to deceive the people being observed, no potential harm to them, and no attempts to manipulate the interaction in any way. One uncomfortable situation arose when I was playing Santa at the local mall when a female undergraduate student in one of my classes came to the mall with her boyfriend. She eagerly waited in line to have her photo taken with Santa. Although I assumed anybody who knew me would recognize that I was the person playing Santa Claus, it was obvious that she had no idea. When it finally came to her turn to sit on Santa’s lap for a photo, she did not hesitate. She sat on my lap, put her arm around my neck, and put

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her cheek against mine. The photographer took the picture and then I said, “Merry Christmas, Cindy.” She shrieked and jumped off my lap at the same time, shouting, “Dr. Thompson! What are you doing here?” Her face turned red, and she started apologizing for sitting on my lap. She grabbed the photo and ran while her boyfriend laughed and paid the photographer. A few parents in line seemed perturbed that the Santa fantasy had temporarily been disrupted, but things returned to “normal,” soon thereafter. This brief scenario illustrated Garfinkel’s (1991) premise for ethnomethodology that social reality is very fragile and can be shattered in mere seconds when people’s definition of the situation suddenly changes or are in disagreement with that of others. It also reinforced the notion that although the female student knew that she was actually sitting on the lap of an adult male, as long as the situation could be defined as her sitting on Santa’s lap, everything was fine. Once it became apparent that not only was she sitting on an adult male’s lap, but it was one of her university professors in the suit, the action suddenly became defined as deviant and socially unacceptable. Her range of tolerance found it perfectly acceptable to sit on Santa’s lap, while unacceptable to sit on her professor’s lap. This particular incident also revealed that some of the assumptions of the people portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were erroneous. It was assumed that the person wearing the Easter Bunny was totally anonymous, and for the most part, that proved to be the case. Conversely, it was assumed that the person portraying Santa Claus was not anonymous, but was easily recognizable as themselves wearing a Santa Claus suit. That was not the case. Time after time, while portraying Santa, I would wave to neighbors, colleagues, or other acquaintances walking through the mall, assuming they recognized me as the person pretending to be Santa Claus. Instead, their interactions fell within the general parameters of all the other interactions with Santa, with younger children waving back, teenagers showing disdain, adult females playing along, and adult males attempting to avoid the interaction altogether. It was clear that they only saw the character of Santa Claus, and not a person, specifically me, playing the part of Santa. Because my voice is distinctive and easily recognizable, a few of my colleagues and closer friends did a “double take” when they heard me speak, even they seemed to reject the idea that it was me, and assumed that it was coincidental that Santa Claus sounded like somebody they knew. Unless I broke character and spoke directly to one of them by name, it was clear that in their perception, they were interacting with an anonymous person pretending to be a well-known fantasy character. Our student confirmed that he had the same experience when he encountered friends and even a few family members while portraying Santa Claus. In the end, despite some ethical qualms and considerations, I was confident that I had protected anonymity, caused no harm, and followed the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

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Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings An unanticipated outcome of portraying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus was that each of us experienced going through a transition into each of the roles that could have come directly out of a symbolic interaction textbook. One would think that playing a fantasy character role, whether the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or a popular cartoon character at Disney World would be a simple act requiring little effort on the part of the actor. Our research experience, however, reminded us that playing a fantasy character is not a simple act, but a far more complex process than assumed. Initially, when donning the costumes, we felt a little uncomfortable and even somewhat silly, as we felt like we did at Halloween when dressing up to be something or somebody that you are not. Thus, we practiced a certain amount of role distance, remaining detached from the role we were playing. Gary Fine (1983:241) noted, “when one takes on a role that is distinct from one’s primary role, one must decide how to embrace it … should one play the role or play oneself in the … role?” Initially, we were ourselves, pretending to be something else (in the case of the Easter Bunny) or someone else in the case of Santa Claus. Shortly after donning the outfits, however, as we interacted with others, especially children, we started to experience role embracement and to some extent became the fantasy characters we were portraying. The anonymity provided by the Easter Bunny costume allowed for very little personal interpretation or embracement of the role, but exemplified mask behavior as noted by anthropologists who contend masks are intimately associated with both identity and transformations of identity (Inglis, 2018). As Santa Claus, however, the individual portraying the role had plenty of opportunities to improvise and interject our personalities into the performance. Yet, that rarely happened. Instead, because virtually everyone who interacted with the character acted as if they were interacting with Santa Claus, the actor in the costume also defined the situation as if they were the fantasy character, experiencing a level of role merger. On more than one occasion both our student and I discovered that after we took off the costumes and walked through the mall in our own clothes to go to lunch or to go home, we often waved to others in the mall, and occasionally even shouted “Merry Christmas!” Mall patrons’ reactions to us were quite different than they had been to Santa Claus when he had done the same thing. It took the audience’s reaction to our performance to remind us that we were no longer Santa Claus, but merely another person walking through the mall. Erving Goffman (1959:17) alleged that sincerity is the process of a performer being “ … taken in by his own act.” To some extent we had sincerely taken on the identity of the character we played. Another unexpected experience of playing the Easter Bunny and Santa, was the risk associated with handling infants. Often infants would be asleep

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when the parents would bring them photographs, but the jostling and handling that occurred in transferring the child to the Easter Bunny and Santa often awakened them. This almost always resulted in crying and squirming that made taking a decent photograph almost impossible. Another common occurrence upon the infant awakening was the Easter Bunny or Santa would feel a warm liquid penetrating their costume. Parents were always embarrassed and apologetic, but since there was only one bunny costume and one Santa outfit, the rest of the shift was a bit uncomfortable for both the fantasy character actors as well as the rest of the public they encountered thereafter. Finally, perhaps one of the most surprising unexpected findings in both research projects was the covert sexuality associated with both the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. In ancient and medieval times, the rabbit was symbolically associated with fertility, and even today, many people associate bunny rabbits with prolific sexual activity and breeding as they produce several litters each year. Playboy magazine adopted the rabbit as its logo which became widely associated with nudity and sexuality. Although children’s cartoons such as Bugs Bunny desexualized the rabbit character, they nevertheless associated its image with resourcefulness, playfulness, and roguery. The character, Jessica Rabbit, from the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit, is renowned as one of the most recognized animated sex symbols in the world. But who would guess that the Easter Bunny at the mall would elicit sexual comments from women aged anywhere from 13 or 14 to 70 or 80 years of age? Nevertheless, on several occasions, the actor in the Easter Bunny costume was addressed with comments such as “You’re ‘hot to trot’,” one woman winked at the bunny and lipped her lips seductively, and another actually proclaimed, “I’d like to take you into a back room and rape you!” Santa Claus was also subjected to overt sexual comments and gestures. As noted, teenage girls openly flirted with Santa to exhibit their lack of belief and transition from girl to womanhood, but young adult, middle-aged, and even elderly women also openly flirted with Santa and made sexual innuendos. Santa was told how naughty some of them were, was invited to come down their chimneys and spend the night, and one elderly woman jokingly, but also half seriously, even proposed marriage.

Questions for Discussion 1 2

What other costumed fantasy characters might be candidates for similar qualitative field research? If you were going to replicate studies of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus at the mall, what things would you copy from this research? What things would you do differently?

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4 5

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Why do you think teenagers and middle-aged men have the most difficulty interacting with fantasy characters such as the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus? Why do young children and the elderly interact most positively with those characters? Do you discern any ethical issues that the researchers did not take into consideration? If so, what are they? How would you address them? Should the author have been more cooperative with the attorney seeking information about his research at the beef plant? Is there a way he could have testified in court and still conformed to the ASA Code of Ethics?

Note 1 Results of this study were previously published in: Hickey et al. (1988). Parts reprinted with permission of Sage. Thompson and Hickey (1989). Parts reprinted with permission of Qualitative Sociology and Springer.

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Studying Morticians and Funeral Directors 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-6

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In the United States, when people over the age of 25 first meet, they often break the ice by asking what each other does for a living. Consequently, what a person does in large part defines who the person is [italics added] (Pavalko, 1988). So, what happens when a person’s occupation is stigmatized? My interest in studying morticians and funeral directors occurred serendipitously one night when a mutual friend introduced me to a mortician at a party. As part of the introduction, our friend indicated that I was a professor at the local university and my counterpart was a mortician and funeral director who owned one of the two funeral homes in the city. Immediately, my new acquaintance shot a furtive look at our mutual friend, who quickly responded, “Don’t worry, Bill’s a sociologist, he won’t judge you, but don’t be surprised if he wants to put you under a microscope.” When I looked puzzled, our mutual friend said to me while nodding toward the other person, “He never likes for new people to know what he does, because it usually creeps them out, and they can’t get away from him fast enough … I figured you’d be in interested, and the two of you would probably hit it off.” Intrigued, I spent the next hour or so engaged in casual conversation with my new acquaintance, who explained he almost always received one of two very different reactions when people discovered what he did for a living: they were either immediately repulsed and tried to quickly get away from him; or, they were eerily fascinated, and wanted to ask him a host of inappropriate questions about his work. Either way, he almost always sensed a feeling of stigma (my word, not his), based on the fact that he handled dead bodies. Consequently, he said he typically introduced himself without mentioning his work, and when somebody inevitably asked what he did for a living he would reply “I sell insurance.” This was technically true, since he was licensed to sell burial insurance policies, and was very effective in shifting the conversation away from work, as people were usually afraid that he would try to sell them insurance. When I asked how what he characterized as those who were repulsed acted, he responded, “I literally had a person withdraw their hand midhandshake as if they did not want to touch the hand of somebody who handled dead bodies.” Other times, he indicated people often involuntarily shuddered, while many would mutter something like, “I guess somebody has to do that,” or “I could never do that kind of work.” Whatever the negative response, it was obvious that most people viewed his occupation in a negative light and did not want to be around him as a result. Almost immediately, I conjured in my mind the title “Handling the Stigma of Handling the Dead” for a research article I knew I would be writing about morticians and funeral directors.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives Based on that initial conversation with a mortician/funeral director I decided my overarching research question would be “How do morticians

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and funeral directors deal with the stigma associated with their occupation?” This overall question led to several more specific questions that constituted my research objectives: 1 2 3 4

Are morticians and funeral directors indeed stigmatized because of their occupations? If the answer to number 1 is “yes,” why is that the case? Are morticians and funeral directors aware of the stigma associated with their work, and if so, why do they choose that occupation? What techniques do morticians and funeral directors use to manage, reduce, or eliminate the stigma associated with their work?

Gaining Entry During my initial meeting with the mortician/funeral director, I told him that I would be interested in visiting with him at a later date to talk more and to explore the possibility of conducting some research into his profession. He gave me his business card and invited me to call him any time and we could arrange to get together for coffee or lunch. After about a week of reviewing all the literature I could find on death, dying, death rituals, embalming, morticians, and the mortuary business, I jotted down a few questions I thought would help answer the four research objectives I had established. I called and arranged to meet my new acquaintance for lunch deciding I could bounce my ideas off of him and conduct a preliminary interview with him to see if the project was worth pursuing. Lunch went well and my new “informant” was eager to participate in my study. He indicated that he, unlike most in the industry, had married into the business rather than having grown up in it. Therefore, he had come into the funeral business with preconceived notions of his own, some of which had been confirmed, many others that had been debunked. By pure serendipity, I had stumbled onto perhaps the best informant and first interview for which I could have hoped. He was very close to the same age as me, he was very candid about his work and career, he had a good sense of humor, and most importantly, he thought the research project I was proposing was important. The two of us spent at least a couple of hours talking about his experiences in the funeral business and he helped me develop a substantial list of questions to ask other morticians and funeral directors that would serve as my initial interview schedule. Before we parted, he gave me the names and phone numbers of three or four of his colleagues who he thought would be cooperative in being interviewed, and suggested that each of them could probably supply me with a similar list. This snowballing sampling technique where a researcher asks participants to provide names and contact information for others who are part of the same group under study is quite common in qualitative field research. As a result of using research participants to

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obtain additional people to interview, over a two-year period I was able to conduct interviews with a total of 19 morticians and funeral directors in four states: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. The sample consisted of 16 males and three females ranging in age from 26 to 64 years. The majority of the respondents were in their forties and fifties. Some were fully licensed to embalm as well as sell burial insurance; others were licensed only to embalm; and in the case of three of the respondents, they neither held licenses for embalming nor directing funerals or selling burial insurance. Nevertheless, all 19 of the people interviewed participated in all three activities. They owned or worked in both privately owned businesses as well as branches of large franchise operations and were located in towns of less than 1000 population up to cities with over one million people. Initial contacts were made by telephone to make appointments for taped interviews that ranged anywhere from one- and one-half hours up to over four hours in duration. In 17 of the cases, follow-up interviews were conducted later to gain additional information.

Ethnographic Interviewing with Full Disclosure Deciding that full disclosure of my research intentions was my best approach to this study, I soon discovered that all but one of the research participants were eager to talk about their profession. In almost every case, they mentioned that they were looking forward “to setting the record straight,” “telling their side of the story,” or debunking “the myths and stereotypes” associated with their profession. Although not a single request for interview was denied, I encountered one individual who was very difficult to interview and extremely hesitant to speak candidly about his work. This particular individual was a male in his early fifties who refused to his interview being taped, and attempted to answer as many questions as possible in short cryptic responses. Despite giving him my business card that indicated I was an Assistant Professor at a regional university, he seemed convinced that I was seeking information for either a newspaper article or television report. Several times during the interview he would abruptly stop and ask, “What are you going to do with this information?” He replied to a couple of the questions with “I’m not going to answer that!” in an indignant tone. Nevertheless, despite his reluctance to cooperate, his answers to most of the questions were similar to those of the other respondents in the study. His reticence to participate and refusal answer some of the questions reinforced my finding that morticians and funeral directors feel stigmatized by others.

Taking Field Notes Because of full disclosure, I was able to tape all the interviews (except one) with the morticians and funeral directors. Additionally, out of habit, and

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aware of the possibilities of technical difficulties any time electronic equipment is used, I took handwritten notes on a small notepad as we conversed, making sure to highlight important answers and attempting to get as many quotes as possible verbatim. For the most part, a few minutes into each interview, respondents seemed very aware of the tape recorder, but gradually began to ignore it and engage in more comfortable conversation. As with any ethnographic interview, the interview schedule served as a guide to make sure that all respondents were asked basically the same questions, but was also flexible enough to allow for follow-up questions, and the addition of new questions and avenues of an investigation depending upon the specific circumstances that arose during each interview. Some of the respondents were more verbose than others, but for the most part, interviews stayed on track and lasted in the general neighborhood of a couple of hours. At some time during every interview, respondents subtly shifted into their role of funeral director and insurance salesperson, asking me if I had made prearrangements for my own funeral service. This inevitably led to them reaching into their desk drawer and producing a list of services and burial policies that were available for purchase in order to guarantee that my family would be relieved of the burden of handling funeral and burial arrangements at the last minute during their time of grief. My initial inclination was to answer “yes,” or use some other method to shut down that conversation, but I quickly realized that allowing them to proceed with their sales pitch gave me additional insight into the nature of their business and their customary professional roles. It was also evident that each respondent became more comfortable in that role and became more relaxed about answering questions about funeral costs, mark-up on caskets, as well as other aspects of the funeral industry that often go unquestioned during actual funeral arrangement situations. For example, I learned that the typical markup on a casket ranged anywhere from 500% to a 1000%! Many furniture companies expanded into the casket business as the wholesale profits were far more lucrative, not to mention the huge profits garnered at the retail level.

Findings In terms of findings, the answer to my first specific research question was yes, morticians and funeral directors are stigmatized because of their occupations. They also are very much aware of the stigma associated with their work, which answers research question three in the affirmative. The answer to why they are stigmatized is a much more complicated phenomenon, which in part, seems rooted in deep-seated cultural conceptions and misconceptions around death and the handling of dead bodies. Historically and cross-culturally, handling the dead was typically relegated

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to the lower classes, as in the cases of the Eta of Japan and the Untouchables in India (Bendann, 1930). In some cases, people who handled dead bodies were forbidden from touching the living (Kearl, 1989). In the United States, prior to the industrial revolution, death and the handling of dead bodies were neither surrounded in mystery nor relegated to a particular category of people. Rather, in rural America, people usually died at home surrounded by loved ones, often in the same bed in which they had been born (Lesy, 1987). By the early twentieth century, however, as medical knowledge and technology progressed and became more specialized, more births and deaths took place outside the home in hospitals. Both birth and death became something to be handled by highly trained professionals such as doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, and fewer people witnessed death firsthand. As with any phenomenon, the less people know about it, the more likely it is to become surrounded by mystery and misconceptions. Interestingly, as death became more mysterious, those who tried to prolong life and prevent it, such as doctors and other health care professionals, gained status, while those who handled the dead, such as morticians and funeral directors suffered being viewed as “pariahs and deviants, sometimes like charlatans” (Levy, 1987:5). If morticians and funeral directors experience such stigma associated with their work, why do they choose those occupations? As several of my research participants responded when asked that question, “I didn’t choose this career, it chose me,” or “I guess it’s genetic, I inherited the business,” or something similar. All but one of them (my initial contact), grew up in a family that owned a funeral business—most for several generations. In those cases, it was common for the boys in the family to start working part-time in the business around high school age performing odd jobs around the funeral home, while girls of the same age would help their mothers with decorations, clothing and make-up, and funeral arrangements. By college age, at least one of the males in the family would get the legally required number of mortuary science hours to become licensed embalmers, while the girls often studied to earn certification as funeral directors or get licensed to sell burial insurance. In almost all cases, both males and females in the family, as well as spouses who married into the family helped around the funeral home in some capacity. Another factor in pursuing or continuing a career as a mortician and funeral director was the financial compensation. The man I met at the party who became my first interviewee was roughly the same age as me, both in our early thirties. I had taught in the public schools for five years, gone back and earned my Master’s and doctoral degrees, and was earning approximately $14,000 for nine months. He had a bachelor’s degree in business as well as 60 college hours in mortuary science, and after approximately seven years in the business was grossing a little over half a million dollars a year. Although I never asked and he never volunteered what his net earnings per year totaled, I assume it was substantially higher than my annual income.

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Money, I learned, was a substantial motivator for staying in the mortuary industry, as well as one of the major ways morticians and funeral directors handled the stigma associated with their work. As one of my respondents indicated, “Some people may look down at me for what I do, but they wouldn’t mind trading houses and cars with me.” Another remarked, “I sometimes get asked how do I stand doing what I do, and I am tempted to answer, how do you stand being so far in debt?” As previously mentioned, however, part of the stigma associated with the funeral industry is the idea that morticians and funeral directors are getting rich off the grief of others. All of my research participants were acutely aware of that conception by others, and most had developed strategies for dealing with it. In several cases, I was told that it was expected of them to live in large, luxurious homes because their residence often served as the location of the business. They also were not frowned upon for driving expensive cars, as those were typically owned by the business, and also served as vehicles to transport family members of the deceased to and from services and the cemetery. Even though expensive, funeral homes are typically not flamboyant, and automobiles are typically white or black Cadillac sedans, something that other successful business people as well as middle- and upper-middle-class families can also afford to drive, although they probably cannot afford a fleet of them. My initial contact in the research went to some lengths to hide his income and wealth from the local community in which he lived and worked. He had married into the family and subsequently divorced the daughter who had been the only child of the family and had owned the funeral business in that town for three generations. She had no interest in remaining in the funeral business, so she sold her interest in the business to him. He kept her family name on the funeral home and most members of the community were unaware that he was even part of the business, much less the sole owner. He had moved out of the funeral home prior to the divorce and rented a nice but modest apartment in the community. Rather than drive one of the business-owned Cadillacs to and from work, he drove a Toyota Camry as his personal car. He was a member of the local Rotary Club as well as on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce, sponsored a youth baseball team, was a Big Brother, and an active, but a low-key member of the Country Club. After we became well acquainted, he confided in me that he led a largely secret life of which only his close friends were aware. He owned a condominium in Vale, Colorado, where he tried to spend at least half of each year. There, he kept his Porsche 911, and had a different set of friends, most of whom were unaware of his funeral business. When we talked about this “other life” of his, he explained to me that since he was not an actual member of the family that had owned the funeral business for so many years, that longtime members of the community had always been somewhat suspicious of him. Although he was accepted by the local business leaders and younger

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community members, he feared that if he more openly displayed his wealth, it would generate resentment and perhaps even hostility that would hurt business and drive potential customers to the other, much smaller funeral home in the same community. He had hired a licensed embalmer to do much of the embalming work and a female receptionist to answer the phone as well as meet and greet family members and guests during the day. Two males in their early twenties who attended the local university rented the upstairs portion of the funeral home and in exchange for part of their rent, answered phones during the night. If needed, they were also on call to pick up and transport bodies during non-business hours. Both also drove family cars for funeral services. As much as possible, my informant limited his activities in the business to the sale of burial policies, pre-paid funerals, caskets, and gravestones, and was slowly even turning some of those duties over to the receptionist as she learned the business. He always made it a point to handle funeral arrangements and to be present when influential members of the community required his services. Although he had never read the book Stigma, it was clear that he had almost perfected the art of “dividing his social world” as a technique of stigma management described by Erving Goffman (1963) in that classic work. Sociologist David Sudnow (1967:51-64) pointed out that those who work in morgues or handle dead bodies are “death-tainted,” and must work very hard to rid themselves of the stigma associated with their jobs that are often considered to be “unclean.” My study revealed five major ways morticians and funeral directors handled the stigma of handling the dead: symbolic redefinition; role distance; professionalism; the shroud of service; and socioeconomic status as opposed to occupational prestige. Words are powerful symbols, and one of the ways morticians and funeral directors manage the stigma associated with their work is to use a number of euphemisms and alternative words and phrases for terms such as death, dying, and other words associated with the funeral business. This symbolic redefinition is important in deemphasizing the handling of dead bodies. To cite just a few examples, the words “dead” and “death” are substituted with less harsh sounding terms such as “passing,” “eternal slumber,” and “passing on.” The words “dead body” and “corpse” are never uttered, instead using words like “remains,” “the deceased,” and “loved one.” “Grief” is replaced with “loss,” and “time of sorrow.” “Coffins” are now “caskets” and graves are “resting places.” “Embalming” is referred to as “preservation” or “restoration” and it takes place in the “preservation room” or even “operating room.” Their very occupation is no longer that of “undertaker,” but is that of “funeral director,” “grief therapist,” or “bereavement counselor.” Virtually all of the morticians and funeral directors in this study practiced role distance, the process of playing a role while detaching from it to avoid any negative aspects of the role. The most important aspect of role distance for all was emotional detachment. They all looked at embalming and

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preparation of the body for a funeral in a very routinized series of tasks. The human body, while treated with respect, is dehumanized and viewed more as a project to be completed rather than as a dead person. One mortician used the analogy, “I treat it like a mechanic treats an automobile engine—with respect, but there’s no emotion involved … it’s just a job that needs to be done.” Another form of emotional detachment could be found in the use of humor. I discovered that just as attorneys know a thousand lawyer jokes, morticians and funeral directors often inject levity into what otherwise could be viewed as gruesome situations. All of the respondents indicated they hated necrophilia jokes and saw them as “sick” and “disgusting,” but otherwise, all but one of the respondents said maintaining a good sense of humor was critical for them to cope with the seriousness of their occupation. Some talked about fictional ads they might run such as “Business is slow, somebody’s gotta go,” and “People are dying to use our services.” By far, the most popular joke among them was some version of a man being buried in a rented tuxedo. Another form of role distance came in the form of countering stereotypes associated with the funeral industry. The women in this study expressed that they thought them just being involved in the funeral industry violated common stereotypes. The men acknowledged that they were well aware of many of the negative stereotypes associated with their work and admitted that they felt a strong need to counter those stereotypes as much as possible. As one stated, “People think we’re cold, unfriendly, and unfeeling … I try to be just the opposite.” The word “cold” is often associated with death and dying, and several of the respondents spoke of the need for them to be “warm” and “caring.” One interviewee even took the concept literally, saying he always kept a hand warmer in his pocket to ensure that he never offered a cold handshake to anyone. An important way to enhance the status of any occupation is through the process of professionalism. Most morticians admit that embalming is a very simple process that is easily learned and easily performed. Until the middle to late nineteenth century, embalming was rarely used and was not considered to require any special training or skills. By the twentieth century, however, almost every state had established certification practices and licensure for embalming. The four states in my study (Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas) all had similar requirements amounting to 60 college hours with a core of general courses such as English, mathematics, and social studies, plus at least one year of “mortuary science” courses comprised of introductory courses in biology and physiology, as well as a one-year apprenticeship under a licensed embalmer. To become a licensed Funeral Director required passing a state board examination which required knowledge of state laws related to burial, cremation, body disposal, and insurance. Professionalization not only reduces stigma of an occupation, but it also provides a social network for people in that occupation as they congregate at state, regional, and

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national meetings. Sociologist Kathy Charmaz (1980:192) surmised, “By claiming professional status, funeral directors claim prestige and simultaneously seek to minimize the stigma they experience for being death workers involved in ‘dirty work’.” Another way morticians and funeral directors handle the stigma of handling the dead is by surrounding themselves in what I labeled the “shroud of service.” Each and every person in my study emphasized the role of service over all other aspects of their job. Time and again I was told of the importance their service provided for grieving families and communities. “Grief therapy,” “bereavement counseling,” “providing closure,” and similar phrases emphasized the critical service they provided at the worst time in people’s lives. Ads for funeral homes almost always contain the word service in some fashion: “Our Family Serving Yours for Over 60 Years,” “Serving the Community for Four Generations,” and “Thoughtful Service in Your Time of Need” are all phrases that were included on business cards and/or stationary given to me by respondents. This emphasis on service is especially designed to counter the two most stigmatizing aspects of their jobs: handling dead bodies, and the fact that the funeral industry can be a very lucrative retail business. Although they try to deemphasize the monetary rewards of their occupation, enhanced socioeconomic status is another way of reducing the stigma associated with the funeral business. What their jobs lack in occupational prestige is more than compensated for in economic gain. Although some funeral homes are very small businesses struggling to remain afloat, even in the smallest communities there is usually at least one funeral home that does quite well economically. In major cities, there are several, including huge corporate chains that sell franchises much like McDonalds or Starbucks. Much of the profit in the funeral industry comes from the sale of caskets. At the time of my research there was no internet and in all four states only licensed funeral directors were allowed to sell caskets to the public. It is always difficult to talk money with other people, and I certainly knew better than to ask any of my participants their annual incomes. However, the Federal Trade Commission requires funeral homes to provide their customers with itemized lists of all expenses associated with their services. I was provided price lists from all of my interviewees, and discovered at that time (the mid-1980s) the average cost of a funeral was approximately $4,000 with the casket accounting for roughly half of the expense. I also discovered that almost all of them had devised “packaged plans” which although technically met the federal law of detailing expenses, also cleverly disguised some of them by “rolling them into a package deal.” Thus, things like transporting the body from the morgue to the funeral home, dress and make-up, opening the grave, and other expenses were not actually itemized, as they were all part of the “Deluxe Package” or “Gold Tier.” By purchasing these packages, the costs of the casket, embalming, transportation, etc., were all less than if

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purchased individually. As far as annual income, by asking the average cost of a funeral service and then at some later point in the interview asking approximately how many funerals they performed each year, I was able to get a fairly accurate estimate of gross annual income. For example, my initial informant told me he had performed 211 funerals the previous year at an average cost of $4,000. Simple math indicates a gross income in the neighborhood of $844,000. Even if he netted only one-third of that after expenses, he would still be earning over a quarter of a million dollars. One-fourth of the gross would give him an income over $200,000. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost for a funeral in the United States for 2020 was approximately $10,000 (NFDA, 2021). If a funeral director conducted 211 funerals in a year they would gross a little over 2.1 million dollars. Importantly, despite admitting the high markup on caskets and other retail items, each of the respondents deemphasized the retail aspects of their work and reemphasized the service component. For example, one respondent stated, “We don’t sell merchandise, we sell service,” while another asked “What is peace of mind worth?” and yet another “How do you put a price on relieving grief?” Finally, one couple reiterated the often quoted phrase, “You can’t take it with you,” and the most succinct summary of socioeconomic status over occupational prestige could be found in one respondent’s comment “Most of the people in this community would never want to do what I do, but most of them would like to have my income.”

Ethical Considerations There were no major ethical concerns associated with this research project. All of the participants were clearly informed of the research intention and openly agreed to participate in being interviewed about their occupations. A few minor ethical issues arose, however, as several of the participants admitted to me that they were not licensed embalmers, but did in fact embalm bodies. Although I had no legal or even ethical responsibility to report these findings, they are the kind of things that people in the funeral industry would not like to have go public. Part of each of my interviews necessarily involved me promising the interviewees that I would not share any of my findings with local newspapers or television stations, as there had been a number of damning exposes reported on unscrupulous practices in the funeral industry including overcharging, reusing caskets that were supposed to be cremated, and fraud related to prearranged and prepaid funeral expenses. Although I never uncovered any of those unscrupulous and illegal practices, some of the respondents openly shared some questionable practices to enhance their profits. For example, emphasizing that more expensive caskets provided more “comfortable” padding and “water tight” seals and other amenities that were either not actually the case, and more important, totally irrelevant. One funeral director indicated that

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people sometimes asked about cremation thinking it would be much cheaper than a typical funeral. He boasted that he was such a good salesman that he could talk them into having the body embalmed (which was not required in any of the four states if the body was buried within a particular time period), purchasing a casket and having an open casket viewing, conducting a regular funeral service, and then cremating the remains and selling them an urn, all of which would cost almost twice as much as the original funeral cost. Again, not an ethical dilemma for me, but perhaps should have been for him. The beauty of capitalism. In the end, despite some ethical qualms and considerations, I was confident that I had protected the anonymity of all those involved, caused no harm, and followed the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings One of the unexpected quirks of this particular study was the time it took. Because of teaching and family responsibilities it took a little over two years to interview less than 20 people (19). The snowball sampling method was effective, but slow. Also, because the morticians and funeral directors I interviewed were successful business people, they were very busy. I was careful not to intrude on their businesses and particularly careful not to take them away from families who had paid for their services and time. In more than a few cases, interviews were interrupted by phone calls that required immediate attention, and I had to reschedule for a later date and time. Additionally, due to the nature of qualitative field research, once patterns of stigma management techniques began to emerge, I sometimes had to go back for follow-up interviews to ask additional questions and acquire more data. Although I assumed that the funeral business was lucrative, I was surprised to learn just how lucrative it could be for successful morticians and funeral directors. At the time of my study, the American funeral industry in the United States generated approximately seven billion dollars annually (Kearl, 1989:271). In 2020, that figure surpassed 20 billion dollars with over 24 million funerals taking place each year (Marsden-Ille, 2021). Despite the stigma attached to their work, the 19 morticians and funeral directors in my study all earned substantial incomes and had high standards of living that socioeconomically placed them in the upper middle to lower upper social class range. Another unexpected finding was the candor and openness with which all but one of the morticians and funeral directors exhibited when talking about their work. I had learned early in my career that people generally like to talk about themselves and enjoy talking about what they do for pleasure. Bowlers like to talk about bowling, motorcyclists love to talk about riding their bikes, and people who fish can spend hours discussing fishing.

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I was a bit surprised, however, at how much people like to talk about their occupations, even if they do not like them. This was years before reality television and the numerous programs that highlight people on their jobs. I previously had studied people working on an assembly line in a beef slaughter plant and found them to be cooperative, but because I was working alongside them and interviewed them mostly on short breaks and during lunch, we did not get into long and detailed conversations about their work as I was able to do with the morticians and funeral directors. Finally, after hours and hours of talking with and observing morticians and funeral directors, I developed a different understanding about death and dying, as well as about life itself. Two years prior to the study, my father had died, and since my mother and sister were virtually immobilized by their grief, all the preparations for the funeral and burial fell to me. I had briefly spoken with both my parents about funeral arrangements, but as in most families, we avoided talking about death as much as possible. My parents had already purchased cemetery plots and even headstones but otherwise had not made any pre-arrangements for their funerals. I discovered that making all those decisions and arrangements at the last minute was stressful and fell prey to some of the common sales ploys associated with funeral preparation. The funeral director did not ask if we wanted the body embalmed but implied that the procedure was mandatory. When we asked to see the least expensive caskets available, the funeral director failed to show us what those in the business disparagingly refer to as the “welfare casket,” and instead took us to the next tier of caskets emphasizing their linings, closing mechanisms, and other unnecessary features. My father was a veteran and I later discovered that we were even charged for the American flag that draped his casket. We insisted on a closed casket graveside service, but discovered that despite our wishes, his casket had been opened for “viewing” when some relatives stopped by the funeral home to “pay their final respects.” Almost 20 years later when my mother died, because of my acquired knowledge of how the funeral industry worked, we avoided all of those issues. In fact, when the funeral director informed me that the law required that my mother’s body be embalmed, I politely reminded him that in fact, he was required by law to show me a document indicating the exact opposite. After a few awkward moments, he acknowledged his “oversight,” produced said document, and the entire process changed in tone from a sympathetic, service-oriented grief counseling session, to a straightforward business transaction. Both of those experiences in arranging funeral services for loved ones helped my wife and I to decide to opt for cremation and to put in writing detailed instructions on how to dispose of our bodies at death. Later, when our children became old enough, we sat down and went over those instructions and discussed dying, death, memorial services, and other related details in a candid and unemotional context—a conversation I would recommend every family have before it becomes immediately necessary.

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Questions for Discussion 1

2

3 4 5

Why do you think there is so much stigma attached to handling dead bodies? Do you think attitudes toward morticians and funeral directors have changed in the past few years or decades? What type of research would you design to answer these questions? Was it a good idea to use partial disclosure while interviewing morticians and funeral directors? Would it have been better to fully disclose the research goals and objectives? Or, would have been better to attempt the research with non-disclosure? How do you think using a tape recorder to record interviews affected the research process? Would it have been better to use unobtrusive measures? Why? Do you perceive any additional ethical issues or concerns not acknowledged by the author? If so, what are they? How would you address them? If you were going to replicate this study today what would you do similarly? What aspects of the research would you do differently? Why?

Note 1 Results of this study were previously published in Thompson (1991). Parts reprinted with permission of Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

7

Interviewing Topless Dancers 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-7

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As a sociologist, the whole world is your laboratory, and sometimes a research project falls in your lap. One Monday morning a graduate student appeared at my office door and announced, “I have a research project for the two of us.” This was not the first time I had been approached by graduate students in that fashion, but the majority of those so-called projects never materialized. I was directing this student’s Master’s thesis, however, and I knew that he was a capable researcher and a dependable student that met deadlines, so I was interested in hearing what he had in mind. I also wanted to make sure that he was not considering a project that would delay completion of his thesis and graduation. The graduate student had read my article on the beef packing plant as well as my article on morticians and funeral directors. He indicated that he saw a pattern in terms of how people engaged in both of those occupations were well compensated but also looked down upon by larger society and how those engaged in those jobs attempted to manage the stigma associated with their work. He then suggested that he knew of another well-paying but stigmatized occupation that might be worth investigating: topless dancing. He had been at a so-called gentlemen’s club in a nearby city that weekend and had spoken with one of the dancers for about half an hour. He was surprised to learn that she had an associate degree from a community college and was a single mother of a five-year-old who had just entered kindergarten. She told him how she had taken the job unbeknownst to parents, siblings, and friends as a temporary way to pay her rent and get back on her feet after her divorce. She discovered that the hours were flexible and allowed her to spend more time with her daughter and that it paid much better than any of the traditional part-time and even full-time jobs for which she was qualified. The problem, however, was she was afraid that family and friends might discover what she was doing and even worse, that she might have to reveal her employment to her daughter’s elementary school since they needed a daytime number where they could reach her. Since this was before mobile phones were readily available, she had been forced to give the school the landline number of the club, and she feared that if they called, the person who answered the phone would answer with the name of the club and reveal her occupation. She had told her daughter’s teacher that she was a waitress, and hoped that even if the club name was disclosed to the school, she could divert some of the stigma associated with her job by contending that she was a waitress at the club and not a stripper. I told the graduate student that I thought he had a researchable topic and encouraged him to pursue it as long as it did not interfere with his teaching assistant responsibilities or his thesis research and writing. That is when he disclosed that the main reason he had come to see me was to ask if I would take the lead on the project since I had years of experience in qualitative field research and he had never been engaged in anything but surveys and quantitative analysis. After some consideration, I agreed to help with the

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project and we started brainstorming a research question, some specific objectives, and which qualitative methods would best accomplish the task.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives Choosing a research question for this study was fairly straightforward. We wanted to know “How do topless dancers manage the stigma related to their deviant occupation?” Our objectives were to interview enough dancers in a variety of gentlemen’s clubs to see if identifiable patterns of stigma management emerged. There were enough previous studies as well as common knowledge to indicate that stripping and topless dancing were stigmatized occupations (e.g., Skipper and McCaghy, 1970; Boles Bryant 1974, Coffey, 1977; Enck and Preston, 1988). Specific research objectives focused on the questions: 1 2 3 4 5

Do topless dancers feel stigmatized because of their occupation? If the answer to question 1 is “yes,” what techniques do they employ to manage the stigma associated with their jobs? What was/is their motivation to dance topless? Do they tell people what they do for a living? Would they want their daughters to follow in their occupational footsteps?

We developed an interview schedule of approximately thirty questions designed to collect basic demographic data on the dancers as well as to address our overall research question and our five specific research objectives. We decided to fully disclose our research intentions and to use small tape recorders to record interviews. Our goal was to interview at least 30 dancers in at least five different Gentlemen’s Clubs.

Gaining Entry Gaining entry to the Gentlemen’s Clubs was not a problem as they were public places with the only restriction being that patrons must be at least 21 years of age to enter. A local ordinance required each club to post a sign on the front door which read:“You must be at least 21 years of age to enter this facility. If you are offended by nudity, do not enter.” All of the five clubs in this study were located in the same city with a population of over one million. They had gained reputations of being “clean” and “safe,” and all were referred to a “Gentlemen’s Clubs” catering primarily to middle- and upper-middle-class businessmen, or “suits” as the dancers referred to them. They all opened between ten and eleven in the morning and served lunch as well as beer and mixed drinks. Two of the clubs featured “all you can eat” buffets and had reputations among local business people as having good food. The clubs were relatively attractive and were located in areas

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surrounded by other businesses. Three of them were located in what ironically are known as “strip centers” sharing a parking lot with retail stores such as office supply stores, retail clothing stores, and even large chain grocery stores. All charged a modest cover fee for entry and at least two of the clubs required patrons to order a minimum of two drinks which were priced at least double or triple the cost at other “less classy” bars and clubs. Each club posted an attendant at the door who collected the cover charge and also served double duty as a bouncer, and all but one of the clubs had a small foyer with a counter where a “coat check girl” who was one of the dancers between sets checked coats, hats, or briefcases for patrons. Once inside the clubs we asked to speak to the manager. In all cases, the manager was a male ranging in age from mid to late twenties to midthirties. In only one case did the manager actually own the club. I presented each manager with one of my business cards and introduced my coresearcher indicating he was a graduate student pursuing his master’s degree in sociology. We assured the managers that we were not police officers and did not work for any of the local television stations or newspapers. We explained our research objectives and provided them with a list of the interview schedule we had developed. We also asked permission to tape our interviews with the dancers. Each of the managers agreed to allow us access to the dancers as long as the women agreed to cooperate and we did not interfere with business operations. Only one manager seemed skeptical that we were conducting legitimate research, but he agreed to cooperate on a “trial basis,” indicating that if any of the dancers or any of his customers complained, or if he suspected we had other motives, he would rescind his permission. We agreed to his terms. After our first couple of visits, all the managers realized that we were indeed conducting academic research and all agreed to waive the standard cover charges and two-drink minimums for us. One even invited us to partake of the “all you can eat” buffet his establishment offered, but we declined.

Team Research, Ethnographic Interviewing with Full Disclosure, and Taking Field Notes Our research method involved team research conducting ethnographic interviews with full disclosure. Initially, our team consisted of a graduate student and me. Because the student was inexperienced at interviewing, he lacked the confidence to conduct solo interviews at first, so the two of us selected a table as far away from the stage and the bar as possible and asked individual dancers if they would sit with us for a few minutes to answer our questions. We used a small recorder to tape the interviews and both of us took notes on 3 × 5 notecards. After each interview we asked the dancer to send one of her colleagues over to the table so that we could interview them. This process usually allowed us to interview one or two dancers per hour. As it turns out, it was a very good thing that we took field notes by

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hand as when we returned to the office to transcribe tapes we discovered that due to the loud music in the club, background noise, and occasional shouts or cheers from patrons, it was virtually impossible to hear the responses of our interviewees. After a few of these similar experiences at each of the clubs, we finally asked the managers if it would be possible for us to come to the clubs an hour before they opened as we discovered that most of the dancers arrived early in order to fix their hair, apply make-up, and put on their costumes. Each of the club managers granted us permission and although we interviewed fewer dancers on each occasion, we could tape the interviews with much fewer distractions with the added advantage that we were not costing the dancers money by them taking time to sit and talk with us. Furthermore, they were not subjected to other distractions and did not feel the need to try to get us to purchase drinks. Near the end of our study we found it advantageous to add a third member to our research team: a female graduate student who was just beginning her graduate studies. When she learned of our research project, she asked if she could come along to observe our interview process. By that time, the male graduate student had gained enough experience and confidence to conduct interviews on his own, so we were eager to add another observer and note taker to the team. This turned out to be particularly advantageous as she could go backstage into the dancers’ dressing room and talk to the dancers in a much more relaxed and candid atmosphere. As anybody familiar with dramaturgical analysis knows, far more authentic roles and behaviors can be observed “behind the curtain” in backstage settings than those that take place in the front stage arena (Goffman, 1959). Also, many of the dancers felt more comfortable sharing personal information with another female than they did with two males.

Findings We eventually interviewed 39 dancers. All of the dancers were female ranging in age from 19 to 41 years with a median age of 22. The majority of the dancers were white; one was black; five were Hispanic, and one was of Asian descent, describing herself as “half-Korean, half-American, and all woman.” 26 of the dancers had been married, but only 13 of them currently lived with a spouse. The others were divorced or separated. Onethird of the dancers (13) had never been married, but several of them either had lived with or currently were living with a boyfriend. Only one of the dancers was unmarried and lived at home with her divorced mother. 19 of the dancers had at least one child with one of the dancers being a mother of four. All the club managers were male. Three were white and in their midtwenties; one was Hispanic and in his early thirties. Acutely aware of how topless dancers are perceived by the general public, all of the dancers interviewed acknowledged that they experienced

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stigma associated with their occupation. George Ritzer (1986) cited three criteria any one of which could cause an occupation to be stigmatized: (1) if it is illegal; (2) if it is considered immoral; and (3) if it is viewed as improper. Although topless dancing was legal in the city where this research took place, there were a number of illegal activities that either occurred or were suspected in and around the club such as alcohol violations, use of illegal drugs, and prostitution. Even if the topless dancers were not involved in any of those illegal activities, a large segment of the citizenry considered their work to be both immoral and improper. Police made routine checks of the establishments in this study and often found underage patrons, intoxicated drivers, or people in possession of illegal drugs on the premises. Although we were not aware of any arrests for prostitution on any of the premises, we became aware of what the dancers referred to as “parking lot duty,” which referred to dancers engaging in a variety of sexual acts with patrons in cars in the parking lot. Not a single dancer confessed to us that she performed parking lot duty, but every dancer told us that the others did, sometimes pointing and calling them out by name. We discovered a pattern of techniques used by the dancers to manage the stigma associated with their occupation. One very consistent technique was that of Goffman’s (1959) concept of dividing their social worlds, informing some people of a potentially stigmatizing attribute while concealing it from others. With only one exception, all the dancers revealed their occupations to a select group of people while hiding it from the rest of the world. This was particularly true of those who had children, who repeatedly reported that they did not want their children to know what they did for a living. Similarly, they intentionally withheld that information from school officials where their children attended. This phenomenon was so common, that five of the clubs in the study had two different phone lines with different numbers, one of which was answered with the club’s name, the other one answered with the name of a different company. This allowed the dancers to give out the alternative number to friends, parents, school officials, and others as their work number in order to hide the true identity of their employer. We discovered that those same clubs used the alternative name for running customers’ credit cards so that bills sent to their homes or employers if they used a company card would read something like “J and J Enterprises,” as opposed to “Baby Dolls.” The married dancers’ husbands usually knew what they did, as did most of the boyfriends. Only a couple of the dancers had told their parents and none had told their children. The one dancer who lived with her mother said her mother knew what she did, and one of the dancers indicated that she did not hide her occupation from anybody, since it was “perfectly legal, pays well, and is nothing to be ashamed of.” Other common techniques for managing the stigma associated with their work were almost straight out of Sykes and Matza’s (1957) techniques of neutralization—ways of neutralizing or minimizing the consequences of

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deviant behavior: denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. For example, when asked how and why they became topless dancers, most of them described financial and/or social circumstances they believed to be beyond their control. These typically included elements of chance, economic need, challenge, and intoxication. Financial distress and the discovery of how lucrative topless dancing figured into the vast majority of reasons given for inadvertently entering the world of topless dancing. One dancer summed up this situation by commenting, “After trying a lot of part-time and full-time jobs that didn’t pay for s∗∗t, I discovered that a girl with little education and experience could make far more money shaking her tits, than anything else, except maybe robbing banks or selling drugs.” They also tied the denial of responsibility to the appeal to higher loyalties, indicating they were dancing topless in order to support their child(ren), support themselves, or otherwise help their loved ones financially. Denial of injury, denial of a victim, and condemnation of the condemners surfaced as stigma management techniques in almost every interview. Over and again dancers expressed bewilderment over why so many people were opposed to topless dancing and felt so negatively toward those who did it. “What harm do we do?,” asked several of the dancers. Others asked “What are we doing wrong, and who do we hurt?” One dancer proclaimed, “People look down on us … [but] it’s not like we’re dealin’ drugs or robbin’ liquor stores or something.” Similar comments came from every dancer, with all of them insisting that what they were doing was not only legal and harmless, with some even putting a positive spin on their jobs, contending they provide a public service. For example, a couple of dancers insisted that if some of their customers could not come into a club and have some “harmless fun” and “release some of their stress of everyday living,” they might be more likely to “act out” some of their sexual fantasies in public leading to sexual assaults and rape. One dancer summed this idea up with her comment, “If nothing else, we keep these perverts off the streets.” Perhaps the most common neutralization technique we heard was condemnation of the condemners related to the hypocrisy of those who most vocally criticize and stigmatize topless dancers. One dancer commented: They’re a bunch of hypocrites! Even the guys who come in here and drool and hit on us wouldn’t give us the time of day if they ran into us on the streets. They will come in here on Saturday nights, get drunk, and play “grab-ass” and then go to church on Sunday and condemn what we do. In general, I think we’re a whole lot more honest than they are (Thompson and Harred, 1992:306).

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Another pointed out, “The mayor has been in here, several city council members have been customers, and even some of the cops who have arrested us have been customers at some time or another.” During the time of our research, the city where the clubs were located conducted a “Crackdown on Crime” campaign, part of which targeted the clubs with periodic raids checking for underage drinking, liquor violations, illegal drugs, and prostitution. Several of the dancers alluded to this campaign as being “for show” and “ridiculous,” pointing out that the city was wasting valuable resources cracking down on “perfectly harmless” activities between consenting adults. One dancer exclaimed, “they’re making a big show of arresting a few titty dancers while ignoring serious crimes like burglaries, robberies, rapes and murders.” Another said, “One night when there were five or six undercover cops in here, my boyfriend’s apartment was robbed, and it took over two hours for one cop to show up!”

Replicating the Study A Decade Later Ten years after our initial study of the Gentlemen’s Clubs, my former graduate student returned from his doctoral studies and took a full-time job at the university as a research and data analyst. One day over lunch he mentioned the phenomenal response our study had received and suggested we ought to go back to those same clubs if they were still in business and see what had changed. I acknowledged that journals typically love to publish replication studies if they are well done, and thought it might be a worthwhile project. A female colleague and another graduate of our Master’s program who was dining with us eagerly volunteered to be a third research team member. Remembering the advantage of having a female involved at the end of the previous research, we readily agreed, and began discussing research objectives and strategies. Our first research question was whether topless dancing was still highly stigmatized, and all the literature indicated that was still the case. Moreover, the city in which we had conducted the previous study was involved in a renewed moral campaign using new zoning laws as well as city ordinances to crack down on pornography, strip clubs, prostitution, and other sexrelated businesses. One of the clubs from our previous study had been raided over six times in the past year as part of a highly publicized City Council and police crusade against topless clubs. Five gentlemen’s clubs were included in this second study with three of them being the same clubs from our first study. Two of the clubs from the original study could not be used because one of them had mysteriously burned to the ground and another had closed after a barrage of police raids, failed health inspections, and liquor license violations. We substituted two new clubs that had gained reputations as being among the “best” and most “high class” in the city. Both of those clubs ranked among the top five in the state in alcohol sales, and despite the city’s efforts to shut down topless

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clubs, it ranked as one of the highest cities in the United States in a number of topless clubs per capita (Fairbank, 2003).

Differences Over a Decade One of the first noticeable differences in these clubs from a decade earlier was that all looked posher and more attractive from the outside. The three clubs from our previous study had all received major renovations both inside and out. The two new clubs were also very attractive in appearance. All five clubs offered valet parking, all served food, and all required a cover charge for entry. Each of the clubs also employed private security guards to patrol their parking lot and premises. In our earlier study, due to city ordinances, dancers in some of the clubs had been required to wear “pasties” or clear latex over their nipples and what was referred to by the dancers as “full backs” which were the equivalent of a bathing suit bottom or pair of panties. Despite the efforts of the city to more strictly govern topless clubs, either those ordinances were no longer in effect or they were being openly violated as all the clubs in our replication study allowed the dancers to dance bare-breasted, requiring only a “t-back” or “g-string” to cover the genital area. Despite club rules and city ordinances banning total nudity, several of the dancers occasionally pulled the g-string to the side or pulled it down to briefly “flash” the audience, generally resulting in loud cheers, applause, and increased tipping. We interviewed a total of 28 dancers the second time around. As with the previous study, all were female. They ranged in age from 18 to 32 years with a median age of 22.5. All but five of the dancers were white; three were black; two were Latina; and one was Asian. None of these dancers had been included in our original study, but one of them had been dancing topless in one of the clubs ten years earlier, so she had firsthand knowledge of changes that had taken place over the decade. Other than the more attractive outer and inner appearances of the clubs, one of the most noticeable differences that had taken place over the previous decade reflected the cultural popularity and acceptance of tattoos. In our initial study, only four dancers (roughly 10%) had visible tattoos. Ten years later, only three of the dancers (roughly 10%) did not have visible tattoos. The most popular placement for tattoos was on the lower back just above the buttocks (popularly referred to as a “tramp stamp”), followed by small tattoos on the ankles. Several of the dancers also sported tattoos on their arms, legs, breasts, and pubic areas. There were no facial or neck tattoos among the dancers. As with our previous study, all of the dancers indicated that they felt like their occupation was misunderstood, needlessly condemned, and highly stigmatized. “Most people think we’re a bunch of wild girls who sleep around and do drugs …”; “People think we’re whores and druggies …”;

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“They think we’re loose and sluts …” were only a few of the typical comments we heard (Thompson et al., 2003:553). Even one of the club managers mentioned how he was stigmatized by his association with topless dancing: “If I wanted to get back into the ‘legitimate’ restaurant business, nine out of ten restaurants wouldn’t even look at me because I’ve worked here … they think it’s sleazy, and all people associated with it are druggies, whores, and pimps” (Thompson et al., 2003:553). You know an occupation is stigmatized when the workers feel compelled to change their names when they do it. In both studies combined, all but two of the dancers we interviewed used pseudonyms when they performed. In many cases the dancers indicated that they chose their fake names because they sounded “sexier” and more appropriate for what they were doing. For example, at every club we studied, we encountered dancers named “Cinnamon,” “Candy,” Cheyenne,” and “Angel.” The motivation for using a fake name, however, was more than conjuring an image and was intended to ensure anonymity. For example, in some cases a dancer with a name like Cindy would go by the stage name Becky. One of the more interesting examples was a dancer we interviewed whose name was Candace and everybody called her Candy, used the stage name Miranda while in the club. The major focus of our replication study was how topless dancers manage the stigma associated with their occupation. Once again we found that dividing the social world and applying techniques of neutralization were the most common strategies. Time and again we discovered that the dancers revealed their occupation to only a select few individuals and hid it from everyone else. One dancer confided, “My mother knows and is really supportive of me, but if my dad ever found out he would die—or kill me” (Thompson et al., 2003:560). All the dancers who had children indicated that they did not want them to discover what their mothers did for a living, and one dancer said she even hid it from her boyfriend. Beyond dividing their social worlds, we once again were amazed at how systematically each of the dancers described Sykes and Matza’s (1957) techniques of neutralization as to how they handled the stigma. Denial of responsibility included comments about not choosing the occupation, taking the job as a last resort, and combining it with an appeal to higher loyalties, such as “I only do this to support my kids.” As with our first study, the two most common neutralization techniques were denial of injury and condemnation of the condemners. One dancer summarized: Every day there are people out there murdering, robbing, and raping people. We come in here behind closed doors and shake our tits for people who pay to see us do it. What possible harm can come from that? (Thompson et al., 2003:562.

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Another said: This crusade against topless clubs is such a bunch of crap. We have city council members, cops, professional athletes, and all kinds of famous people come in here all the time. They have VIP cards and go to the private rooms so that nobody sees them in here. It’s harmless fun, and even the loudest opponents [of these clubs] know it” (Thompson et al., 2003:562). In our replication study, we also became aware of the use of cognitive dissonance on the part of dancers to redefine or reinterpret their attitudes and beliefs and modify them in order to make them better fit, or at least reduce the inconsistencies between those attitudes and beliefs and their actual behavior. Arlie Hochschild (1983:7) referred to this as “emotional labor.” She indicated that workers whose jobs produce an unusual amount of emotional strain must develop a certain amount of emotive dissonance, which is the difference between feeling and feigning emotions. We routinely heard comments from dancers indicating they felt obligated to flirt with customers although they viewed them as “perverts,” “horny bastards,” or as one dancer put it, “frustrated married guys who just come in here to get a hard-on” (Thompson et al., 2003:565). These feelings were also expressed in our research a decade earlier, but we failed to notice as discernable a pattern in our first study as we did the second time around.

Ethical Considerations We experienced no major ethical issues in conducting either of the research projects on topless dancers. We gained entry to the settings with full disclosure and the enterprises were legal business establishments open to the public over the age of 21. We did not violate any laws, adhered to all of the clubs’ rules, and followed the American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics. We were careful to be as unobtrusive as possible while conducting the interviews, but our presence, especially during the clubs’ operating hours, did somewhat interfere with the dancers’ work. Spending time with us cost them money, but that seemed a minor irritant at worst. A few of the dancers refused to be interviewed, which we fully understood. Sometimes after a few visits, dancers who initially did not want to participate in the research came over to us and asked to be interviewed, either being reassured that what we were doing was legitimate, or in some cases, wanting to get “their version” of the story on record. We had a similar experience ten years later when we replicated the study. In all cases, we protected the dancers’ anonymity, caused no harm, and followed the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

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Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings There were numerous quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings associated with our research on topless dancers. First and foremost, was the amount of money some of the women earned. In the first study, we had several women tell us they could earn between $2,000 and $3,000 on a weekend night. Several of the women indicated they averaged about $5,000 per week. We witnessed several dancers make between $200 to $300 in one set, which was three 3-minute songs played back to back. Dancers typically rotated sets, with each one dancing at least four or five sets per shift, usually more. Between sets, dancers would “work the room” going from table to table having customers buy them drinks and asking if patrons wanted a lap dance. In each of the clubs, the dancers were paid one dollar for every drink a customer purchased for her. Dancers usually charged a minimum of $20 for a lap dance, with some of them getting paid as much as $200 to $300 for a single dance in the VIP room. Ten years later those figures had more than kept up with inflation. All the dancers were paid in cash, and there were no W-2 forms, 1099 forms, social security deductions, or any other traceable tax records that accurately reported taxable income. Rather, at all of the clubs in our studies, the dancers paid the club a set fee ($50 for day shifts and $100 for night shifts) for the opportunity to perform. Tips for drinks were split 50/50 with the bartender, and all of the girls shared some of their dancing tips with the club DJ as he was an important team member in her act, urging the crowd to cheer and tip generously. Almost every dancer in both studies contended that the DJ “can make you or break you in this business.” Some of the women may have exaggerated the amount they made to impress us, while others seemed reluctant to reveal how much they earned as if they feared we might report them to the Internal Revenue Service or some other authority. Nevertheless, it did not take long for those of us conducting the research to realize that many of the dancers were earning more money than were we. This is not to imply that the dancers were getting rich. Most of them indicated they lived in small apartments or trailer homes, and almost all were supporting children, boyfriends, and other people. It was strongly implied that some were also supporting drug and alcohol addictions, as well as paying money to attorneys, courts, and other legal (and perhaps illegal) entities. One dancer in the first study, however, was a 42-year-old former real estate broker who said when the real estate bubble broke, she discovered that she could make a whole lot more money dancing topless than she had ever made selling homes. Those of us conducting the research did not envy the incomes of those doing the dancing, however, as we both heard and saw firsthand some of the emotional and social toll associated with the occupation. And, based on other research and our observations, we assumed that was merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

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Another interesting aspect of researching topless dancing was that some of the stigma attached to the occupation was also linked to studying the occupation. Colleagues outside the discipline of sociology often raised their eyebrows, and some even made snide comments when they discovered our research projects. I was asked several times, “Your wife let you go to strip clubs and study topless dancers?,” as if I needed permission from my spouse to conduct my chosen profession. Several male colleagues half-jokingly and half-seriously commented, “If you need any help, let me know.” When I responded that I would welcome their help in transcribing taped interviews or compiling notes, their feigned willingness to help vanished. My wife, conversely, listened to taped interviews and helped with the transcription process. After years of helping me interview the Old Order Amish, watching me dress as the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, smelling me when I came home from a beef plant covered in blood and guts, and listening to my stories about morticians and funeral directors, she was not the least bit bothered by interviewing topless dancers. Even some university administrators questioned the academic credibility of our research. One Department Head in a different college at the university remarked that he would never reward any of his faculty members for “sitting in a bar drinking and watching naked women.” His Dean nodded his head in agreement. Another colleague mentioned that he had heard a local talk radio personality mention our research on his program. Evidently, he aired a daily or weekly summary of government waste on “ridiculous research” and alleged that a professor at our university had received a large federal grant to study topless dancers. Although he did not mention my associates or me by name, he did name our university. Unfortunately, if he was talking about our project, there was no truth to his story. There was no federal grant, no state or local grant, no reimbursement for mileage or any other costs associated with our research, as all research was conducted on our own time with our own resources. Not a single class or meeting was missed. Moreover, although we ate a few meals at the clubs, we did not consume alcohol for several reasons, opting for water or an occasional soft drink to keep hydrated instead. First, we were there for several hours and the drinks were very expensive. We simply could not have afforded to buy alcohol. Second and more importantly, we had to drive across the city and several miles back to our homes. We were not going to risk an accident or traffic violation. Finally, it was difficult enough to try to conduct valid scientific research with blaring music, cheering crowds, and half-naked women approaching you to buy them drinks or pay for a lap dance, without complicating the process by consuming alcohol. As mentioned, in the first study, after all the club managers became acquainted with us, they waived the cover charges, and some even offered a free meal while we conducted the research. In the first study we also were allowed to come in before the clubs opened to interview the dancers, but we were not allowed that luxury in the second study and one of the club managers insisted that

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we pay the cover charge each time we entered, although he did waive the two-drink minimum. Finally, other than working in the beef slaughter plant, researching topless dancers was two of the most physically demanding and unhealthy experiences I have had as a sociological researcher. I am allergic to cigarette smoke and even minimal exposure usually results in a sinus headache. Prolonged exposure adds severe congestion and sometimes a sinus infection. I suffered all of those side effects during both studies. Although the clubs visited in the second research project had better ventilation systems, they like the clubs in the first study wreaked with the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke. Almost all of the dancers smoked during our interviews as did almost all of the customers. Carpeting, drapes, clothing, and even the wooden furniture in the clubs had absorbed so much smoke that the stench hit us as soon as we walked in the door and remained with us until we returned home, stripped off our clothes, took a shower, and washed our hair. A little over halfway through the replication study I relinquished all interviewing duties to my two colleagues who by that time were experienced and confident ethnographic interviewers in their own right. My contribution from that point on was transcribing tapes, compiling notes, and drafting outlines and rough drafts for the manuscript.

Questions for Discussion 1 2 3 4 5

Did any of the findings in these two studies surprise you? What preconceived notions you had about topless dancers and clubs were reinforced by these studies? Which ones, if any, were debunked? What was the advantage of using team research for these two studies? Would either or both of these studies been enhanced if a member of the research team had participated as a dancer? Do you agree that it was best to use full disclosure for these studies? Why? Or Why not? Do you perceive any ethical issues or concerns related to this research that were not acknowledged by the authors? If you were going to replicate these studies today, how would you design the research project? What things would you do similarly? What things would you do differently? Why?

Note 1 Results of this study were previously published in Thompson and Harred (1992) and Thompson et al. (2003). Parts reprinted with permission of Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

8

Riding With Modern American Motorcyclists 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-8

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There is a saying that happiness is doing what you love and loving what you do. Imagine doing something you love for approximately 50 years and then discovering that all along you had been conducting a qualitative sociological field study—another thing that you love to do. That more or less describes how I came to study modern American motorcyclists.

Gaining Entry Gaining entry into the world of American motorcycling was easy since I first started legally riding motorcycles on the street when I was 14 years old. My love for motorcycles started long before that, however, as I was always fascinated by the powerful machines for as long as I can remember. As early as the age of five, I rode on the back of my neighbor’s BSA, and I spent the entire summer of my ninth year playing on my uncle’s Harley Davidson Road King that sat on a workbench in his backyard while he rebuilt the engine. Like most of the boys in my neighborhood, I attached baseball cards with clothespins to the spokes of my bicycle to imitate the sound of a motorbike, and I was riding dirt bikes in the backyard and in vacant fields by the age of 12. In Oklahoma, a person could obtain a valid license with horsepower restrictions and a curfew to ride a motorcycle at the age of 14 on the streets. By my 14th birthday I had saved enough money from mowing lawns and throwing a paper route to purchase my first street bike, a 1964 Honda Sport 50. Within just a few weeks I had formed a special bond with the boys at my junior high school who rode similar bikes. Other boys at our school, who did not ride, envied our most prized mode of transportation. Girls wanted to ride on the back of our bikes, and many parents of both boys and girls warned their children to be wary of us, associating even young motorcyclists with the likes of Marlon Brando’s character in “The Wild One,” and teenage idol/rebel James Dean. Even at age 14, it was obvious to me that riding a motorcycle simultaneously set me apart from those who did not ride, while bonding me to those who did. As I grew up, I was drawn to movies that featured motorcycles and bikers and read every book I could find on the subject. Most of the books and movies about motorcycles and their riders featured motorcycle gangs modeled after real-life motorcycle clubs like the Hell’s Angels, Pagans, Bandidos, and other outlaw biker organizations. Although I knew those groups existed and even encountered a few of their members on the road, I also knew that the motorcycling subculture was mostly populated with people like me—ordinary people who enjoyed riding motorcycles for fun, relaxation, and a means of getting from one place to another. Although I could not articulate it at the time, from my early teens I was very much aware of the distinction between “bikers”— hardcore motorcyclists devoted to a particular lifestyle, and “motorcycle

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enthusiasts”—people who enjoy riding motorcycles but are not members of a motorcycle club or committed to the biker lifestyle. One night in a motel room while on a long cross-country ride with one of my lifelong friends and riding buddies, he said, “You know, there are tons of books and movies about hardcore bikers and motorcycle gangs, but I’ve never seen a single book or movie about ordinary guys who ride motorcycles.” He paused, and then added, “I’m surprised you’ve never studied or written anything on people like us, after all, there’s a helluva lot more of us than there are of them.” Eureka! Before morning I had pretty much worked out in my head a plan for a major research undertaking that would focus on motorcycle enthusiasts as opposed to bikers and provide a sociological look at modern American motorcycling. Since I had been riding motorcycles before my teens, gaining entry to the motorcycling subculture was easy: I was already part of it. Essentially, I had been studying motorcyclists most of my life without realizing it. All I really needed to do was just keep doing something I had done for decades, while consciously applying my sociological background, training, and research experience to the activity. This necessarily meant developing a formal research strategy while also drawing upon my informal knowledge and experience.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives Based on my riding experience, conversations with friends who ride, and an extensive review of literature, I decided my overall research goal was to sociologically analyze modern American motorcycling. This necessarily required answering several more specific questions that became my research objectives. First, and foremost, since the available literature and predominant public perception of motorcycling focused on the onepercenters comprised of hardcore bikers and members of motorcycle clubs/gangs, I decided that my research would focus on the other 99% of motorcyclists comprised of ordinary people who enjoy riding motorcycles for fun, recreation, and transportation. The distinction between “one-percenters” and ordinary motorcyclists first came to light after a 1947 fight between two rival motorcycle gangs in Hollister, California. In response to public outcries to outlaw motorcycling and motorcycle clubs, the president of the American Motorcycling Association declared that 99% of motorcyclists were decent, law-abiding citizens and that only 1% were outlaws. Almost immediately, outlaw motorcycle gangs embraced the term “one-percenters” and began to refer to themselves with that moniker with many sewing 1% patches on their vests and jackets. Very little research exists, however, on the vast majority of motorcycle riders. This formed my overall research goal to describe and sociologically analyze modern American motorcycling. My first specific research objective was to distinguish between bikers and motorcyclists by

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creating a detailed description of each category. Then, my specific research objectives involved answering the following questions about motorcyclists: 1 2 3

4

Who are the vast majority of motorcycle riders? What are their demographics in regard to age, sex, race, social class, and other important sociological variables? Do they represent a distinct sociological subculture? If so what are its values and how do they compare to the values of hardcore bikers? What are the important sociological symbols that reflect those values and characterize modern American motorcyclists? Why do they ride?

Team Research and Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure As a long-time rider who had attended numerous motorcycle rallies as well as charity events, and was familiar with bike shops, as well as biker-friendly restaurants and bars, it was logical to choose full participant observation with nondisclosure as my primary research method. My daughter also rode motorcycles and I discovered she was a tremendous asset in interviewing both women riders and women who rode two up with significant others. My wife also rode two up with me on occasion and was very helpful in interviewing women in this study. Thus, we used a team research approach when possible. Although this research project drew upon over 40 years of riding experience for analysis and interpretation, empirical data for this study primarily came from approximately five years of intensive observation at motorcycle rallies and events accompanied by ethnographic interviewing over 200 motorcycle riders. An interview schedule with approximately 35 questions was established and can be found in the appendix of my book, Hogs, Blogs, Leathers and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling (Thompson, 2012:195–196). Successful ethnographic interviewing essentially involves having meaningful conversations with people with the emphasis on listening rather than talking. Almost everybody likes to talk about themselves and loves to talk about their interests or hobbies whether they be fishing, bowling, stamp collecting, or riding motorcycles. Most of the interviews for this study began with a simple greeting and comment, such as “Nice bike.” That usually began a conversation that allowed me or one of my team members to not only ask all of the questions on our interview schedule but to ask a number of follow-up questions and modify the interview as circumstances dictated. Terminating interviews became much more difficult than initiating them. Motorcyclists tend to love their motorcycles as well as riding and are anxious to share information about both to virtually anybody willing to listen.

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Taking Field Notes You cannot take notes, use your cell phone, or employ any other research technology while riding a motorcycle. You can observe other riders, but even that activity can be dangerous if you take your eyes off the road ahead of you for even a few seconds. Consequently, most of the observation and all of the interviews took place at rallies, inside bars or restaurants, at motorcycle shops, or at other venues where motorcyclists gather. My team researchers and I carried a small notepad and pencil in one of our saddlebags as well as in one of our pockets at all times. After the interviews, we retreated to private areas as soon as possible to jot down notes, useable quotes, and answers to interview questions. As with any team research, if we had different recollections of specific quotes or answers, we discussed them until we came to a mutual understanding that would not distort our findings or analyses. Collecting demographic data posed a bit of a challenge and required some tactful and indirect questioning in some cases to obtain. For example, although some riders (mostly older men) voluntarily told me how old they were, I was reluctant to directly ask any of the riders, especially women, their age. Even my wife and daughter were reluctant to ask women their ages, although some volunteered that information. Instead, we found it easier to ask how old were they when they first started riding motorcycles. Some respondents were very precise indicating their exact age when they first rode. Others were a little more ambiguous with responses like “in my early teens,” or “sometime during high school.” Nevertheless, almost all could recall when they began and gave an approximate age. Later, in our conversations after asking several other questions, we would ask them how long they had been riding. Again, some were very precise, stopping to calculate in their head, and replying “seventeen and a half years,” or, “it will be twenty-three years this coming October.” Others responded with answers such as “almost thirty years,” or “almost all my life.” In those cases where we had precise ages when they started and a specific number of years they had been riding, simple math allowed calculation of their age. When more ambiguous answers prevailed, we tried to get riders to recall specific events when they first began riding to help estimate their age as closely as possible. New riders were the easiest to obtain precise ages, as they often responded with answers like, “I bought my first bike for my 50th birthday, and I just turned 54 last month.” Older riders were less reluctant or ambiguous about age, often stating their age and boasting about how long they had been riding. Race and ethnicity were determined by typical social indicators such as skin color and social affiliations. A large majority of motorcyclists are white, and that was the case in our research. At almost every rally, however, there are representatives from virtually every race, ethnic group, and nationality. Some riders openly display symbols on t-shirts, vests, or jackets that

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proclaim their race or ethnicity. Others, who might be more difficult to categorize by skin color, revealed racial or ethnic identities during interviews with comments like, “growing up in a black family, none of my relatives rode motorcycles,” or “I didn’t have a single Mexican friend or family member who I could ride with, so I mostly rode with white guys or alone.” As with race and ethnicity, sex and gender were determined primarily by observing readily recognizable social and cultural symbols. For the most part, motorcyclists are binary, identifying as either male or female, and riding motorcycles is a predominantly male endeavor. During conversational interviews, women riders almost always proclaimed their sexual identity, with comments like “I was the first woman in my family to ever ride a motorcycle,” or “I used to ride two up on the back with my husband (or boyfriend), and one day decided I wanted to ride a motorcycle of my own.” Although a few men made derogatory remarks about women riders, implying they must be lesbians, more male riders openly accepted women riders and some bragged that their wives or girlfriends rode their own bikes. We discovered that most of the female riders were well aware that motorcycling was dominated by men and therefore accentuated their femininity by wearing explicitly feminine clothing, jackets, helmets, and gloves in pastel colors, especially pink, and often decorated with flowers, butterflies, or other feminine symbols.

Findings Distinguishing between motorcyclists and bikers was the first goal of this project and the distinctions became apparent quite early in the research. After five years of observation and ethnographic interviews conducted with 224 motorcycle riders, the distinction between bikers and motorcyclists was clear. Being careful not to stereotype, it is safe to generalize that bikers are more likely to: Ride only Harley Davidsons Learn to ride by trial and error Ride helmetless wearing a bandana, skull cap, or novelty beanie type helmet Wear black attire; mostly leather Have loud aftermarket pipes and “Ape hanger” handlebars on their bikes Go to Sturgis each year if possible as well as other major rallies/parties Belong to Motorcycle Clubs/gangs recognized as one-percenters. Conversely, motorcyclists tend to: Own more than one motorcycle and ride a wide variety of brands Learn to ride by taking a motorcycle safety course

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Wear a DOT (Department of Transportation) approved helmet Wear brightly colored jackets with protective padding Have stock handlebars and pipes or pipes that improve performance Go to Sturgis or other rallies once out of curiosity Belong to the American Motorcycle Association After more thorough observation and analysis, it became apparent that the dichotomy between bikers, those dedicated to the biker lifestyle, and motorcyclists, those who ride for fun and recreation, was overly simplistic. Consequently, I decided to create subcategories within each of the two classifications. Bikers can be broken down into the subcategories of One Percenters—members of outlaw clubs, Hardcore Bikers—those dedicated to the biker lifestyle but are not members of one-percenter clubs, and NeoBikers—sometimes called “posers” or “wannabes” who dress and act like one-percenters but actually have more in common with motorcyclists. Since the purpose of this research was to focus on motorcyclists as opposed to bikers, none of these categories was included in this study. Similarly, motorcyclists can be subdivided into categories consisting of: “Rolex Riders” or RUBS—rich urban riders who haul their expensive bikes on trailers to events and only ride on rare occasions; Motorcycle Enthusiasts—the largest subcategory of working-class, middle-class, and upper-middle-class riders who ride on a regular basis for transportation, fun, and recreation; Crotch Rocketeers, Stunters, and Racers—who own high-powered sport bikes often performing stunts and racing on city streets and highways. There are also a number of motorcycle riders that can be classified as dirt bikers or off-road riders. After creating our typology of riders, we categorized our 224 interviewees in the following manner: Bikers One-percenters = 0 (0.0%)[this was intentional] Hardcore Bikers = 0 (0.0%) [this was intentional] Blue-collar Neo-Bikers = 28 (12.5%) Motorcyclists “Rolex Riders“/RUBS = 47 (21.0%) Motorcycle Enthusiasts = 134 (59.9%) Crotch Rocketeers/Stunters/Racers = 13 (5.8%) Dirt Bike/Off-road riders = 2 (0.1%) Comparable to national statistics on motorcycle riders, 193 or 86.2% of our riders were males; 31 (13.8%) of our interviewees were females. Whites comprised 86.2% (193) of those studied; 9 (4%) were Black; 11 (4.9%) identified as Hispanic; 6 (2.7%) were Native-American; and 5 (2.2%) were Asian. As in all studies, percentages for all the categories may not add to 100.0% due to rounding.

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Motorcyclists fit the standard sociological definition of a subculture as a group that shares many elements of mainstream culture but maintains its own distinctive customs, values, norms, and lifestyle. Many of the riders we interviewed, including the women, referred to motorcyclists (most of them used the term “bikers”) as a giant brotherhood. Time and again we heard comments such as “a fellow rider’s always got your back,” or “I might not have a lot in common with other bikers in the rest of my life, but when I’m on my bike, we’re all like brothers.” This sense of unity underscores a sense of subculture that binds all members together in a variety of ways. One of the most common customs of the motorcycle subculture is what most riders refer to as the “biker wave.” When two motorcyclists on their bikes approach each other from opposite directions they drop their left arm down beside the motorcycle with the index and middle fingers of their hand extended in the shape of a “V” or what is commonly referred to as the “peace sign.” This salutation is a form of acknowledgment that signifies, “I may not know you personally, but I feel a bond with you because we both ride.” When we asked motorcyclists the meaning of the “biker wave,” some said, it means “Peace,” while others said the “V” symbolized the V-twin engines of their bikes. Almost all, however, indicated that it symbolized a connection between the riders. Occasionally while riding, a rider will pass somebody in an automobile or truck that will flash the sign to them, usually indicating that although they are not on a motorcycle at the time, they are indeed a fellow rider and member of the subculture. Watson (1980) contended that “outlaw bikers” embraced values related to what Walter Miller (1958) identified as “lower class cultural concerns”: trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy. These values also are reflected in the modern American motorcycling subculture, although interpreted and demonstrated somewhat differently than in the world of hardcore bikers and one-percenters. One would think that the last thing that a middle or upper-middle-class motorcyclist would want is trouble, and for the most part that is correct. Unlike their hardcore counterparts, motorcyclists rarely go looking for trouble. Nevertheless, trouble often finds the modern American motorcyclist. Although the majority of our riders wore helmets when riding, some did not, thus violating helmet requirements in some states and jurisdictions. Many of the riders in our study indicated they carried a small handgun either on their person or in their saddlebags for protection in case they were confronted with trouble on the road. Some had permits and licenses to carry those weapons; others did not. Many of the motorcyclists we interviewed admitted that they consumed alcohol and then rode their bikes; some admitted to smoking marijuana or consuming other “recreational drugs” at rallies or motorcycle events. Many, if not all, of those activities could lead to trouble with law enforcement officials resulting in fines, jail time, or even imprisonment. One of the more surprising findings of our study was how many motorcycle riders did not possess a valid motorcycle endorsement on their driver’s

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licenses. Moreover, several of them did not carry the legally required minimum level of liability insurance on their bikes. Again, major sources for potential trouble. Symbols for trouble among motorcyclists include skulls and crossbones on bikes, helmets, and other paraphernalia. Another symbol for danger or trouble in the motorcycle subculture are the nonverbal signals motorcyclists give each other while riding. Pointing with a hand or foot toward debris or potential hazards on the road for riders following behind is standard riding protocol. Tapping the top of one’s helmet or head indicates to fellow riders that a law enforcement vehicle is ahead. Standing beside a parked motorcycle on the side of a road is almost always a sign of trouble, and almost no fellow rider will pass by a stranded motorcyclist without stopping to offer help. People generally do not associate doctors, lawyers, college professors, and other middle and upper-middle-class professionals with toughness, yet riding a motorcycle requires a certain amount of toughness, even under the best of circumstances. Whether taking rides that last for 30 minutes, 30 hours, or 30 days, all involve being exposed to the elements of inclement weather, dangerous road and traffic conditions, unpredictable drivers in vehicles that outweigh a motorcycle by several tons, and a host of other potential threats to safety. Most automobile drivers pay no attention to a little unexpected gravel, piece of truck tire, or other small debris that litter almost every mile of American back roads and highways. Even the smallest of those can spell disaster for a motorcyclist. Drivers also forget how many times on a trip they may have to use their windshield wipers when they encounter a light shower for a few minutes, or the sudden jolt of wind they experience when passing or being passed by a massive 18-wheeler. Motorcyclists are well aware of those events and must be prepared to deal with them. Even the harmless bug or small piece of gravel that hits a driver’s windshield in a car can inflict severe pain or wreak havoc for the unprotected motorcyclists when striking them at 70-plus miles per hour, not to mention the damage or threat to life imposed by a small squirrel or huge deer that can wander onto the road at an inopportune time. There is a saying among motorcyclists that “there are two categories of riders: those who have, and those who will,” referring to having a wreck on a bike. It is almost inevitable. Symbols of toughness are apparent in motorcyclists’ attire. Leather gloves, jackets, chaps, and pants are all designed to protect against foreign objects that might strike a rider as well as to protect against road rash and other injuries should a rider hit the pavement. Denim is tougher than skin, leather is tougher than denim, and Kevlar is one of the toughest protectors against minor injuries on a bike. Helmets, goggles, and face shields all protect the head and face; leather boots can provide protection for the feet and ankles. Some riders intentionally forego all those safety measures to signify their toughness. That may also signify the lack of another important motorcyclist value: smartness.

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Smartness may be the single most important quality a motorcyclist can possess. Quite simply, being smart can mean the difference between life and death on a motorcycle. Almost every automobile driver has experienced a situation in which they made a dumb decision or made a stupid maneuver in a car that could have been disastrous, but turned out okay. Although approximately 40,000 Americans are killed in traffic accidents each year, there is a fairly large margin for error when driving a car. That is not the case on a motorcycle. Almost every dumb decision or stupid maneuver on a motorcycle ends in a crash. Crashes on a motorcycle, even at low speeds, almost always result in serious injury or possible death. There is an adage among motorcyclists that “there are old riders and there are bold riders, but there are no old bold riders.” There is another saying among motorcyclists regarding crashes that contends “There are two categories of riders: those who have and those who will.” It almost goes without saying that excitement is an inherent part of motorcycling. When asked why they ride, excitement was included in some form or another in almost every answer. “It’s exhilarating,” “I love the thrill,” “there’s never a dull moment,” and similar phrases were repeated again and again in interviews. From a rider’s standpoint, sometimes the last thing you want on a motorcycle is excitement. Hitting sand or gravel in a turn, something flying out of the back of a pickup in front of you, a car suddenly stopping or turning in your path can all provide a lot more excitement than a rider wants. I remember returning from a several day 3000 plus mile ride when my wife asked “How was the ride?” I responded, “It was fun—nothing really exciting happened, but we had a good time.” Her rejoinder was, “Good, you don’t need any more excitement on a motorcycle.” Numerous research studies have shown that working-class and lowerclass individuals tend to have a much more fatalistic attitude believing that they have little control over events in their lives whereas middle-, uppermiddle-, and upper-class individuals rarely believe that fate plays much less of a role in their lives. This pattern also prevails in the motorcycling subculture. One-percenters and hardcore bikers are much more likely to throw caution to the wind, believing “when your time is up, your time is up.” Therefore, they are less likely to wear helmets, take safety courses, or practice defensive driving or safety maneuvers, and are more likely to drink and ride. Conversely, motorcyclists are more likely to try to minimize the risks of driving whenever and however possible. Without question, autonomy is one of the most important values of all who ride motorcycles. The most common word heard when motorcyclists express why they ride is freedom. Motorcyclists call automobile drivers “cagers,” and believe the motorcycle represents freedom from the cage. In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig (1974) described driving in a car as a mediated experience, much like watching television or a movie. Riding, however, allows, in fact, forces the rider to be part of and

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to experience the environment. Sights, smells, heat, cool, wet, dry, and all other sensory feelings are very real to motorcyclists. Every bump or curve in the road is something to be anticipated and experienced—dreaded or enjoyed. Those feelings and experiences are muted or even eliminated in an automobile. Time and again when we asked motorcyclists why they ride we received responses like, “Are you kidding me?, It’s such a sense of Freedom.” One of my favorite responses came from a male rider, who when asked why he rides, answered, “For the same reason a dog sticks his head out the window of a car.” Fun was another recurring answer for why motorcyclists ride. In fact, over half of the riders interviewed included fun in their motivations for riding. “It’s the most fun thing I do;” “I thought driving a car was fun until I rode my first motorcycle—now, that’s fun!” were symbolic of a number of responses riders gave to the question of why they ride. One rider even asked incredulously, “How can you even ask that question? You ride, so you’re bound to know how much fun it is.” Another summed it up with the words: “Fun, plain and simple, it’s fun.” One of the more ephemeral motivations cited by riders involved transcendentalism. Although that specific word was used only once by an interviewee, who replied, “When I ride, it’s like I transcend reality—I’m not driving or riding, it’s like I’m floating,” the sentiment was expressed many times. We frequently heard riders say “When I ride, I get in the zone.” Being a long-time rider, I knew exactly what they meant. Distance runners often speak of “breaking through the wall,” an experience when they become oblivious to the road, the pain, or any of the physical aspects of running and experience a “runner’s high.” Scientists confirm that strenuous exercise causes the body to emit endorphins that cause the brain and body to experience pleasure. Motorcycling has a similar effect that is more emotionally than biologically transmitted. A major issue with “getting into the zone,” and transcending a sense of reality, is that a motorcycle rider must be acutely aware at all times of what is happening around them. Failure to anticipate a sudden curve, dip or obstacle in the road, or any other potential hazard, especially at high speeds, can end in disaster or even death. Thus, riders are constantly torn between relaxing and enjoying the ride, while always being vigilant and avoiding the slide. An interesting aspect and example of the “brotherhood” among riders that is part of the motorcycling subculture is what many of the riders termed the “biker’s code.” The so-called biker’s code applies to almost all riders, and perhaps even more to motorcyclists than to hardcore bikers or one-percenters. Whereas those two categories tend to bond with their fellow club members and ignore or even challenge those outside their inner circle, motorcyclists of all varieties tend to sense a bond with all fellow riders. One of the unwritten informal norms of the biker code is that riders never leave a fellow motorcyclist stranded. Motorcycles are machines and machines break down. Almost any time any size group of motorcyclists gets

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together, there is always the potential that one or more of the bikes will experience some type of mechanical problem. If riding in a group, the leader constantly keeps an eye on the rear-view mirror to keep track of those following, and the last rider in the group watches all those in front for signs of problems or trouble. If a rider must slow down and stop on the side of the road, others are expected to do the same, rendering aid if possible. With the advent and omnipresence of mobile phones, even solo riders are rarely stranded for long, but riders still feel compelled to stop and offer help when they see a lone motorcyclist on the side of the road. Austin (2009) noted the sense of trust among motorcyclists as they tend to leave expensive helmets, gloves, jackets, and other valuables on their bikes in plain sight at rallies and other events. Many motorcyclists leave their keys in the ignition, and some bikes do not even need a key to be started. For as long as I have been riding, I have always heard the admonition, “Never swing your leg over another rider’s bike,” and that rule includes not ever touching another rider’s motorcycle or gear unless explicitly invited to do so.

Ethical Considerations There were no serious ethical issues involved in observing and interviewing motorcycle riders. Although I had chosen non-disclosure, on one or two occasions when riders discovered my profession and asked if I was conducting research, I answered in the affirmative. Moreover, in the case of a 92-year-old World War II veteran who I wanted to photograph for the book, I revealed the purpose of my research and had him sign a form granting me permission to use his photograph for publication. I also obtained his name and mailing address so I could send him a copy of the book when published. There were a few other photos included in the book where I identified the person in the photo by name and did not blur their face. They also signed permission forms and were given free copies of the book when it was published. In all other photographs, license plates on motorcycles as well as faces were blurred in order to hide identities and ensure anonymity. In the end, I was confident that we had preserved anonymity, caused no harm, and followed the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings Both a perk and a quirk of being a sociologist is that you never get to “clock out” and be off duty. The entire world is your laboratory and any time two or more people gather socially, you have the opportunity (obligation?) to conduct qualitative sociological research. Because I have been riding motorcycles since my early teens and have been a professional sociologist since my late twenties, in some respects I have been conducting participant

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observation on motorcyclists almost all my life. Consequently, there were not many unanticipated findings in this study. Nevertheless, once I specifically began analyzing the subculture of which I had so long been a part, I did begin to notice and analyze some of its aspects that heretofore I had taken for granted, and to some extent, intentionally ignored. For example, although I always knew, I never fully recognized the extent to which the motorcycling subculture and motorcyclists were so markedly socially stratified along all the major sociological variables: age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and social class. Of those, age is probably the least pronounced and obvious. At motorcycle rallies and events, crowds range in ages from 18 (most set 18 as a minimum age for attendance) to 98, and perhaps beyond. All seem to share that common bond of brotherhood of riding motorcycles. Yet, looking more sociologically at the crowds of participants, it is noticeable that, as in many social arenas, riders tend to segregate by age. Older riders usually run with other older riders, as younger riders also tend to congregate with each other. Although it falls short of extreme ageism, older riders who have given up riding on two wheels and opted for three-wheeled motorcycles (trikes) are somewhat disparaged, even by other older riders. When interviewing some of the older riders, when asking how long they had ridden, I often heard comments referring to the fact that some of them were not sure how much longer they would be physically able to ride. One older rider’s comment was reflective of the negative attitude toward trike riders when he surmised, “I’ve been riding for over 60 years and still enjoy it and know that someday I’ll just be too old to ride, but one thing I’m not going to do is start riding a tricycle—that ain’t really riding a motorcycle.” Other similar comments from both young and old riders noted a certain amount of disdain for those who rode three-wheeled bikes, although that category of riders is not wholly comprised of elderly riders. Probably more contempt was shown toward riders of motorcycles with two wheels in the front and one in the back—a group comprised mostly of younger males and women of all ages, which brings me to the more obvious “ism” in the motorcycling world—sexism. Although more women are riding motorcycles than ever before, motorcycling is a male-dominated, macho-oriented, sexist world. The overt sexism that characterizes the one-percenter and hardcore biker worlds borders on misogyny with women being referred to as “Old Ladies” and openly treated as property of individual bikers or clubs. Some of that sexism, although less pronounced, also permeates the motorcycling subculture in general. Men comprise over 85% of the motorcycle riders and although many of them have wives, girlfriends, or daughters that ride with them or ride their own bikes, the motorcycling subculture reflects overwhelming male-dominated values and testosterone is on full display anywhere motorcyclists gather. Men often sport tattoos, wear t-shirts, and even ride motorcycles that are adorned with photos or paintings of semi-nude

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and nude women. Moreover, motorcycling events are also punctuated with live semi-nude and nude women. Almost every rally or race venue features a wet t-shirt contest, bike washing station attended by young women in bikinis or thongs, as well as scantily clad women advertising and selling everything from beer to motorcycle insurance, frequently stopping to be photographed with riders. Many women riders who may be doctors, lawyers, teachers, or other college-educated professional women who embrace feminist values are either forced to ignore the blatant sexism, or temporarily suspend their antagonism toward it, when riding in groups or attending events where large crowds of riders gather. Similarly, racism is not in short supply in the motorcycle subculture. The vast majority of riders are white, and motorcycle gatherings, races, rallies, bars, and other venues reflect that fact. Even in non-southern settings, confederate flags abound. Black and Hispanic riders often attend large rallies, but almost always segregate into smaller groups interacting minimally with the dominant group. Entertainers at motorcycle events tend to be country western singers or rock groups from the 1970s and 1980s who obviously cater to what they refer to as a “redneck” crowd. During Barack Obama’s presidency, vendors at motorcycle rallies openly sold t-shirts with his face encircled by the crosshairs of a rifle scope. It is difficult for liberals, progressives, women, or minorities to feel fully accepted in the motorcycling world. Social class is one of the more fascinating stratification variables in the motorcycle subculture. A rider’s social class in the motorcycling world is determined less by their socioeconomic indicators as by the type of motorcycle they ride. Whereas shortly after World War II motorcycles became popular in the United States as an inexpensive mode of transportation, today, almost all new motorcycles are expensive, with some costing more than many automobiles. Motorcycles come standard with or offer options of windshields, saddlebags, anti-lock brake systems, cruise control, GPS navigation systems, heated grips, heated seats, and a wide array of other amenities. In general, Japanese and Korean motorcycles are the least expensive and they tend to be at the bottom of the motorcycling hierarchy. German motorcycles can be quite expensive and appeal to upper-middle and upper-class riders but tend to occupy the middle of the motorcycling stratification scheme. American-made motorcycles, of which there are only two—Indian and Harley Davidson—are clearly at the top of the motorcycling world in terms of status with Harley Davidson generally perceived as being at the top. That being the case, however, some of the poorest motorcyclists ride Harleys as do many of the wealthiest, along with everything in between. Through sophisticated marketing schemes, as well as offering the widest selection of models, Harley Davidson has created a subculture within a subculture and sells as much branded merchandise such as shirts, hats, boots, jewelry, jackets, and almost anything else imaginable, each year as it does motorcycles.

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Although all motorcyclists are part of the so-called biker brotherhood, there is a certain amount of snobbery within that bonds some subgroups closer to one another than to other riders. BMW riders tend to cluster and have their own clubs, rallies, and events, as do some of the other brands, but Harley Davidson reigns supreme over most of the motorcycling world. An unanticipated finding was the extent to which people who did not ride motorcycles sometimes identified with the Harley Davidson subculture. I was aware that Harley Davidson sold a lot of merchandise including clothing, home goods, souvenirs, and other regalia that appealed not only to motorcycle riders but also to non-riders, but I was surprised to discover the extent to which non-riders identified with and showed loyalty to the Harley Davidson brand. For example, on one occasion, I stopped at a home where a man was washing a black and orange Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Edition with pinstripes and the Harley Davidson Logo painted neatly on each side. As I approached, I complimented the truck and asked what model of Harley he rode. “Oh, I don’t ride,” he responded, “I just loved the color combinations and think Harley Davidsons are really cool.” I knew that the truck was priced at least $10,000 over its similarly equipped non-Harley edition counterparts. Another example occurred when my wife and I entered a Harley Davidson store on the riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. The store, like several around the country, did not sell motorcycles, but only Harley regalia. A young woman in her early twenties was working at the counter. She was wearing a Harley Davidson tank top and sported a tattoo on her upper arm that depicted the Harley Davidson logo. I mentioned the tattoo and commented that it represented quite a commitment to the Harley Brand, and her job. She laughed and said, “No, this is only a part-time job, and I had the tattoo a couple of years before I started working here.” I then continued the conversation with the comment, “Wow, you must really love Harleys then, which one do you ride?” Imagine my amazement, when she calmly responded, “Oh, I don’t ride, I just really love the look of the logo, and guys seem to like it.”

Questions for Discussion 1 2 3

What advantages were provided by the researcher having ridden motorcycles for over 40 years? Might this also have had some disadvantages? If so, in what ways? Should the research have also included some interviews with onepercenters and hardcore bikers? What would have been some of the benefits of doing so? What would have been some drawbacks? If you were going to replicate this study, what would you do similarly? What would you do differently?

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4 5

Do you discern any ethical issues with this research not acknowledged by the author? If so, what are they? What are your reactions to both the anticipated and the unanticipated findings of this research? Were you aware of the different types of riders? Are you surprised to learn of those who identify with the motorcycling subculture but do not ride?

Note 1 Results of these studies were previously published in: Thompson (2012b), Thompson and Thompson (2014). Parts of this chapter reprinted from Hogs, Blogs, Leathers and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling c 2012 William E. Thompson by permission of McFarland.& Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640. www.mcfarlandbooks.com.

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Performing a Content Analysis of Popular Motorcycle Movies 1 Principle Investigator: William E. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-9

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Motorcyclists and the media are not strangers. Both motion pictures and television have had a fascination with riders on two wheels, but media portrayals of motorcyclists largely have been based on stereotypes of biker images. During the 1950s and 1960s movies capitalized on “bad boy” images with several major motion pictures that featured rebellious teenagers and young adults battling society’s values and social norms. Motorcycles and motorcycle gangs played an important role in those movies, as did the underlying themes of rebellion, defiance of authority, freedom, and autonomy. There is general consensus among scholars that biker movies of that period “created a ‘folk devil’ image and moral panic about bikers …” (Barker, 2007:11). Some of the most prominent so-called biker films of that era included The Wild One (1953), The Great Escape (1963), The Wild Angels (1966), Hell’s Angels on Wheels (1967), Hell’s Angels ’69 (1969), and Easy Rider (1969). Interest in “biker movies” waned during the 1970s and 1980s resulting mostly in “B-movies” with entries such as Stone (1974) and The Loveless (1982), but one notable motorcycle movie of that era was Electra Glide in Blue (1973) in which Robert Blake played a motorcycle patrolman in northern Arizona. A central “character” in the movie was the HarleyDavidson Electra Glide that Blake’s character rode day in and day out policing the highways. In some ways, that movie reinforced Harley Davidson motorcycles’ role of cultural icon (Perlman 2007; Coffey and Packer, 2007). During the 1990s and the early twenty-first century, the world of motorcycles and motorcyclists, like almost everything else in America, was dominated by the Baby Boomers, that huge segment of the population born roughly between 1945 and 1964. The motorcycle became acknowledged as cultural artifact and motorcycle manufacturers, dealers, and even motorcyclists strove to eradicate negative stereotypes and images associated with outlaw motorcyclists and the “hard-core” biker subculture (Coffey and Packer, 2007). At first, the media were slow to acknowledge this new image, but eventually evidence of the new trends appeared in movies, on television, and in the print media (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995; Thompson, 2009). Popular movies of this period included Born to Ride (1991), Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Beyond the Law (1992), The World’s Fastest Indian (2006), and Wild Hogs (2006).

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives Having ridden motorcycles since my early teens, I thought I knew a lot about the motorcycling subculture, but realized that I had never really looked at the phenomenon through a social scientist’s lens. In the previous chapter, we did just that. In this chapter, we focus on how the media portrays motorcyclists and motorcycling and how that affects public perceptions. Our overall research question was “How do media, especially

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motion pictures, portray motorcyclists and motorcycling?” As research objectives, we established the following more specific questions: 1 2 3 4 5

What are some of the most popular movies that focus on motorcyclists and motorcycling? How do those movies portray motorcyclists and motorcycling? What are the most common themes in movies that focus on motorcyclists and motorcycling? How accurate are media portrayals of motorcyclists and motorcycling? How have motorcycling movies affected public perceptions of motorcyclists?

Using the Internet to Determine Popular Biker/Motorcyclist Movies To determine the most popular motorcycle movies, we posted an openended poll question on three popular online message board websites for motorcycle riders and enthusiasts. One message board was established and maintained almost exclusively for Harley-Davidson riders, the best-selling motorcycle at the time of the study (Motorcycle Industry Council, 2009). A second message board was established and maintained for riders of Honda motorcycles, the second best-selling motorcycle in the United States at the time (Motorcycle Industry Council, 2009). The third was a generic message board established for motorcyclists and people interested in motorcycling. The poll question asked: “What do you think are the three best motorcycle/biker movies of all time?” In a few cases, a respondent listed only one; others listed four, five, or more, and in one case, a respondent typed a link to a website entitled “Best Biker Movies.” Although an unscientific method, the results were amazingly consistent. Over 3,000 responses generated a list of over 60 different motorcycle movie titles, but three movies appeared on over three-fourths (78%) of the lists: The Wild One, Easy Rider, and Wild Hogs. The next closest movie in popularity was The World’s Fastest Indian, which appeared on just under one-half (47%) of the lists. The distance between the top three and the other movies seemed like a “natural” breaking point for determining the three most popular movies.

A Content Analysis of The Wild One, Easy Rider, and Wild Hogs Standard techniques of qualitative content analysis were employed to analyze each of the three movies (Berg, 2012; Neurendorf, 2016). Four independent raters (myself, and three others) were selected to view each of the three movies under study. Two of the raters were males aged 24 and 57, one of whom rode motorcycles and one who did not. The other two raters

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were females aged 28 and 54. Neither rode motorcycles, but each had ridden on a motorcycle at least once. All four of the raters were familiar with two of the movies (Easy Rider and Wild Hogs) and had seen them before. The two younger raters were not familiar with The Wild One, although one had heard of the movie, neither had seen it. All four of the raters were white and college educated, and all but one of the raters (the 54-year-old female) had taken a course on sociological research methods that covered content analysis. The rater who had not taken such a course was familiar with content analysis from an introductory sociology course and an art history course. All raters were provided DVD copies of the movies and were given the same instructions. The first task was to watch each movie twice and identify and write down what they believed to be “dominant themes” in each movie. Also, as they watched the movies, they were instructed to make note of what they considered to be “meaningful symbols” of the biker subculture (Blumer, 1969). In order for a theme to be included for the next step of the study, it had to appear on all four raters’ lists. After compiling the lists of six common dominant themes identified by the four raters, each rater was instructed to watch each movie again; this time armed with a stopwatch and a tally sheet with each dominant theme listed and a place for them to record the number of scenes and time of each devoted to each theme. They were instructed to time the sequences or scenes that depicted each of the six dominant themes and to note the time in minutes and seconds as accurately as possible. If two or more dominant themes overlapped, they were to note the time for each. In some cases this required the raters to stop/start and replay scenes several times in order to record the amount of time devoted to each of the dominant themes. Where there were discrepancies of more than one minute among the raters we watched that section of the movie and discussed when we thought each theme under question started and ended. Consensus was reached rather easily, and it was discovered that most discrepancies were more related to the logistics of operating the stopwatches, especially when two or more themes overlapped than in actual disagreement over what theme was being depicted and how long it lasted. I compiled a list of meaningful symbols identified by each rater for each of the movies. The lists from the four raters were remarkably consistent for each movie, with only minor discrepancies. The two females tended to note more meaningful symbols in clothing and apparel-related accessories, whereas the two males noted more symbols related to the motorcycles and their accessories—a finding worthy for perhaps another study. Dominant Themes

The six dominant themes identified in each of the three movies under study were: (1) motorcycle riding; (2) Confrontations; (3) Fighting or other

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violence; (4) Drugs and/or alcohol; (5) Love/romance/sex; and (6) Biker (s)/motorcyclists as sympathetic character(s). The second dominant theme, confrontations, was divided into three sub-categories: confrontations with law enforcement; confrontations with non-bikers; and confrontations with other bikers or motorcycle riders. These subdivisions evolved out of discussions with the raters as all four noted confrontations as a major theme, but some initially differentiated the types of confrontations when others did not. The tally sheet included these three different types of confrontations to make it easier to time various scenes. Similarly, in conjunction with the author, the other three raters agreed that “fighting and other violence” needed to be identified separately from other types of confrontations which primarily involved verbal clashes, heated disagreements, and verbal threats. If the action escalated to actual physical contact such as shoving, punching, kicking, or other forms of fighting or violence the scene then became classified as fighting/violence and the stopwatch was reset to time that portion of the scene. Since the three films under study were all considered “biker” movies, it is not surprising that one of the six dominant themes identified in each of the movies was motorcycle riding. This theme was expanded to include any scenes in which the focus of the action was on motorcycles, such as riding, sitting on motorcycles, working on motorcycles, and other activities related to riding motorcycles. Despite being movies about “bikers” and motorcycling, a relatively small amount and percentage of time in each of the movies is relegated to motorcycle riding. The Wild One has the largest portion of time at 23.3% of the movie, but that is still only 18 minutes and 22 seconds. Easy Rider, which many think is the quintessential “motorcycle movie” with the entire plot revolving around two men riding motorcycles cross-country, devotes the least number of scenes (12), least amount of actual time (12 minutes and 56 seconds), and lowest percentage of time (13.6%) to the riding of motorcycles. Wild Hogs has 16 scenes and 22 minutes and 33 seconds of motorcycling (22.3% of the movie). Bikers have almost always been characterized as confrontational, and two of these movies reinforce that notion. The Wild One devotes 28 scenes (plus another 8, if fighting and violence are included) and a total of 19.5 minutes (23 minutes including fighting/violence) or a little over 29% of the movie to biker confrontations of one type or another. Wild Hogs weighs in with 28 scenes and approximately 18 minutes of violence when verbal and violent confrontations are combined. Easy Rider, however, deviates from the confrontational portrayal of bikers with only three fighting and/or violent scenes and three verbal confrontations, totaling a mere eight minutes out of a 95-minute movie (less than 9%). Paradoxically, the violent confrontations portrayed in Easy Rider are more graphic than in either of the two other films, including a brief but horrifically brutal beating scene in which Jack Nicholson’s character is clubbed to death in his sleep, and

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another scene in which the two stars of the movie are brutally murdered by shotgun blasts, one of which ends in a violent explosion. These scenes along with language, drug usage, and nudity, earned the movie its “R” rating. Wild Hogs, probably best described as a comedy, included 28 scenes totaling almost 18 minutes of verbal confrontations and fighting and violence, but most of the confrontations and violence, including the unintentional violent explosion, were couched within a comedic context, evoking laughter as opposed to horror. Strictly based on time allotted, Easy Rider could be more accurately classified as a “drug movie” than a “biker movie.” While 12 scenes and just under 13 minutes or 13.6% of the movie was devoted to motorcycle riding, twice that much time (just over 26 minutes) and 17 scenes were devoted to drinking and drug usage—mostly drug usage—including a nightmarish almost eight-minute acid trip filmed in a Louisiana cemetery. Several scenes and minutes of pot smoking along with cocaine snorting and acid-tripping made Easy Rider a cult film among hippietypes and anti-establishment youth. The drinking/drug scenes in The Wild One and Wild Hogs are prominent, but less frequent and shorter in duration, and are limited strictly to the consumption of beer. Wild Hogs, in fact, only has four scenes in which alcohol is consumed for a total of 9 minutes and 42 seconds. Even that figure is a bit misleading, as one scene includes an extended conversation where beer bottles are visible on the table but no drinking is shown. While bikers are often thought of as “loners,” no movie would be complete without a love interest. A large part of The Wild One’s plot focuses on the forbidden romance between the wild and deviant biker, Johnny, and the innocent and beautiful waitress in the local diner, who just happens to be the police officer’s daughter. Twelve scenes and almost 15 minutes (18.6% of the movie) are devoted to this subject. A little over 50 years later, Wild Hogs portrays a spontaneous romantic relationship between the only unmarried biker (William H. Macy’s character) and an innocent and beautiful waitress in a diner (that she happens to own)—perhaps an intentional or unintentional homage to The Wild One. While much less time is devoted to this relationship (only 4 minutes and 24 seconds) it dominates eight scenes in the movie and plays a central role in the movie’s plot. Probably nothing in Easy Rider could be categorized as love or romance, but there are six sex scenes including nudity and simulated coitus, that cover approximately ten and one-half minutes (10.9% of the movie). While it does not feature a “love interest,” it is notable that there is a small-town diner scene in which some local “innocent and beautiful” girls flirt with the bikers; something that is frowned upon by some of the local men, and ends in the beating death of Jack Nicholson’s character. While not a persistent theme, each of the movies devotes a portion of the movie (ranging from just under 2% in Easy Rider to 7% for The Wild One and 12.2% for Wild Hogs) to portraying the biker(s)/motorcyclists as

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sympathetic characters, or in some ways as “anti-heroic” heroes. After the first two viewings of the movies, one of the male raters did not include this category as one of the dominant themes, and although he admitted that he picked up on that theme in The Wild One and Wild Hogs, he could not see any way in which the bikers in Easy Rider could be seen as deserving of viewer sympathy. While he conceded that nobody deserved to be killed in cold blood on the highway, he also thought that the characters had put themselves in that situation by selling and using drugs, challenging dominant values and norms, and by making an obscene gesture at the offending truck passenger. After discussing it with the other three raters, when timing the various segments under other themes, he admitted that he felt sorry for the motorcyclists in a couple of scenes (the consensus among the other raters was that there were two such scenes), especially when the Nicholson character was savagely beaten and in the final scene when the two main stars were shot and killed. Despite his bravado and open resentment and hostility toward authority figures and the law, Marlon Brando’s character in The Wild One also comes across as somewhat sympathetic. Johnny is not only misunderstood, but seems decent, and downright benevolent when he is falsely accused of harming an older citizen and hunted down by a hostile mob but is willing to take the blame rather than jeopardize the reputation of his love interest. Several scenes in Wild Hogs (5) evoke simultaneous laughter and sympathy for the middle-aged motorcyclists experiencing mid-life crises: one experiences a false heart attack; another is being divorced by his wife; the third is mercilessly henpecked; and the fourth is afraid of women. Meaningful Symbols

The most obvious and important symbol for bikers in all three movies in this study is the motorcycle. The Wild One placed its central star on a British-built Triumph as opposed to the ubiquitous Harley-Davidson featured in the other two films, but few viewers other than motorcycle enthusiasts, would note the difference. In all three movies, the motorcycles are prominent, loud, and accessorized in a way that accentuates the characters that ride them. Brando’s bike, like his character, is rather plain, rough looking, and in one scene, is adorned with the stolen trophy Johnny seems to simultaneously desire and yet care little about (feelings he seems to share toward the motorcycle itself, and the girl in the diner as well). The garishly chopped and painted Harley Davidson motorcycles featured in Easy Rider can almost be considered co-stars in the film. In fact, the bike ridden by Fonda’s character, custom-painted in an American flag design, was called “Captain America” and is perhaps more recognizable today than either of the film’s two main human stars. The bike ridden by Dennis Hopper was bright yellow with reddish-orange flames and is also considered a film icon by movie buffs. Both motorcycles used in the movie as well as replicas of

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them have been preserved and are often displayed at motorcycle rallies and shows. All four stars of Wild Hogs rode Harleys and if they did not, Harley-Davidson should have paid product-placement fees for all the visual and even verbal advertising they received. Leather is a common symbol for bikers. Marlon Brando made the leather jacket he wore in The Wild One famous almost overnight, and from that time on black leather jackets cut in the style he wore with wide lapels, zippered pockets, and belts at the waist became known as “motorcycle jackets.” Peter Fonda wears a little more “hip” version of the leather jacket replete with the American flag in Easy Rider, and the jackets worn by the four Wild Hogs would have allowed their characters to have ridden alongside Brando’s character in The Wild One without raising an eyebrow. While almost all the bikers in all three movies wore black, there are two notable exceptions. One of the “gang” members in The Wild One wore what appears to be a brown leather or suede jacket with fringed sleeves (the movie is in black and white, so since the jacket is obviously not black, it is reasonable to assume that it is a light shade of brown). He topped his outfit with a coonskin cap (presumably also brown) in the style worn by Davy Crockett. In Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper’s character wears an almost identical-looking brown leather/suede jacket with fringed sleeves. He also wears a brown leather cowboy-style hat with one side of the brim pinned back in stark contrast to the bandannas, leather skull caps, custom helmets, and other headgear worn by the bikers in the three movies (Brando’s character wears a black captain’s hat). Regarding headgear, none of the films promotes motorcycle safety. No helmets are to be found in The Wild One. Although Easy Rider’s Peter Fonda is shown with a helmet on the back of his motorcycle, it is rarely seen on his head. Jack Nicholson’s character, who is not a biker but rides on the back of Dennis Hopper’s motorcycle, wears what one can only assume is his old high school football helmet. Wild Hogs’ riders are usually shown wearing bandanas on their heads, although William H. Macy’s character wears an ancient leather motorcycle helmet at the beginning of the movie, and throughout the remainder of the movie, each of the four riders is shown with and without helmets (mostly without) at various times. None of the rival “old school” bikers in the movie wear protective helmets, preferring either bare heads, bandanas, or skullcaps. Black “motorcycle boots” can be seen in all three movies, the notable exception being Billy (Dennis Hopper) in Easy Rider who wears brown square-toed cowboy/ motorcycle boots that match his fringed coat. Because of its black and white format, it is difficult to tell if the fringe-coated rider in The Wild One wore black or brown boots. Riders in all three movies also don black leather gloves in most of the riding scenes (except for Billy, who wears brown). Sunglasses abound in all three films ranging from the aviator-style worn by Brando’s character and some of his companions in The Wild One to the stylish wrap-arounds worn by Peter Fonda in Easy Rider and the Oakley

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and Ray Ban brands worn in Wild Hogs. Most of the riders in all three movies wear blue jeans; the notable exception being Peter Fonda’s memorable black leather pants in Easy Rider. Leather is functional in the real-life biker world, as it protects the skin in case of a spill, but Fonda’s leather pants are clearly more for style than safety. In fact, all of the aforementioned symbols—leather jackets, helmets, bandanas, skullcaps, boots, gloves, and sunglasses—serve some functional purpose in the real world of biking, but their symbolic purpose seems far more important (Watson, 1980; Schouten and MacAlexander, 1995; Thompson, 2009). Finally, the girl in the diner can also be viewed as a meaningful symbol in all three of these movies. Whereas the bikers portray the toughness, rudeness, and crudeness of the macho-dominated world of motorcycles, she portrays its antithesis—pure, innocent, and in need of protection. In 2007, a popular television commercial for a cellular network captured this symbolism as an outlaw biker-type was seen leaving a diner with a young waitress pursuing him out the door begging him to take her with him. Influence On Public Perception of Motorcyclists

Volumes of research document that the media, especially television and films, both reflect a society’s cultural attitudes, values, and beliefs, and at the same time help shape them (e.g., Campbell et al., 2017). This being the case, these movies no doubt had some impact on shaping future generations of motorcycle riders. The Wild One, somewhat based on a true story, fueled public fears that wild bands of outlaw motorcyclists roamed the highways invading small towns, terrorizing citizens, and spoiling the innocence of youths—especially young girls. While the movie may have reflected some reality of the biker subculture of the 1950s, it also created and perpetuated a number of stereotypes about those who took to the road on two wheels. Moreover, as one researcher noted, it incorporated at least two themes that would appear in most biker movies to follow: an emphasis on cohesion among bikers; and motorcyclists’ disdain for conventional lifestyle (Perlman, 2007). No doubt, it also encouraged some who did not own or ride motorcycles, especially those who believed themselves to be “free spirits” and non-conformists, to give it a try. Art imitates life; life imitates art. Easy Rider, while far from an accurate portrayal of bikers of that era, furthered this portrayal of the aimless, rebellious, freedom and thrill-seeking biker, modifying it to conform to the establishment’s biggest threat of the 1960s—hippies. These bikers were fundamentally different from those depicted in The Wild One. First, there was no gang. Only two bikers—not wearing gang colors, but one wearing a buckskin jacket and the other a leather jacket adorned with the American flag. The freedom from the authority and the appeal of the open road were combined with free love and the appeal of dope, all of which were anathemas to America’s political

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leaders and “decent, hard-working, law-abiding” citizens. Drugs were indeed a staple of the biker world during that period, and the cross-country ride by the two main characters probably was played out in real life by hundreds, if not thousands of bikers, but the flamboyant choppers and garish outfits of the two “easy riders” were pure Hollywood. Their influence, however, can be seen today at almost any motorcycle rally from Fayetteville, Arkansas and Austin, Texas, to Daytona, Florida and Sturgis, South Dakota. Chopped motorcycles, many designed more to be looked at than ridden, adorn every motorcycle rally, and drinking and the consumption of illegal drugs are staples. Every weekend, American motorists are surrounded by “Wild Hogs”— doctors, lawyers, dentists, college professors, and other middle- and uppermiddle-class professionals who take to the roads on their $10,000–$50,000 motorcycles to recapture their youth, express their manhood, or merely to escape the drudgery of their weekday existence. Wild Hogs reflects a trend in the “new biker” subculture, and no doubt, after seeing the movie, many middle-aged non-riders used it to try to convince their wives and children that they should take the plunge and purchase that motorcycle they had wanted for so long. It can be contended that biker movies might be categorized as “contemporary westerns” (Perlman, 2007). Despite the camaraderie of fellow bikers, the motorcyclist often emerges as a lone figure. Just as most westerns did not accurately portray cowboys, however, most biker movies do not accurately reflect motorcyclists or the motorcycle subculture. If today’s motorcyclist is a modern-day cowboy, the middle-aged, middle-class new biker may be an urban cowboy. As one study noted, “new bikers” are as much a “subculture of consumption” as they are a subculture of motorcycle riders (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995). Much like the bikers portrayed in Wild Hogs, however, they may be willing to risk their marriages, their middle-class lifestyles, and even their lives, for what they may have to gain—freedom—freedom from their jobs, family responsibilities, and other routine demands. Whether a life-long “hard-core” biker, or a “new biker,” riding a motorcycle imposes certain risks, and sliding across pavement at 70 miles per hour does not differentiate among victims. Ling’s (2005:4;6) sociological research on “edgework” posits the “weekend warrior” thesis as a possible explanation, noting that “… participants in [risk-taking] activities are seen as seeking a temporary escape from the stultifying conditions of work life and bureaucratic institutions … especially [those activities involving] the line between life and death [consequences].” For those not willing to take the risk in real life, perhaps watching it in a movie is the next best thing.

Ethical Considerations There are few ethical issues to be considered when conducting content analyses. The most obvious is to avoid any possibility of plagiarism or

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copyright infringements when citing the content of what has been analyzed. Also, as discussed in Chapter 2, all efforts must be made to reduce or eliminate researcher bias in terms of framing the research questions, designing and carrying out the methods, and especially in analyzing and interpreting the findings. If, as in this research, other people are used to helping code data, one must determine how best to acknowledge their contributions to the project. Unless they also helped analyze and interpret findings, and helped write the final manuscript, simply helping with coding would not warrant co-authorship. The type of contribution that coders made to this research is essentially clerical, and would not be of the sort that departments or universities would acknowledge or count as scholarly achievements toward merit evaluation, retention, tenure, or promotion, so typically, authors would not be required or expected to mention them by name. Rather, as noted in this chapter, it is merely necessary to acknowledge that other raters/coders were used so that the author is not implying that they did all the content-coding by themselves.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings A perk associated with this particular research was having the opportunity to watch again three classic (or, at least two classic and one more currently popular) motorcycle movies. The downside of this perk was having to watch said movies dozens of times, stopping and starting over and again. Three of my once favorite movies soon became movies that I will probably never be able to watch again. Content analysis is time-consuming, tedious, and cumbersome. Although I had seen and was familiar with the overall themes of each of these three movies, I was somewhat surprised at the glaring inaccuracies and stereotypical portrayals of the bikers/motorcyclists. The three movies in this study may provide some insight into the world of motorcyclists of their particular time-frame, but rather than accurate portrayals of the biker subculture, creative license, and box-office aspirations assured that these three movies sensationalized, idealized, and stereotyped the world they supposedly portrayed. No doubt, these stereotypes shaped a distorted perception of the motorcycling world by the general public. Neither a surprising nor unanticipated finding, but notable sociologically, is that despite the fact that approximately 20% of all motorcyclists are women (Brown, 2018), no female riders are depicted in any of these three popular motorcycling movies. Moreover, the women featured in these movies portray stereotypical examples of femininity for the time frames in which these movies are made. In fact, it could be argued that the portrayal of women in the 2006 movie Wild Hogs differs very little from that of The Wild One made in 1953.

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Perhaps the most unanticipated finding of this study was how little motorcycle riding takes place in these so-called biker movies. Prior to doing this content analysis, if asked to guesstimate the amount of riding in each of these movies, I would have said that about a third of The Wild One involved riding, approximately two-thirds of Wild Hogs depicted the main characters on bikes and that virtually the entire movie Easy Rider was two guys riding motorcycles across the country. Contrary to my perception, the proportions of each movie devoted to motorcycle riding were in exactly the inverse order, and none of the movies involved as much as one-fourth of the movie time showing people riding motorcycles. Ironically, the content analysis revealed that the majority of content in a motorcycle movie is not about motorcycles at all.

Questions for Discussion 1 2 3

4 5

Is there a better method of determining popular motorcycling movies than using online motorcycle forums? If so, what method would you use? If you were to replicate this study, how would you design the content analysis differently? What would you do the same? Despite the fact that approximately 20% of motorcycle riders in the United States are women (approximately 15% at the time Wild Hogs was filmed), why do you think none of the popular motorcycle movies feature women riders? Do you detect any ethical issues that content analysis might present that were not present or not acknowledged in this particular study? Were you surprised to learn that the most popular movies on motorcycling featured such little motorcycle riding? Why do you suppose that is the case, and why do you think these movies are labeled as “biker” movies?

Note 1 Parts of this chapter summarized and reprinted from Hogs, Blogs, Leathers and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling c 2012 William E. Thompson by permission of McFarland.& Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640. www.mcfarlandbooks.com.

10 Studying Kindergarten 1 Principle Investigator: Mica L. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-10

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From the time I was a young child, I wanted to be a teacher. Both of my parents were educators, and much of my life growing up was spent either at my own school, in extracurricular events at the high school where my mother taught, or on the university campus where my father was a professor. Because of this, choosing a field in education was the most logical step for me when I entered the workforce after college. After all, I had grown up teaching my dolls and stuffed animals. With a degree in Art History and a minor in sociology, I spent my first year out of college substituting and working on my teaching certificate. This was a great way for me to see whether or not I wanted a career as a teacher. While substitute teaching is not for everyone, it was something I truly loved and reinforced the fact that I did, in fact, want to be an elementary teacher. In 2003, I started my first teaching job at an elementary school in the small town where I grew up. I taught second grade. There was not a developed district curriculum at that time, so I learned how to take the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) and create lessons for the students. It was a learning experience for both the students and me. After that first year, I moved to the Dallas metroplex and took an elementary teaching job at a school in a prominent affluent suburban school district. This district had a well-developed curriculum where master teachers took the TEKS and designed units for the entire district. The idea was that a student could leave one school on a Friday and move to a new school in the district the following Monday without missing a beat. At the time I took the job, I had no plans of studying the student role or kindergarten. I was just excited to fulfill a lifelong dream and teach. It was not until I went back to school as a graduate student I decided to study the role of kindergarten from a sociological perspective. During my time as an elementary teacher, I went back to school to earn a Master’s degree in Sociology. When the time came to write my thesis, choosing the topic of education, specifically kindergarten, the grade I was teaching at the time, was a perfect fit. An article I read for one of my classes, stood out to me because it examined the student role and the role of kindergarten teachers in the socialization of students by using the analogy of military boot camp. As a kindergarten teacher, nearly four decades later, I felt it was time to update the study and utilize the feminist perspective for design and analysis. After all, kindergarten from the male perspective does not truly capture the female-dominated field of teaching kindergarten. This made for the perfect thesis topic.

Background: Harry Gracey and Learning the Student Role In the 1970s, sociologist Harry L. Gracey observed selected kindergarten classes. The stated goals for kindergarten at the time were to teach all the

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pre-reading, pre-mathematics, and other academic skills necessary to prepare children for a successful school experience. During his observation, Gracey (1972) discovered that although all of the aforementioned goals existed, the kindergarten experience was even more geared toward teaching children about learning rules, regulations, and procedures that they would be expected to follow not only in kindergarten, but throughout their academic careers, and possibly even later in life. Thus, kindergarten was to school what boot camp was to the military. According to Gracey (1972), the most important outcome for students in kindergarten was learning the student role—the repertoire of attitudes and behaviors considered by educators to be appropriate for children in school. In the 1970s, this was achieved primarily by teachers drilling routines into the kindergarteners’ daily lives. While drilling lessons and routines still take place in schools, the climate of the classroom had dramatically changed by the 2000s. Even today, virtually every curricular lesson taught is designed to teach the students that their jobs were to unquestioningly follow orders given by an adult in authority. Gracey concluded that much like military boot camp socializes cadets to follow the orders of a commanding officer, kindergarten students are taught to follow the orders of teachers. With each new routine introduced, the teacher drilled the children until they were successful in following the new command. A well-regarded kindergarten teacher was one who maintained a very disciplined and organized class of good little students (substitute the word soldiers) who dutifully followed all procedures and commands without questions. Adherence to structure, routine, and order along with unquestioned obedience to authority were attributes of a “good” kindergartener, and the desirable qualities necessary to be a successful student. Gracey (1972) further postulated that satisfactorily learning the student role helped prepare students for their future roles as obedient and productive workers once they finished school and entered the adult world of employment. The main weakness of this study was the fact that the majority of kindergarten teachers are female with no military experience, thus rendering the comparison to a drill Sargent inaccurate. Moreover, with the exception of a custodian, sometimes the physical education teacher, and perhaps one or two other males, elementary schools are almost entirely the domain of women. The lack of feminine analysis on a predominantly female world meant Gracey described and analyzed the world he examined through a masculine lens, something that cannot represent the true nature of the kindergarten experience. Who better to replicate this study than a woman whose career was that of a kindergarten teacher?

Gaining Entry I was a public school teacher for ten years before deciding to replicate Gracey’s study. By then, my master status that dominated all others as an adult

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was that of a kindergarten teacher and I had experienced full role engulfment with my adult identity based primarily on having assumed that role. I spent five days a week teaching 20 or more five- and six-year-old children. When it came time to write my thesis replicating Gracey’s study, I was already fully immersed into the world I was studying. A typical kindergarten day is broken down into many 5- to 15-minute increments. Because the students are young with short attention spans, it is not uncommon to have a quick lesson and then take a short movement break of dancing or singing referred to as a ‘brain break’ before moving on to the next activity. Throughout the day there are many social/emotional lessons that focus on teaching the children how to manage feelings and relationships. On a typical day in my classroom and throughout the district, kindergarten students were taught three major blocks of academics. Language arts was the longest, then mathematics, followed by a block that was used for science, social studies, and health. There was a break for “specials” which were physical education, music, or art depending upon the day. Students had two recesses and a lunch break. In addition to these, there was a large amount of time set aside for the students to participate in different centers. This was where the students could learn through play. They would rotate through the centers over the course of two weeks, visiting a different center each day. Some centers were academic-based. For example, one might be an alphabet center where they made letters with shaving cream, clay, or some other material. Another might be a science-based center where they examined leaves with a magnifying glass. The most popular centers were the ones that were not as academically focused such as the blocks and home center, where they played in a model kitchen and acted out familial roles. These centers were just as important for development as their academic counterparts because the children were able to explore relationships, conflict resolution, and other social/emotional lessons, as well as develop their language skills. It is not uncommon throughout the day for there to be moments when students must be comforted when upset, redirected when off task, and/or talked to about the effects certain behaviors have on their learning or their classmates’ learning. These moments are often done in a quiet, pleasant tone and private, either to the side of the classroom or in the hallway away from other students. Consequently, kindergarten teachers perform roles more akin to that of parents or counselors than anything resembling that of boot camp drill instructors. During my time as a kindergarten teacher, I played the role of teacher, nurturer, nurse, and confidant, to name but a few, on a daily basis. My goal was to keep each child safe, happy, and confident. Although mastering the curriculum as well as learning the student role was important, the most important part of teaching kindergarten was to establish the foundation for a successful and positive academic as well as social school experience for the next twelve or more years.

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Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives In the twenty-first century, with the advent of daycare for infants and toddlers, the increasing popularity of preschool for two- and three-yearolds, and the increasing perceived necessity for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten is no longer the first school experience for many children in the United States. Numerous American kindergarteners have experienced some form or fashion of schooling that has begun the transition from the social institution of the family to that of the school. Moreover, since the military traditionally has been and remains a male-dominated institution whereas elementary schools, especially at the kindergarten and primary grade levels, are dominated by women, the important sociological variable of gender may be absent from the kindergarten as academic boot camp analogy. My research project was designed to determine if the “kindergarten as academic boot camp” analogy proposed by sociologist Harry Gracey in the 1970s is still accurate using a feminist sociological theoretical framework that recognizes and emphasizes the important influence of gender in the analysis of twenty-first-century kindergarten. Specifically, this study addressed the following research questions: 1 2 3

4

What are the most important goals, missions, and outcomes stated for kindergarten in the twenty-first century? What are the most common curricula, schedules, and classroom activities designed to accomplish these goals, missions, and outcomes? Are the curricula, schedules, and classroom activities conducive to the stated goals, missions, and outcomes, or as Gracey (1972) contended, are the curricula, schedules, and classroom activities more designed to teach kindergarteners the student role? Is twenty-first-century kindergarten analogous to military boot camp, or because kindergarten, unlike the military, is a domain generally designed, structured, organized, supervised, and carried out by women, does the military boot camp analogy marginalize the sociologically important gender dimension?

Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure The focus of this study was the designed socio-cultural environment of kindergarten, not the students or teachers who interact there. Using a feminist perspective inspired by Standpoint Theory, which argues that knowledge stems from social position, this research qualitatively analyzed pedagogical texts for kindergarten programs throughout the state of Texas to determine the most important articulated goals and objectives of kindergarten. Texas was chosen because it is one of the largest states that requires all school districts to offer kindergarten (although kindergarten attendance is

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not mandatory) and because one of the authors had several years’ experience teaching kindergarten there and had access to all of the state’s mandated curriculum standards, classroom schedules, and approved activities. The authors also analyzed online descriptions published by the military as well as published personal accounts of military boot camp in order to compare and contrast the goals and socialization that take place in the kindergarten classroom compared and contrasted to what occurs in a military basic training setting. Using unobtrusive qualitative inductive field methods, this study looked at the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for kindergarten, published kindergarten curricula, classroom schedules, and approved activities as stated by public school districts in and around the major cities throughout the major regions of Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso). Most of these materials were accessed online, and because the researcher was a certified kindergarten teacher, she also had direct access to all the state-mandated curricular materials for kindergarten teachers. Because neither of the authors had personally experienced military training, we relied upon published accounts and previous sociological analyses of the desocialization and resocialization that take place in military boot camps. A thorough literature review provided several good examples.

Interviewing and Taking Field Notes Upon deciding to replicate Gracey’s study, this study focused on the pedagogy of teaching early childhood. I had numerous trainings each year on pedagogy, instructional practices, and curriculum. As these training sessions continued, I examined them through my sociological imagination versus that of a kindergarten teacher. I looked at and analyzed the symbols and language used to teach kindergarteners their student role. While I interacted with the students constantly, I did not interview them or question them about their kindergarten experience. To interview children of that age would be impractical as well as unethical, especially without the consent of the district and parents. I did observe the students because it was impossible not to, but I did not take notes on their behaviors. All notes were based on curriculum, success and purpose of lessons, and pedagogy. While this was a study of kindergarten and the kindergarten classroom environment, it was not a study of kindergarteners.

Findings The findings of this study differed from those of Gracey’s study several decades earlier. As an outsider, he could not realize the full kindergarten experience. This is something very few researchers can experience without total role engulfment and fully participating in the environment. Much like

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the study of the beef plant in an earlier chapter, if you are not a part of the assembly line, you cannot truly know how the burger is made. This project posed four main research questions in response to Harry Gracey’s 1972 article which analyzed the socialization process of kindergarteners in the United States and compared it to the training that takes place in military boot camps. Specifically, the research questions asked: 1

What are the most important goals, missions, and outcomes stated for kindergarten in the state of Texas in the twenty-first century?

Published online data from large school districts with similar populations in each of the four regions of Texas and surrounding each of the major Texas cities (Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso), indicate very similar if not identical goals and missions for kindergarten. The stated missions and overall goals of these kindergarten programs are for teachers to provide pupils with a variety of educational experiences that provide physical, social, and intellectual development for all students. Districts across the state of Texas tout that they offer engaging, hands-on, age-appropriate programs tailored to meet the individual needs of all children enrolled in their kindergarten programs. Established routine assessments are used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each individual kindergarten student in order to ensure academic, physical, social, and emotional growth and success. Following the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) guidelines, kindergarten programs are designed to promote cognitive, social/emotional, physical, and aesthetic growth and development in each student. Kindergarteners are treated as active learners who participate in both teacher-directed and self-directed learning activities and experiences. Many school districts also boast what they call “college readiness” as a skill tied to their successful kindergarten programs and curricula. Among most of the published online literature, the following common goals were stated in a variety of different places on the district websites when referring to their kindergarten programs. All of the six districts boasted of the ability to recognize where a child is in his/her stage of development when he/she enters kindergarten and to target teaching and learning to meet the individual needs of each child. Building student confidence and developing a feeling of self-worth in each kindergartener are viewed as paramount to successful kindergarten programs. Additionally, building relationships, encouraging independence, promoting good habits in care of self and materials, developing the ability to share, cooperate, and collaborate successfully, creating an awareness of health and safety habits, and improving gross and fine motor skills were listed as key components to kindergarten programs in each of the districts. Above everything else listed, however, was the stated commitment on the part of each program to foster a love of learning within each student.

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What are the most common curricula, schedules, and classroom activities designed to accomplish these goals, missions, and outcomes?

Each school district had similar academic curricula based upon the approved Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Math curricula involved teaching basic skills such as developing number concepts, using patterns, sorting, and shapes as well as the more complex logical reasoning skills needed for problem-solving. All entering kindergarteners are acknowledged as being at various stages of literacy development, so district curricula are strategically developed to meet the needs of each of the students at each of those various developmental and learning stages. Read-aloud assignments/activities, shared readings, guided reading groups, and beginning writing skills are incorporated into kindergarten literacy programs. Listening and speaking are viewed as being just as important abilities as are reading and writing when developing a student’s literacy skills. There are also many natural sciences, social studies, and health TEKS standards required of kindergarteners in the state of Texas. Some school districts combined those three areas into one interdisciplinary subject whereas others taught each of them individually. Regardless of how structured or taught, the three academic areas of science, social studies, and health have a variety of TEKS standards for which kindergarten programs are held responsible for teaching. All school districts in this study provided some form of station/center activities that target TEKS requirements and curriculum by giving students the opportunity to explore and engage in hands-on, multi-sensory tasks. Each program’s goals and /missions advocate Froebel’s (1837) theory that contends children of kindergarten age learn best through play. 3

Are the curricula, schedules, and classroom activities conducive to the stated goals, missions, and outcomes, or as Gracey (1972) contended, are the curricula, schedules, and classroom activities more designed to teach kindergarteners the student role?

Typical kindergarten schedules for each of the districts in this study were very similar. Because the specific number of minutes to be spent on each subject is state mandated, it was no surprise that the typical scheduled kindergarten day is similar throughout the state of Texas. A typical day starts with a morning gathering that lasts approximately five minutes in which students recite the Pledges of Allegiance to both the American flag and the Texas flag. There is then a minute of silence for prayer or reflection. Each public elementary school in Texas must document and verify to the state that they have established a silent minute at the beginning of each school day. These rituals are then followed by the taking of attendance and identifying daily calendar activities, which takes approximately ten minutes.

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The rest of the typical kindergarten day is divided into specified periods for teaching literacy, math, science, social studies, and other subject area development units. Regardless of the time of day the activities are done, the amount of time allotted to the subjects must be the same as determined by TEA. Activities during literacy time involve read-alouds, phonics/letter development, and high-frequency word study. There is also small group instruction. During this time some students engage in mini-lessons with the teacher, and other students engage in independent or small group tasks to promote literacy. Math time is set up similarly to literacy/language arts time. There is time set aside for whole group instruction before students are divided into multitasking activities involving numbers, operations, quantitative reasoning, patterns, relationships, algebraic thinking, geometry/ spatial reasoning, measurement, probability & statistics, and problemsolving. Science, Social Studies, and Health TEKS are taught by whole group lessons, multitasking activities, technology-directed lessons, or experiments. Fine motor and gross motor development skills are targeted through a variety of activities presented throughout the kindergarten day. There is also a key socialization component built into every kindergarten day. While teaching academics and developing intellectual skills are extremely important, consistent with Gracey’s (1972) assertion, there is an even more important task for the kindergarten teacher: teaching the student role. Literature produced by each of the districts stresses the importance of their kindergarten programs’ commitment to creating productive citizens and lifelong learners. Teaching the student role—how to be successful in school and later life—through classroom activities, developmental transitions, and social interaction encourages kindergarteners to learn the student role in a nonthreatening, fun environment. Singing, dancing, as well as telling and listening to stories are key tools used when socializing the students. Learning to sit “crisscross applesauce” or to “catch a bubble” in order to walk down the hall silently are adult-established, yet kid-friendly, ways for the students to learn the important student role expectation of how to follow directions quickly, quietly, uniformly, and correctly. 4

Is twenty-first-century kindergarten analogous to military boot camp, or because kindergarten, unlike the military, is a domain generally designed, structured, organized, supervised, and carried out by women, does the military boot camp analogy marginalize the sociologically important gender dimension?

As the findings for the first three research questions reveal, much of the structure, organization, routines, and constant repetitious drilling in kindergarten are indeed similar to what Gracey observed in the 1970s, and may be somewhat similar to the structure, organization, routines, and constant repetitious drilling found in military boot camps. It is even a common occurrence in public schools for teachers of grades 1–5 to compliment kindergarteners (and kindergarten teachers) when they see the five-year-

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olds walking silently and in a straight line down the hall by saying “Look at the good little soldiers,” or something to that effect. In that particular sense, twenty-first-century kindergarten in fact may be somewhat analogous to military boot camp. But the boot camp analogy breaks down quickly if explored beyond that superficial appearance, validating the first wisdom of sociology, that things are not what they seem (Berger, 1963). Although there is much of the rigidity and structure required of boot camp present in kindergarten, the environment of the kindergarten classroom and playground is entirely different. Boot camp is essentially about desocialization and resocialization, sociological processes that require a degradation ceremony. The degradation ceremony necessarily involves a stripping of self so that the new person loses his/ her previous identity in order to be socialized into a new identity (Garfinkel, 1956). In boot camp, recruits are literally stripped of their clothing, hair, names, and figuratively stripped of all other individualizers. All aspects of their former selves must be destroyed and eliminated in order for them to learn and internalize their new identity as a soldier. In sharp contrast, kindergarten is involved in the process of socializing five-year-olds who have barely begun to develop and internalize a tangible identity of self. Consequently, all efforts are made by kindergarten teachers to establish, reinforce, and support the children’s fragile social and personal identities developed by the family and other primary socializing agents in order to give them a sense of security in their new academic environment. Many social/emotional lessons are built into the day to do just that. Rather than stripping kindergarten students of their former identities, names are put on everything in a kindergarten room; cubbies, word walls, doors, supplies, and virtually everything else. This is to reassure each and every child of their place and individual importance in this new environment. Kindergarteners must learn that they are no longer at home and a teacher is not one of their parents so she cannot give the child her undivided attention, but they are consistently reassured that they are important and unique. They are constantly reminded by the teacher that even in a class of 20 or more children, their identity and place in the kindergarten environment is important, safe, and secure. Whereas boot camp brutally strips new recruits of their former selves, breaks down the individual, and resocializes them with a new sense of self and identity, kindergarten reinforces each child’s former self, and builds self-esteem, all the while also socializing the child into the student role. This anticipatory socialization is done in a nurturing style as opposed to the forceful tactics of the military. There is no strong former identity to destroy, so kindergarten is really a new and important phase of early childhood socialization. Kindergarten teachers build upon a child’s former self to teach children that they have more than one identity and one of those (possibly the most important to childhood while they are in school) is that of the

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student. Becoming a student, therefore, does not replace a child’s former identity, but adds to it. The children are learning that they do not have a single “self” but a set of situated selves that require them to fulfill different role expectations in different social situations (Goffman, 1959). Kindergarten teachers must remind students that she is not their mother, but during this phase of the socialization process, kindergarteners often slip up and call their teachers “mommy” while learning their new role. Although the teacher may correct them (often she does not) she does so in such a way as to neither embarrass them nor threaten their sense of security. Whereas drill sergeants may shout at recruits things like, “I’m not your mother!” or “Your mommy’s not here!” kindergarten teachers often become surrogate mothers to their students. Rather than dishing out embarrassment or humiliation, an important role of a kindergarten teacher is to nurture, console, and reassure students that they are safe and loved. In addition to this, kindergarten teachers often talk about their class as a family and even refer to their students as their “children” or “my kids.” Although as Gracey (1972) pointed out, kindergarten has the vital task of teaching children the student role, as noted in this research it serves other equal and perhaps far more important tasks. It is logical that a male researcher, particularly at a time when military conscription was at its height during the Vietnam War might observe kindergarten classrooms and see the structure, organization, routine, and regimentation involved in teaching children the student role as being analogous to the role of boot camp teaching new recruits the soldier role. While that particular aspect of the kindergarten socialization process may indeed be somewhat comparable, the method and overall process of socialization that takes place in the female-dominated environment of kindergarten could not be more different than the degradation, desocialization, and resocialization that occurs in the almost exclusively male-domain of military boot camp. For more than a century in the United States, kindergarten was typically the first public school experience for most children. This initial educational experience prepared five- and six-year-olds for their futures as learners and was believed to be paramount in laying the foundation for a successful school experience, and perhaps even for later life. In the 1970s, sociologist Gracey (1972) observed kindergarten classes and asserted that the primary goal of kindergarten seemed to be teaching children the student role: learning to unquestionably conform to rules, regulations, and procedures that they would be expected to follow not only in kindergarten but throughout their academic careers. He compared kindergarten to military boot camp. Just as civilians must learn their role as soldiers, children must learn their roles as students. This research questioned if the “kindergarten as academic boot camp” analogy is accurate in the twenty-first century. Using the sociological theoretical framework of feminist standpoint theory, which recognizes and emphasizes the important influence of gender, this study found that

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although there is much of the rigidity of structure, organization, and routine required of boot camp, the environment of kindergarten is entirely different and otherwise not at all analogous to military basic training. This is not to say that Gracey’s (1972) analysis was inaccurate and is not an unconditional refutation of his analysis of kindergarten. Gracey, after all, was making an analogy and did not mean for it to be taken literally. Still, the findings in this study of twenty-first-century kindergarten indicate that Gracey’s comparison completely misses the tender, nurturing, and caring side of the kindergarten classroom. From a male perspective, the structure, organization, routine drilling, and other almost military-like aspects of kindergarten might bring to mind a familiar male reference such as boot camp. Kindergarten students may appear to be like raw military recruits, and teachers may seem like veteran drill instructors. Importantly, however, is the overriding fact that kindergarten is almost the exclusive domain of women. Kindergarten teachers indeed may be inducting new “recruits” into the world of public schools which may indeed require adherence to what appears to be rigid structure and routine, but the kindergarten environment is far more fluid, flexible, and most importantly, individualized than military boot camp ever could or would be for a wide variety of reasons. While Gracey’s (1972) methodologies and findings may have been insightful and accurate to some extent, they did not tell the whole story of Kindergarten. Gracey (1972) accurately described the kindergarten environment as he observed it, but he misinterpreted much of the reasoning and logic behind the kindergarten rituals. He neglected to address the feminine role in creating a successful kindergarten year. From the colorful bulletin boards meant to excite and inspire young minds while not overstimulating them, to the songs and dances meant to encourage expression and confidence, kindergarten is a woman’s world through and through. While this disregard for the gender dimension of kindergarten may have been inadvertent, it is detrimental to understanding much of the sociological meaning of the kindergarten experience. Even though military training has changed over the past forty years, military boot camp is still mostly about desocialization and resocialization. Sociological literature indicates that for effective desocialization and resocialization to take place, it is important to have a degradation ceremony. This degradation ceremony necessarily involves a “stripping of self” so that the new person recruit sacrifices his/her previous identity in order to be socialized into a “new” one (Garfinkel, 1956). For military recruits, this requires that all aspects of their former civilian selves must be destroyed and eliminated in order for them to learn and internalize their new identity as a soldier. The socialization that takes place in kindergarten is totally different from that of military boot camp. Kindergarten is involved in the process of socializing five-year-olds who have barely begun to develop and internalize

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any tangible identity of self. Although many children today enter kindergarten with two or three years of preschool and pre-kindergarten experience, others are leaving home for the very first time. Some new kindergarteners can already read, print their names, know their addresses, and seemingly are full of self-confidence; others cannot tie their shoes, are still struggling with potty training issues, and do not even know their own last names. Regardless, all must learn to adapt to their new institutional environment, learn the student role, and develop the academic and intellectual skills that will help them survive, if not thrive in school. Consequently, all efforts are made on the part of kindergarten teachers who are almost exclusively women to establish, reinforce, and support their students’ fragile social and personal identities that were tentatively developed by the family and other primary socializing agents in order to give provide them a sense of security in their new academic environment. Rather than stripping the children of their former identities, every effort is made to reinforce and expand them. The teacher constantly reassures each and every child of his or her place and importance in this new environment. Even though kindergarteners must learn that they are no longer at home and a teacher is not their “mommy,” they need to be consistently reassured that they are important and unique and that the teacher is there for them whenever and however they may need her. In fact, in many ways the kindergarten teacher does play “mommy” to the students by tending to “boo boos,” giving hugs, and smiles, making sure the child is fed, and even tending to “potty” issues. Virtually every kindergarten teacher keeps facial tissues, wet wipes, changes of underwear, and a variety of other nonacademic supplies in her desk drawer or nearby in order to attend to students’ childhood needs in addition to their academic and educational needs. Kindergarteners are constantly reassured by the teacher that even in a class of twenty or more children, their individual identity is important and their place in this new academic environment is important and secure.

Ethical Considerations Although there are always ethical concerns with any research, this study did not focus on the subjects, but rather focused on curriculum and pedagogy as well as the mission of kindergarten. This minimized many of the possible ethical concerns that might arise while studying kindergarteners. Dealing with children brings forth ethical concerns because they cannot consent to being studied. This is why I chose to study the kindergarten curriculum, classroom routines, the student role, and the kindergarten environment rather than the actual students. I also had personal relationships with these students and their families. As a kindergarten teacher, you look at your students almost as you do your own children. You love them. It is impossible to be unbiased and objective when analyzing your children.

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The school district for which I taught did not authorize the research project, nor were they aware that this study took place. This could be viewed as an ethical issue, but several measures were followed to ensure the anonymity of the school district as well as the hundreds of students observed over a ten-year period. Again, the kindergarteners were not the focus of the research. I did not have to go through any sort of review board because I was not studying subjects. I was replicating a study through observation and content analysis. By studying curriculum and pedagogy, I was not infringing upon anyone’s academic privacy or freedoms. By doing a content analysis study, there was little or no concern for violating ethics. This study adhered to all of the principles of the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings With any research there are going to be areas where the researcher later realizes things could have or even should have been done differently as well as things they did that they would not change if replicating the study. By having more than a decade of experience in the primary grades, I was able to attend multiple trainings on curriculum and pedagogy to which an outsider would never have access. This meant I was extremely familiar with the most current information on teaching kindergarten. Not only did I know it, but I knew it well, and was doing it. By analyzing kindergarten teaching from a sociological research perspective, I was able to observe my own career and profession from a much more objective viewpoint and see the significance of its results. This made an already rewarding experience even more so. An advantage of being an insider meant that I had regular access to everything needed to complete the research project. I could go back and examine materials as needed while analyzing and writing my findings. This meant I did not have to rely on second or third-hand information, or information and data I only had one opportunity to observe. I could check and re-check things for accuracy as many times as needed. Having taught kindergarten for a decade, and by studying the process and not the individual students or classes, the study had the advantage of longitudinal observation in order to discern trends and patterns rather than relying on cross-sectional data collected at only one period of time. One potential problem with full participant observation of which I became acutely aware was that when you have total role engulfment with what you are studying it is extremely difficult to be neutral and unbiased. As someone who took pride in my career as a kindergarten teacher, I had to be sure I was not biased in my reporting of the kindergarten experience. No teacher wants to think the curriculum and pedagogy they are using is not

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best practices. We can be blinded to the big picture when we are in the trenches focused on our small part of the educational community. A juxtaposing perk to that problem, however, was that I was also acutely aware that my role as a kindergarten teacher was far removed from that of a boot camp drill instructor, and that the analogy of kindergarten as boot camp was more patriarchal than sociologically accurate. I may have been far better equipped to apply Weber’s concept of verstehen to the kindergarten experience than any adult male far removed from the actual process. A potential weakness of the research was that the students were not specifically studied or asked about how they viewed their kindergarten experience. While it makes both practical and ethical sense to not study or interview minors in a kindergarten classroom, there is a potentially very important layer of information that is missing from the study. Those human interactions and reactions do affect the outcome of any study. If replicating this, in the future, I would at the very least interview the parents about what they thought was the purpose of kindergarten and compare their thoughts as to how they lined up with the mission of kindergarten. Finally, this study was limited to Texas. The education system in the United States varies greatly from state to state. What happens in Texas does not happen all over the country in regards to education. While there is some overlap as to what is happening in each state, by limiting the study to one state, it does not capture the full mission, curriculum, and pedagogy nationwide. Education is ever-changing. Consequently, the findings from 2013 may be much different than what they would be today. This is especially true with the Covid-19 pandemic, the many new laws regarding Critical Race Theory, the banning of books featuring BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters, and the increasing push for school choice. Many states are now requiring lesson plans to be posted a year in advance for parents’ perusal despite the fact that all curriculum and state standards are available for parents to access at any time. The United States is also experiencing a mass exodus of teachers throughout the nation because of low pay, harsh conditions, and in some states, the new regulations where parents can sue teachers if they do not like what is being taught in their child’s classroom. This teacher shortage will have dramatic impacts on education in the next few years and perhaps for decades. Standards will be lowered to fill teaching positions. The mission of kindergarten may further change. In many states, it is not required and could even be cut from certain districts and schools if there are not enough teachers. During Gracey’s time, kindergarten was more like an extension of daycare. When I taught kindergarten, the focus was more on academics and education, with some students even learning to read during their year in kindergarten. The students even took standardized tests. Now, with the new struggles teachers and education face, things may change even more. Because of this, a study like mine or Gracey’s may be rendered obsolete.

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Questions for Discussion 1

2 3

4 5

Do you think the analogy of kindergarten to military boot camp was more accurate in the 1970s than in the twenty-first century? Or, do you think as the author suggests, that Gracey’s analysis was more due to gender differences in research design and analysis? If you were developing a research design to study the kindergarten experience today, how would you go about it? What would be your primary method for gaining meaningful data? Would it be possible to complete meaningful interviews about the kindergarten experience with five and six-year-olds? What would be some of the advantages of doing so? What would be some of the additional ethical considerations? Do you think interviewing parents about the kindergarten experience would be valuable, or do you think it might potentially add even more potential bias to information and analysis? If you think back upon your own kindergarten experience (if you had one) would you see it as more aligned with the analogy of military boot camp or with the analysis provided by the research done by the kindergarten teacher? Why?

Note 1 Parts of this chapter were previously published in: Thompson and Thompson (2016). Parts reprinted with permission of Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

11 Pumping Iron in the 1980s and Working Out in the Twenty-First Century 1 Principle Investigators: William E. Thompson and Mica L. Thompson

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-11

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Working out and exercising are so common today that it is safe to say almost everybody does it in some form or fashion. Watches, rings, smartphones, and other devices monitor pulse rate, blood pressure, and calories burned, and some even perform real-time electrocardiograms. Although this health and fitness craze is old news today, it was a relatively new phenomenon in the early 1980s. When a colleague and I who ran together over our lunch hour decided to start lifting weights three days a week in the university recreation center, we quickly discovered that the weight room was a thriving subculture with values, norms, meaningful symbols, and a social stratification scheme that was worthy of sociological research and analysis.

Gaining Entry Gaining entry to the university weight room was simple and easy. All students or faculty were required to do was show their university identification card and they could use all of the recreation center’s facilities free of charge. Actually, students paid a small fee each semester to use the facility, but faculty members were allowed to enter and use the center as a perk of employment. We initially started using the facility every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday over our lunch hour. Later we switched to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to see if other people used the facility on those days, and finally, we observed the weight room at different times of the day in order to see if patterns of behavior observed over the lunch hour were similar to those at different times of the day. Although gaining entry to the workout facility was simple, gaining entry to the weight room subculture was a bit more difficult and took a little time. During the course of our research, we observed over 100 participants work out in the weight room. Once we started working out, however, we learned that there was a group of “regulars” who dominated the weight room. These students worked out on a regular schedule, had set routines, and used certain weights, benches, or machines in a certain sequence that all the regulars recognized and respected. If a “newbie” (such as the two of us) interfered with one of their routines, it did not take long to learn that such interruptions were not appreciated and would not be tolerated. Within about two weeks we had learned most of the regular participants’ routines and managed to develop our own routines so as not to interfere with their schedules. After a month or so, the two of us were accepted by the “regulars” and our specific routines and schedules were acknowledged and respected by the others.

Choosing a Question and Stating Research Objectives Our preliminary observations while working out in the university recreation center weight room indicated that it constituted a subculture based

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on commonly accepted criteria and definitions used by sociologists. Sociologists typically define a subculture as groups that share many elements of mainstream culture but create and maintain their own distinctive customs, values, norms, and lifestyles (Thompson et al., 2019). The university weight room certainly reflected those criteria. Moreover, we decided to frame our study within a symbolic interactionist perspective emphasizing that members of subcultures constantly define and redefine their social construction of reality through the creation and manipulation of meaningful symbols (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). Our overall goal for our research was to sociologically describe and analyze the subculture of the recreation center weight room. More specifically, our research objectives included: 1 2 3 4

Describe the members of the recreation center weight room subculture. Describe the meaningful symbols of the subculture including dress, demeanor, and rituals. Describe the informal status hierarchy of the weight room subculture. Determine motivation for joining and participating in the weight room subculture.

We determined that the best way to achieve objectives one, two, and three were through full participant observation with non-disclosure. Objective four was accomplished by a combination of ethnographic interviewing with a brief survey questionnaire.

Combining Qualitative Fieldwork with a Quantitative Survey Some of the most insightful sociological research has combined qualitative fieldwork with some form of quantitative data. We decided that in order to best describe the members of the university weight room subculture we would fully participate in it while observing the interaction of its members. Once accepted as part of the subculture we observed the behavior and conducted extensive ethnographic interviews with all members of the group we identified as “regulars.” Toward the end of the study, we solicited the help of recreation center staff in administering a brief quantitative survey that allowed us to collect demographic information as well as to ask open-ended questions as to why the participants chose to join and regularly participate in the weight room subculture and its activities.

Full Participant Observation with Nondisclosure Full participant observation in a weight room subculture means establishing a regular weightlifting routine and committing to doing it. Easily said; not as easily done. My colleague and I began in early September at

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the beginning of a semester by going to the recreation center weight room every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday over our lunch hour. As faculty members, each of us was entitled to a small locker in the men’s locker room as long as we provided our own combination lock. The recreation center also provided clean towels for those who opted to shower at the facility after working out. We took advantage of both amenities. Halfway through the semester (around early November) we switched to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. During the spring semester, we began in early January and continued through mid-May. During that semester we alternated times for our workouts so that by the end of the semester we had participated and observed during most of the days and hours that the weight room was open. Consequently, data for this study were collected over a nine-month period on virtually every day of the week at different times. Overall, we observed over 100 students and three other faculty members who used the weight room facilities over that time frame. The bulk of our data, however, comes from observing and interviewing 19 young men who we termed “regulars,” which comprised the core of the weight room subculture. We soon discovered that there was a small group of young men who had the same workout schedule that we had initially chosen. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. we encountered the same group of exercisers over and again. One of those “regulars” had been a student in at least one of each of our classes, which facilitated access and entry to the subculture by way of introductions and tolerance if not acceptance. Initially, the other weight room participants were a bit wary of two professors they did not know “invading” their non-academic turf, and for the most part ignored our being there. As long as we stayed out of the way and did not interrupt their workout routines, they were ambivalent about our presence. Within a few sessions, they became more accepting of our presence and engaged in casual conversations with us in between sets. Both of us were somewhat familiar with weight rooms and lifting weights from our past experiences, so we did not appear to be totally ignorant of weight room norms, but we were unfamiliar with some of the weight machines and also realized that every weight room subculture is different, and thereby knew that we were initially considered uninvited guests who needed to be as inconspicuous and unobtrusive as possible. By the end of approximately a month, the members of the subculture assumed we were committed to working out on a regular basis and began to openly engage in conversations with us, occasionally exchanging tips on weightlifting techniques and even asking one of us to “spot” them when conducting certain exercises such as the bench press or squats with free weights. These activities require a certain amount of trust as a lifter’s safety is at risk if not done properly, thus marking acceptance into the subculture as full-fledged members.

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In the late afternoons from approximately 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. coaches required varsity athletes to work out usually with set routines that had to be completed and documented. Although we observed many of the varsity athletes and our qualitative observations of those groups were included in our findings, we did not include them in our survey, since it was designed primarily to establish motive for voluntarily becoming part of the weight room subculture and working out on a regular basis. We also noted that the vast majority of those we had established as “regulars” avoided working out while the varsity athletes were there. When we varied our schedules to other days and time periods, we discovered that the 19 regulars often did the same thing—still dominating the weight room subculture with their values, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and meaningful symbols.

Administering a Survey For both security and safety reasons, the university recreation center required all students and faculty who used the weight room facility to sign in and out. By obtaining copies of these sign-in sheets we determined that out of the over 100 people who visited the weight room during our study, only 19 were what we opted to designate as “regulars.” For our purpose, a “regular” was a person who worked out a minimum of one hour at least one day per week for an entire semester. Our 19 participants considered as “regulars” almost all worked out a minimum of an hour each workout for three days per week. Some worked out five or six days per week devoting half their workout time to the upper body and the other half to their lower body. We administered a brief quantitative survey to the 19 regulars by which we obtained demographic data, workout schedules, and through the use of open-ended questions, their primary motivations for working out on a regular basis. We also used the survey to validate some of our qualitative observations regarding weight room norms, demeanor, and status hierarchy.

1980s Findings The weight room subculture was dominated by males. Out of over 100 people who used the facility during our research, apart from the women’s basketball team who was required to work out on certain days, less than 10% of the users were females. All of the 19 “regulars” in the weight room subculture were males. Most of them were either juniors or seniors ranging in age from their late teens to early twenties. Sixteen of the nineteen “regulars” were white; two were black; one was of Hispanic background. The male varsity athletes were more racially and ethnically diverse but still were predominantly white males. When looking at meaningful symbols (things that represent something other than themselves and have shared meaning) of any subculture, language is always one of the most important. Not surprisingly, the weight room subculture

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had its own jargon that served as boundary maintenance to bond its members while excluding outsiders. In order for “newbies” to become part of the subculture they must be able to distinguish between “reps” and “sets,” “squats” and “dead lifts,” “benches” and “inclines,” “curls” and “reverse curls” while knowing how best to work “lats” “delts,” “obliques,” and “pecs,” as well as understand a host of other abbreviations and terms for various muscles, machines, and routines. They must be dependable for “spotting” and “being spotted” and demonstrate understanding and compliance to basic weight room etiquette. Clothing is another important meaningful symbol in any subculture. Pragmatism played a role in dictating a certain mode of dress in the weight room. The only attire required by the facility was that all who used the weight room were required to wear shoes. Most participants wore some type of exercise attire such as sweat pants, jogging suits, shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Closer observation revealed, however, that “regulars” tended to wear shorts, t-shirts, or muscle shirts, and sometimes shed any type of top preferring to work out shirtless. Conversely, newbies and those less comfortable with their physical appearance tended to wear more clothing such as long sweat pants, long-sleeved sweatshirts, or large loose fitting t-shirts. As new members to the subculture became more regular in attendance and more confident in their workout routines and bodies, they transitioned from more bulky clothing that hid their bodies to more revealing clothing, eventually blending in with other regulars. Somewhat unconsciously at first, my colleague and I noticed that we had followed the same pattern, initially working out in sweatpants and sweatshirts, to eventually wearing only gym shorts and t-shirts, occasionally even shedding the t-shirts for upper body workouts. Approximately three months into our study, the facility added a large mirror that covered one entire wall of the weight room. Almost immediately, the dress as well as the workout routines of the regular weight room participants changed. More shirts were removed during workouts, and when working with free weights, the “regulars” would often move close to the wall in order to observe their muscles in the mirror as they worked out various parts of their bodies. Accordingly, new norms were established among all weight room participants in order to accommodate these changes in routines. There were a number of other meaningful symbols in the weight room. Large leather belts intended to support the lower back hung on hooks on one wall. “Regulars” knew to only wear one of these belts when performing “dead lifts” or “squats” or some other exercise with unusually heavy weights that might strain the back without additional support. Occasionally, a “newbie” would put on one of the belts to perform all of their workouts or to complete a set with relatively light weights that did not require such support, only to be met with strange looks, smirks, chuckles, and muttered remarks of disapproval. One newbie even showed up for

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the first time wearing his own brand-new leather weight lifting belt. He was practically laughed out of the facility, only worked out for about ten minutes, and never showed up again. Normative sanctions, though informal and non-physical, could be harsh in the weight room subculture. Other meaningful symbols appeared in the weight room from time to time. A few of the “regulars” wore special weight lifting gloves. The gloves were usually made of leather or synthetic material with a padded palm and the fingers left exposed. Special curling bars, expandable elastic straps, and other paraphernalia were sometimes used for special exercises. If used properly and especially if used by a “regular,” all of these symbolized that the user was a serious weightlifter and enhanced his status within the weight room subculture. The status hierarchy in the weight room was both informal and subtle, yet clearly established and recognized by all who were part of it. All weight room “regulars” followed basic weight lifting procedures moving systematically from free weights to machines and back to free weights as if in a choreographed routine. Newbies were required to learn these routines and be careful not to interrupt another lifter’s workout, and to never “hog” any set of weights or any machine. Although these norms were informal, they were important and well-established among those “in the know.” Even among the “regulars,” there was an established “pecking order.” Those who had been part of the subculture the longest and/or those who had demonstrated their superiority over others either through lifting excessive amounts of weight or displaying uncanny technique were at the top of the hierarchy. Other “regulars” deferred to them if they wanted to use a specific set of weights or machines. If one of those at the top of the hierarchy decided to change his routine, use a machine out of regular order, or otherwise modify the established routine, others adjusted their workouts to accommodate the change. Occasionally, one of those at the top of the hierarchy would offer advice on techniques to those below him in the hierarchy, and such tips were readily welcomed and taken. On the rare occasion where somebody lower in the status hierarchy might critique another’s technique, or offer advice, they were usually ignored, or worse, admonished for doing so. The fact that my colleague and I were professors at the university had very little impact on our position in the status hierarchy. Although we were always treated with respect, it was clear that we were expected to adhere to the informal established norms of the group. We started out as “newbies,” and were treated as such. As we demonstrated our commitment to working out, increased our abilities, and improved our techniques, we became more accepted into the group. By the end of the nine months of our research, we had become established as “regulars,” and were probably considered somewhere in the middle of the status hierarchy, well below the long-timers and superior lifters, but well above the “newbies” and those considered inferior to us in time, skill, and technique.

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Demeanor was perhaps the most interesting and easy to recognize, yet most difficult meaningful symbol of the weight room subculture to describe and explain. Erving Goffman (1967:77) defines demeanor as that element of the individual’s ceremonial behavior typically conveyed through deportment, dress, and bearing which serves to express to those in his immediate presence that he is a person of certain desirable or undesirable qualities. A prominent aspect of the demeanor of the regular weight room participants was their stance and walk. The arms of the weight lifters rarely hung limp at their sides. Rather, they were held slightly away from the body and consequently always appeared somewhat flexed. Initially in our research, we privately joked about this posture and imitated it when outside the weight room. Later, however, we realized that there were both physiological and socially symbolic explanations for this phenomenon. Physically, as the shoulders, arms, and lattisimus dorsi muscles become larger, they force the arms out away from the body. Symbolically, holding the arms out away from the body implies those muscles are fully and perhaps overly developed whether that is actually the case or not. This way of standing or walking is the most identifiable characteristic of bodybuilders. It is their trademark, like a “wrestler’s neck” (Gaines and Butler, 1974:48). Thus, the lifter who has developed superior muscles in the upper back and sides cannot avoid the arms slowly pulling away from the sides of the body when relaxed. What non-lifters may interpret as a “strut” to show off muscles is really an unavoidable result of having developed the muscles. But few if any of the weight lifters in our study were so over-developed as to cause that pronounced a posture. Rather, it seemed that weight room participants slowly became socialized into adopting the physical mannerisms typically manifested by professional bodybuilders. Another noticeable aspect of demeanor was the way the “regulars” conducted themselves while in the weight room. Through language, dress, and all other aspects of demeanor, they made it clear that they were very much “at home” in the weight room. It was their domain. Even the varsity athletes rarely challenged the established social hierarchy of the weight room although many of them were stronger, more gifted athletically, and physically superior to the “regulars” by most objective criteria. Our final research objective was to ascertain the motivation for “regulars” to commit to a rigid schedule of working out on a regular basis. This objective was completed through the use of an open-ended question on our survey questionnaire as well as through informal conversations with many of the lifters during their workouts. The most frequent responses indicated the desire for better physical fitness and a better concept of self. Lifters indicated they derived a sense of accomplishment in achieving goals in lifting a particular weight or performing a specific exercise a certain number of times. One respondent summarized these feelings by writing “Lifting weights seems to be a challenge … the iron against me.” We also noted through observation that occasionally lifting became competitive with

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“regulars” challenging themselves as well as others to lift a particularly heavy weight or complete a certain number of repetitions. Other motivations included wanting to gain weight as well as wanting to lose weight, achieving better physical appearance, and simply the desire to get stronger. Phrases such as self-discipline, self-motivation, and getting in shape for particular sports were also used to express motivation.

Four Decades Later: Team Research and Going Solo By the dawn of the twenty-first century, working out was much more common, public and private gyms were everywhere, and fitness as well as wellness were normative cultural values. My daughter worked out with a group of teachers after school and joined a local group of women in a neighborhood “boot camp” that worked out on a regular basis. I was still working out regularly at a university recreation center, albeit at a different university in a different state. I also joined a private gym and worked out regularly there. Collaboratively, we decided to replicate the 1980s study looking for similarities and differences. Our replication study combined symbolic interaction with the feminist perspective to describe and analyze four different yet similar exercise subcultures including a state university fitness center, a 24-hour private fitness center, a small after-school workout group, and a small neighborhood women’s “boot camp” group. We utilized full participant observation with non-disclosure combined with unstructured, informal ethnographic interviews. I worked out five days per week in several different time frames at a university fitness center over a ten-year period. The mid-size state university enrolled approximately 12,000 students and was located in the southwest in a community of around 8,000 people. All students were charged a semester fee for the center and were eligible to work out any time between 6:00 a.m. and midnight for no additional costs. Faculty, staff, and members of the community could pay a nominal annual fee to have access to the facility during those same hours. Although the center housed a couple of classrooms, several indoor racquetball courts, a yoga studio, a climbing wall, a gymnasium, an indoor track, an outdoor pool, and outdoor volleyball courts, in order to replicate the 1982 research, observation for this study was limited to the part of the fitness center that contained cardiovascular machines, weight machines, and a free weights area. This part of the facility was by far the most popular and most utilized. This area included eight treadmills, six elliptical machines, four stationary bikes, and two stair climbers, all of which could access six large-screen televisions. It also contained a wide variety of weight machines designed to work out every part of the body and a large area equipped with a wide assortment of benches and free weights. The area housing the weight machines and free weights was lined with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. A public address system played music that could be heard throughout the entire workout area.

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A second setting for participant observation was a private fitness center located in a small town in the southwest with a population of approximately 18,000 people. The center was part of a large national chain that offered its members access to any/all of its centers 24 hours per day seven days per week. This particular center was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment including ten treadmills, ten stationary bikes, two stair climbers, two stationary bikes with fitness challenge programs, two stationary bikes that also worked out the arms, and a wide variety of weight machines designed to work every part of the body. It also provided a large selection of free weights and benches along with mats, ropes, pulleys, belts, and a host of other fitness equipment designed for full-body workouts. One wall was lined with a floor-to-ceiling mirror. This facility also featured two tanning booths, two hydro-massage loungers, and a room equipped with a device where members, assisted by a personal trainer, could stand on a circular disk that rotated 360 degrees while taking a full body scan of the individual. Within minutes a computer prints out a complete body profile including exact weight, body mass index, percentage of body fat, muscle mass, bone mass, and fluid. The participant then sets goals for improvement, and a printout includes a nutritional plan as well as a workout plan designed to target those areas of the body that fall outside suggested parameters in order to meet the participant’s goals. I joined this facility and conducted participant observation and interviews at different time intervals during each day of the week for one year. I also interviewed the manager of the facility (a male) as well as a fitness trainer (male) and two female staff members who worked there. The third research setting was a small group of elementary school teachers who worked out five days per week after school over the course of eight years. My daughter exercised with a group of coworkers that streamed on demand workouts via computer in a vacant classroom. The three women who started the group (my daughter and two friends), chose a six to eight-week program and the group did that program from start to finish in its entirety. Participants brought their own free weights, mats, resistance loops, and any other needed equipment for their program, and kept them in a storage closet when not in use. This group fluctuated between 4 and 7 teachers but sometimes had as many as 12 (including one male) joining workouts. The participants varied over the course of the eight years with the three creators maintaining the routine while the workout group was active. The fourth setting was a private neighborhood “ladies only boot camp” held at one of the women’s home. All women in the neighborhood were invited via social media to join, but a core group of approximately 10 to 15 women met consistently. Weather permitting, this group exercised outside for approximately one hour. The workouts varied from one meeting to the next but always consisted of both cardio and strength training. The leader of the group was a certified fitness trainer, who for a

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nominal fee, led the other women in hour-long exercise routines four times per week. She provided free weights, kettle bells, weighted balls, and other necessary equipment. She also provided music for the workouts. The participants brought their own workout mats. The group moved their workout inside the garage if weather was too severe to work out outside, or to a neighbor’s pool for water aerobics if the weather was deemed too hot by the group members for their regular routine. The group leader also provided nutritional and fitness advice to the other members. My daughter participated in this group at least three times per week for three years and interviewed all of the participants at some time over that period. At the two fitness centers, I participated, observed, and informally interviewed several people during as many days of the week and during different time periods as possible. Since the after school workout group as well as the women’s boot camp group only met and exercised on certain days at specified time periods, my daughter attended as many meetings as possible during the research time frame. All interviews were unstructured, informal, strictly anonymous, and flexible in format. In keeping with the concept of unobtrusive measures, no recording devices were used, but copious field notes were compiled after each workout session and triangulation of methods including more than one observer, participant observation, and ethnographic interviews were used when possible. After each workout, my daughter and I met for a “debriefing,” describing and discussing observations and findings for that particular session. As patterns emerged, similarities and differences were noted and preliminary findings were analyzed on an ongoing basis. Consequently, we were simultaneously conducting team research while technically going it alone.

Twenty-First Century Findings What a difference a few decades make! Interactions at the two fitness centers were comparable to each other, but noticeably different from the fitness center studied in the 1980s, while the two small private workout groups were very much alike and despite differences, because of the small sizes, were a bit more similar to the weight room subculture in the original 1982 study. The Two Fitness Centers

The two fitness centers for this study were remarkably similar in both physical and sociological features. Although one of these facilities was located at a university and was designed for essentially the same purpose as the facility in the 1982 study by Thompson and Bair, the differences in equipment and exercise technology four decades later were remarkable. Free weights and benches had changed very little over 40 years, but the

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differences in weight machines from the 1980s to 2020 were phenomenal. The machines in the 1982 study were few, simple, and required virtually no explanation or training for use. The machines of the twenty-first century were many, sophisticated, and complicated. Exercisers were not allowed to use them without first going through an orientation session. Even after completing orientation, it was common to observe users asking staff for assistance for machine operation and exercise techniques from time to time. Several of the machines were equipped with a QR code that users could scan with a smartphone to access instructional videos for the equipment’s use. Some of the symbols of the weight room were similar to those identified in the 1980s study, but there were notable exceptions in dress. Whereas the typical attire for a workout in 1982 was primarily a pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt or tank top (which men sometimes removed), and a pair of tennis shoes, this study revealed workout attire to be almost exclusively coordinated tops and bottoms made by big-name athletic equipment companies. Men were more likely to wear shorts and a t-shirt or muscle shirt with a logo or emblem of some sort while women almost exclusively wore lycra or spandex workout pants, sometimes referred to as “yoga pants,” with a matching sports bra or top. As in the earlier study, novices to the world of exercise tended to wear more clothing sometimes including long sleeves and long pants, whereas veterans were more likely to wear more revealing clothing including shorts, t-shirts, muscle shirts, tank tops, and sports bras. Neither of the fitness centers allowed men (or women) to go shirtless, but some of the exercisers with better physiques managed to expose as much of their bodies as possible. The latter category also tended to spend more time observing themselves in the mirrors while working out. In the 1980s study, there was a drinking fountain located in the weight room that provided the sole source of hydration for the exercisers. Although the two fitness centers and school in this study also had drinking fountains available, they were rarely used, except to sometimes refill a bottle brought to the facility by the exerciser. Most of the participants brought bottles of water or some other liquid drink especially formulated to hydrate athletes and replenish liquids and electrolytes lost through exercise. In the earlier study, weight lifters and machine users rarely wiped down equipment either before or after use, whereas in this study (conducted before Covid-19 protocols) almost every exerciser wiped down the equipment with the sanitary wipes and/or sprays provided throughout the two facilities. There were signs posted strategically throughout the centers reminding exercisers to do so, and occasionally, a staff member circulated through the area wiping down machines not in use. The two most obvious and significant differences in 2020 as compared to the 1980s study were the sex/gender breakdown of exercisers and the introduction of technology, especially the smartphone and earphones or

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earbuds to the workout environment. Although open to all students, faculty, and staff as well as the entire student body, the weight room in the 1982 study was an exclusively male environment. During the entire period of research, not a single female (other than staff or the women’s basketball team when required) ever entered the university weight room. Also, there was very little if any technology related to the workout environment in the earlier study. The 1982 study noted that one of the regular participants brought a “boom box” to the weight room and played music that all the participants listened to whether they wanted it or not. There were a few simple weight machines, but the exercise equipment consisted primarily of free weights and benches that received the most use by the participants. A few of the exercisers brought their own gloves, weight lifting belts, or other paraphernalia, but nothing involved sophisticated technology of any kind. Workouts in the 1980s study were punctuated with frequent conversations between and among participants in between, and during workout sets. Friendly competitions to see who could lift the heaviest weight or complete the most repetitions sometimes took place. This greatly facilitated interviewing of participants during workouts through casual conversations. It also created a social bond among participants as they all became acquainted. Exercisers assisted each other with heavy weights and “spotted” for one another when asked. During workouts, it was common to see fellow exercisers offer advice on particular workout techniques. Consequently, this created an environment that constituted a subculture, and clearly met the sociological definition of a social group—two or more people who interact in patterned ways, have a feeling of unity, and share interests and expectations (Thompson et al., 2019). The environments of the two fitness centers in the twenty-first century were similar to one another but quite different from the weight room of the 1980s. Both centers were used almost equally by males and females. In fact, during daytime hours Monday through Friday, it was common to find more women than men using the facility. Very little interaction was observed among the exercisers, however, unless they had come to work out in pairs. Even then, very few conversations took place. In a few cases, it was obvious that a man and woman, two men, or two women had come to work out together, and they were more likely to interact with each other. Even in those cases, however, each member of the pair often pursued their own routines in different areas of the facility. Both fitness centers played music over a sound system that all participants could listen to if they desired. And, the arrangements of machines would have allowed for casual conversations between and among exercisers. Yet, almost every exerciser chose instead to wear headphones or wireless earbuds in order to listen to their personal devices, most often a smartphone. Not only did this negate the common experience of listening to the same music, but it made conversations

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difficult, if not almost impossible. The wearing of headphones or earbuds symbolically implies “do not disturb,” and most participants, including the researcher, respected the implied message. Every cardio machine was equipped with an outlet where exercisers could plug in headphones to access the sound of the large flat-screen televisions provided. Again, however, almost none of the participants did so. In fact, some of the people working out on the cardio machines openly engaged in conversations on their phones with people not present at the facility. These phenomena made it difficult for me to conduct meaningful interviews with the participants at the two fitness centers. Most interviews with men, therefore, were conducted in the locker room when exercisers were changing clothes, putting in, or retrieving articles from the lockers. The few interviews conducted with women mostly occurred near the hydro massage lounges or as exercisers were entering or leaving the facility. Consistent with demographic data on smartphone ownership and usage, older participants were less likely to be attached to smartphone devices than their younger counterparts and seemed more open to conversation (Pew Research Center, 2019). As a result of the prevalence of smartphones and other technological devices, there was very little social interaction of any kind among the participants in the two workout facilities. Thus, it is difficult to assert that these two environments constituted subcultures at all, as they could more accurately be described as aggregates—people who happen to be in the same place at the same time, as opposed to social groups. These two settings reflected Robert Putnam’s (2000) thesis in Bowling Alone, that Americans have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social institutions. Although the two facilities involved numerous people, sometimes upward of 30 or more, there was very little social interaction of any kind, with each individual exerciser essentially working out alone. When asked about motivation for using the facilities, exercisers confirmed that they went there for fitness and health purposes and did not view their visits to the centers as social occasions. When one married couple was asked about the lack of interaction with each other while working out, the woman replied, “We get to talk to each other all the time at home, we come here to work out, and that’s it.” The man nodded in agreement. A possible exception was noted in the university fitness center, especially between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and approximately 9:00 a.m. on weekdays. During those hours, the exercisers were primarily faculty, staff members, and community members ranging in age from approximately 50 to 80 years, with one “regular” who was 90 years old. Many of these people knew each other outside the center and openly engaged in conversations both during and in between exercises. With few exceptions, the only younger people in the facility during those hours were student workers employed by the university to monitor and clean the equipment and floors.

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Those workers almost always wore headphones or earbuds that they would politely, albeit sometimes begrudgingly, temporarily remove if asked a question or being sought for assistance by one of the exercisers. One older retired faculty member (the 90-year-old) frequented the facility three mornings per week and became known as “the question man,” as he would attempt to engage the younger workers in conversation by asking them random questions about history, science, mathematics, literature, or some other academic area. A few fellow exercisers and some of the workers eagerly participated in these informal “quizzes,” while others systematically avoided the question man by all means possible. During that time frame, almost none of the older participants provided their own music or entertainment while exercising, choosing instead to listen to the sound system and/or to plug listening devices into the machines so they could watch and hear the televisions. It was not uncommon for one or more of the older exercisers to request a change in music selection and/or volume as they preferred quieter music from earlier time periods rather than what at least one participant referred to as “that damn loud nonsensical noise!” During afternoon and evening hours, the demographics of the exercisers at the university recreation center changed dramatically, almost exclusively being comprised of university students between the ages of 18 and 25. Loud rock and rap music permeated the center, but as with the private facility almost every individual was either texting or talking on their phones or listening to their own music through earbuds. Very few conversations took place, and the author could rarely talk to any of the exercisers for more than just a couple of minutes in between workout sets or as they were checking in or out at the front desk. Observation, as well as interviews, made clear that the exercisers were there to work out and not to socialize. Most socialization that took place was on smartphones with people who were not at the facility. The Two Small Workout Groups

Both small workout groups consisted of women who knew each other from outside the exercise setting, but had very casual interactions and relationships. The school group, other than the three friends who started it, primarily interacted in meetings, curriculum planning, and passing in the hallways. When the group started, there were no male teachers at the school, and by the time a man joined the faculty, the exercise group was well established, and though invited, he did not join. The women in the boot camp were neighbors who occasionally saw one another in passing on neighborhood walks, or while doing yard work, but rarely interacted with each other before joining the exercise group. The originator of that group made clear that it was for women only. When interviewed, she expressed that her experience had taught her that men change the dynamics of the group. She indicated that men tend to dominate conversations, make

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working out more competitive, and women in the group often feel less comfortable, more self-conscious, or intimidated by the presence of men. During the time spent working out together many of the women in both the afterschool and the neighborhood boot camp expressed their preference to these types of environments versus a more traditional gym environment. The main reasons noted were because of the fellowship fostered by the casual atmosphere, and the feeling of “safety” from judgment or not having to fend off unwanted ogling or sexual advances they often experience when exercising at the gym. Once the two exercise groups were formed, the participants shared more than just workouts. Within a few weeks of joining either of the two small workout groups, participants started sharing stories about their families, things that happened at work that day, and they shared other day-to-day anecdotes. Before long, exercisers started asking one another for advice, and sometimes shared intimate details of their lives with one another. It was clear that the group meetings accomplished two goals: physical fitness as well as social interaction. If a workout was particularly difficult for any of the members, the others cheered them along, shouted encouragement, and at times, even helped the struggling participant. At the end of workouts, the group’s social bond was noticeably strengthened. Often those bonding workouts resulted in hugs and even tears. Soon after starting, members of both groups started doing 5Ks for charities together and engaged in other fitness as well as social activities outside of their routine workouts. This led to game nights, visiting local art museums, and even weekend trips together. By the end of the author’s time in both groups, the participants were not just workout buddies, but they were personal friends. The after-school workout group formed a coed softball team with husbands and male friends. As women in the neighborhood workout group became better acquainted they introduced their husbands to each other and as a result, a men’s motorcycle riding group and a couples supper club were formed.

Ethical Considerations These studies posed no serious ethical issues. All research was done according to the American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics. Although exercisers were not informed that they were part of a research project, there was no potential harm to any of the research participants and their anonymity was protected.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Quirks, Perks, and Unanticipated Findings A major perk of these studies was that the researchers benefitted from all the physical and psychological aspects associated with working out. In the

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original study, my colleague in his late 30s and I in my early 30s got in the best shape of our lives. For the first two weeks we experienced lots of muscle soreness and joked that we could barely reach up to touch our heads or comb our hair. After that phase passed, we began to lose weight, get stronger, and feel better than ever. Both of us had participated in sports during our youth but realized we were more physically fit and stronger after nine months of working out than we had been in our teens. We expected many of the physical benefits from working out consistently over that period of time. What we did not anticipate were the psychological and sociological changes we noticed during and after the nine months of working out on a regular basis. Both of us felt better about our physical appearance and realized that others reacted differently to us in social interaction. Neither of us had been seriously overweight or terribly out of shape when we began, but not long into the research, our spouses, family members, and friends all began commenting on our weight loss and better physical appearance. Since we both regularly stood in front of 40 to 60 students in classrooms, we noticed an increase in self-confidence that our students responded to in a favorable way. Although careful to maintain the boundaries between students and faculty, the “regular” members of the weight room subculture fully accepted us in that environment and openly conversed, joked, and competed with us in the same way they did with each other. My daughter also experienced all the physical and psychological benefits associated with fitness and wellness. Moreover, she made friendships with fellow exercisers that transcended the workout environment. We were not surprised that there were many changes, especially in terms of technology, from the 1980s into the early twenty-first century. We also knew that working out had become more popular with a larger segment of society over that time period. We were a bit surprised, however, at the pervasiveness of working out and the popularity of both private and public workout groups and centers, especially those open 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The most surprising development during our research was that it suddenly came to an end in March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the United States and the globe. The small groups of women decided to temporarily halt their workouts and after a few months, disbanded completely. Both the university fitness center and the private 24-hour fitness center under study temporarily closed. The “temporary” closing turned out to be several months, and when the centers reopened, they functioned more like petri dishes for the virus than as gyms. A few people returned, but due to medical, social, and political reasons, it was determined to be best not to continue participant observation there. It was a surprising way to end a research project that we had never encountered before.

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Questions for Discussion 1 2

3 4

5

Do you perceive any ethical issues with the 1980s weight room study that were not addressed? If so, what are they? Did the study of the four workout subcultures conducted in the twenty-first century truly replicate the earlier study done in the 1980s? What, if anything, would you have done differently to perhaps make the research more comparable? Do you perceive any ethical issues with the twenty-first-century studies that were not addressed? If so, what are they? What role did technology play in shaping the findings of the studies in the twenty-first century as opposed to the initial study conducted in the 1980s? How can qualitative researchers account for these technological changes in modifying their research design and analysis? If you were going to replicate these studies today, what would you do the same? What would you do differently?

Note 1 Results from this study have been published previously in: Thompson, William E. & Jeffrey H. Bair. 1982. “A Sociological Analysis of Pumping Iron.” Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology 10(2) (November):192–196.

12 Conducting Qualitative Research in the Age of Disenlightenment

DOI: 10.4324/9781003320760-12

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Most people are curious about themselves, others, and the world around them. As a result, we use a variety of methods for gaining knowledge about ourselves and the society in which we live. One of the ways people learn about their world is through experience, which primarily acquires knowledge through the technique of trial and error. There is an old adage that insists experience is the best teacher, and it is true that experience can teach us a lot. Yet, if a person’s knowledge is limited to personal experience, then it is indeed very limited. It is unfortunate that some people can only learn that a stove is hot by touching it and getting burned, or that sticking a finger into a live electrical outlet can produce a dangerous or even fatal shock. Another type of knowledge can be gained through understanding cultural traditions which involves accepting so-called facts that are passed down from generation to generation. A problem with relying upon so-called facts acquired through cultural tradition is that quite often what passes for “common sense” in a particular culture is nothing more than common nonsense. Farmers in the Midwestern United States “know” that burning off their pastures in late winter and early spring can kill off undesired weeds and underbrush allowing desirable grass to grow in their place. Agricultural specialists, however, have proven that burning destroys many desirable microbes and earthworms near the soil surface, and actually delays the production of desirable plants and grasses. Sometimes even superstitions are translated into cultural traditions such as believing that it is bad luck if a groom sees the bride before the ceremony on their wedding day thus dooming the marriage when nearly half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce regardless of whether that occurred or not. Faith, a strong belief in so-called truth that cannot be verified by any other source of knowledge, also plays a significant role in producing knowledge in most cultures. All religions are based on faith as belief in supernatural beings cannot be verified by any other means. Faith extends beyond religion, however, as belief in almost any abstract phenomena such as freedom, democracy, equality, capitalism, monarchies, and others require a certain amount of faith. The great depression of the 1930s was triggered in large part by a lack of faith in major social institutions including banks, the stock market, and the government. People in positions of authority also pass on knowledge presumably based on their expertise in certain matters. For example, people typically turn to meteorologists for knowledge about the weather, doctors for knowledge about disease, and children look to their parents for knowledge about life. Unfortunately, just because a person is in a position of authority, or is deemed an expert in one area, does not mean they are an expert or a good source of knowledge in other fields or arenas. People often turn to celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile individuals for knowledge about things in which those people know very little. Daytime talk shows and even nightly news programs often ask popular celebrities or political pundits about their views on peace in the Middle East, exploration of outer space,

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or global pandemics when those people have no more knowledge about those things than the average person on the streets. Yet, because of their celebrity status, many people assume that their opinions are more valuable and carry more authority than actual facts and data.

The Enlightenment and the Rise of Science Unlike personal experience, cultural tradition, faith, or authority, knowledge derived through science is based on empirical evidence and facts gained through direct, systematic observation by trained experts in a particular field. Experience, faith, authority, and science are not mutually exclusive, and although science sometimes relies on experience, tradition, and authority, it also differs dramatically from them by adhering to strict scientific guidelines and criteria for developing knowledge. The eighteenth century is often referred to as the Enlightenment or Age of Reason because philosophy at that time turned toward reason and the scientific method as opposed to superstition and faith as the primary source for knowledge. Also referred to as the Dawn of Science, people began to rely on logic, accumulation of facts, and objective observation and data gathering as a superior method for gaining insight into our physical, psychological, and social worlds. Biology, physiology, chemistry, and physics all can trace their birth to the Age of Enlightenment, as can psychology, sociology, and other social and behavioral sciences. In Chapter 1, we provided an overview and discussion as well as listed the steps involved in the scientific method and demonstrated how it is used in the social sciences. Sociology was one of the social and behavioral sciences that arose during the Age of Enlightenment. Those of us who have studied it, practiced it, and taught it assumed that our systematic research as well as the accumulation and dissemination of scientific knowledge would help dispel people’s reliance on mysticism, magic, evil spirits, and other irrational non-scientific explanations for human social behavior. Yet, since their inception, social sciences and scientists have encountered various types of resistance to their findings and theories. One of the earliest and still common rejections of the social sciences comes from those who turn to religion for all explanations. Contending that births, deaths, hurricanes, floods, poverty, crimes, and everything else that takes place is either god’s will or the result of some type of struggle between good and evil, they reject rational scientific explanations as being heretical. Politicians as well as other seekers of power and authority also often reject social science research findings sometimes associating them with socialism or left-wing radicalism, while using many social psychological findings and principles about human behavior to frame and define situations in order to manipulate their followers and/or opponents. Perhaps one of the most common forms of resistance to the social sciences, their research, and explanations for social issues and human behavior

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comes in the form of a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” reaction to its findings. For example, the focus of sociology is people and how they interact in groups, organizations, and societies. Since we are all people and have interacted in groups, organizations, and societies in our entire lives, the subject is very familiar to us and we all have preconceived notions, hearsay, and personal experiences that shape how we see the world in which we live. This poses a unique and paradoxical problem for sociologists and other social scientists. If, for example we study a social institution like the family, and through systematic scientific research discover that children tend to adopt the religious and political views of their parents, a typical response is “Duh, everybody knows that!” Some opponents to sociology contend it does nothing more than waste valuable time and resources studying things that everybody knows just by common sense. Yet, another person might read that study or hear its outcome, and vehemently protest the results as being untrue because they practice a totally different religion from their parents and vote differently than them. When social scientific findings violate common sense understandings, they are often met with even more resistance, and sometimes with disbelief that translates into anger. For example, when social scientific research points out that perpetrators of child molestation are much more likely to be friends or family members than total strangers or that when children under the age of ten are murdered, the murderer is most often one of their parents or a sibling, some people react with outrage, contending such statements are a form of propaganda designed to turn children against their parents and other family members. Finally, a common rebuttal to social scientific research is the uniqueness argument. Many people contend that it is pointless to study human behavior because each human being is unique. Therefore, no two people think alike or act alike. Thus, they argue, it is impossible to predict human behavior. Although there is some truth to the uniqueness of individuals and it is very difficult to predict what any individual person might do in any specific situation, decades and centuries of sociological and social psychological research demonstrate that human behavior in general, especially in groups, is very predictable. Rather than focusing on individual behaviors, by scientifically collecting data, social scientists look for important patterns and trends that help explain and predict human behavior. Emile Durkheim ([1897] 1951) demonstrated in 1897 that by studying suicide rates instead of individual suicides, sociologists could predict that older people were more likely to kill themselves than young people, Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than Catholics, single people more likely to kill themselves than married people, and males were far more likely to kill themselves than females—predictors that hold true for suicide today. Virtually every social scientific study indicates that age, race/ethnicity, sex/gender, religious affiliation, and social class are among the most powerful predictors of human behavior. Everything from an act as powerful as

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suicide to something as mundane as behavior on an elevator can be predicted with uncanny accuracy by looking at those variables. That is one of the reasons major law enforcement agencies hire criminal profilers to help identify serial killers, and why attorneys hire jury consultants trained in the social and behavioral sciences to help select jurors that are most likely to convict or acquit. These people do not earn their high salaries and fees by playing hunches or using good old common sense. Rather they use solid social science research and data to predict with amazing accuracy the probability that certain types of jurors will vote in certain ways. What sometimes is referred to as the “art” of jury selection, more accurately involves the science of predicting human behavior, and is more often used to reject jurors than to select them. Attorneys on each side of a trial are given a certain number of peremptory challenges to strike certain jurors they think might be prejudiced against their case. Sociologist Fred Strodtbeck and his research team (Strodtbeck et al., 1957) contended that juries are essentially small social groups and therefore, findings from almost a century of research on small group behavior could be used to help predict how jurors and juries would act and react to certain types of offenders and victims, plaintiffs and defenders. Far from being a perfect science as implied in movies and television series, jury selection/rejection is but one example of how human behavior can be predicted. Even more common and effective applications of social scientific research to predict human behavior can be found in the fields of advertising, marketing, and sales. Sociologist Erving Goffman (1979) pointed out how advertisers tailored their sales pitches differently toward men and women based on gender roles and gender identity. Andrew Cohen (2016) also conducted research pointing out how basic social scientific concepts, theories, and data help shape the strategies of major corporations as well as small businesses that combined pay billions of dollars to advertisers and marketers to persuade the public to purchase their goods. When my son was an undergraduate in college majoring in advertising and marketing, he pointed out that he was assigned to read some of the same books I used in my social psychology classes. He remarked that the main difference between his studies and those of my sociology students was that he was being taught how to make money using sociological research, while they were simply pursuing knowledge and understanding of human behavior. Numerous social scientific studies indicate the strong need to conform to norms in small groups and also show how quickly those norms can be violated in large groups, crowds, and mobs. These studies also demonstrate how much of what passes for “common sense” understandings amount to nothing more than “common nonsense” when subjected to objective critical thinking and scientific research (Thompson et al., 2019). Both ambivalence as well as hostility toward science and empirical data have turned many people away from rational systematic scientific data to uninformed opinions and conspiracy theories to explain social phenomena with

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which they disagree or cannot understand. It begs the question: “Has America, and perhaps the world, entered a new Age of Disenlightenment?”

Uninformed Opinions and Conspiracy Theories Versus Science The ancient Greeks confirmed the earth’s spherical shape and even estimated its diameter and circumference in the third century B.C. Christopher Columbus demonstrated that the earth was indeed round instead of flat in the fifteenth century by sailing west to reach the Far East. Despite these facts, as well as the thousands of photographs of the earth from outer space that verify the spherical shape of our planet, there still are thousands of people who insist the earth is flat and an International Flat Earth Society holds annual conventions promoting their beliefs and contending that all scientific evidence of the earth’s spherical shape have been contrived or faked to hide the truth. Given all the solid research and scientifically supported theories that have come about since the eighteenth century, one would think that science reigns supreme as the premier source of knowledge three centuries later. By the twentieth century, with the invention of microscopes, discovery of germs, development of vaccines, and powerful antibiotics to prevent and cure previously deadly diseases, medicine had almost totally replaced silly superstitions about what caused sickness and disease. Yet, we still sometimes find ourselves reaching for the butter dish when we burn our hands because our grandmothers told us this was a remedy for burns regardless of the fact we know that is not true. And millions of people, despite all evidence to the contrary, believe that going out in the rain or cold without a jacket is the primary cause of the common cold. Similarly, with the development of psychology and the behavioral sciences along with specialties in psychiatric medicine, people should no longer be subject to myths about demonic possession or other nonsensical or mystical explanations for their physical and mental illnesses that produce non-conforming or insane behaviors. As we have discussed, social scientific research dating back to the nineteenth century demonstrates how social variables can explain and predict human behavior in groups and shed light on virtually all social issues. Despite scientific knowledge about causation versus correlation or mere coincidence, many professional athletes believe they need to eat the same meal before each game or have a “lucky” pair of socks to be successful. Moreover, millions of sports fans believe that wearing their favorite team’s jersey or painting their faces in team colors can somehow affect the outcome of a sporting event over which they have absolutely no impact, except perhaps by creating a loud noise if they are actually attending the game. Many people getting married still avoid seeing each other on wedding days to avoid bad luck; office buildings and hotels do not have thirteenth floors; some people believe that breaking a mirror

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will result in seven years’ bad luck, and thousands if not millions of people send “thoughts and prayers” to people in time of need as opposed to providing them with actual help. Sadly, when it comes to expert opinions based on solid scientific data versus individuals’ personal opinions or biases, many opt to believe the latter rather than the former, or at least believe that the two are of equal validity. These beliefs are often relatively harmless, sometimes even fun, and may make us feel better about ourselves or others. They can, however, also be catastrophic. Sometimes relying on uninformed opinions and especially unfounded conspiracy theories can be quite dangerous. Early in the twenty-first century, we were bombarded almost daily with assertions that a former First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and presidential candidate drank the blood of infants and secretly operated a child pornography ring out of the basement of a pizza parlor in Chicago. Many believed that a failed real estate developer with zero political experience was personally chosen by their god to be president of the most economically, politically, and militarily powerful country in the world. Those same people, we are told, believed that the former senator and Vice President of the United States who defeated him by over seven million popular votes was really a lizard from outer space who, along with hundreds if not thousands of fellow alien reptilians, have come to earth to form a “deep state” that will eventually destroy all of civilization as we know it. During the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of Americans refused to believe the World Health Organization, National Centers for Disease Control, as well as some of the most renowned epidemiologists around the world, instead taking medical advice from radio and television celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, and others with absolutely no scientific or medical credentials.

The Covid-19 Pandemic: Science versus Science Fiction The year 2020 began much like any other. Post-Christmas bills needed to be paid, New Year’s resolutions were made and quickly broken, and a presidential election campaign to be decided in November was in full swing. I was coming off a research and writing sabbatical (our university called it “developmental leave”) and was looking forward to getting back in the classroom for the spring semester. Our spring break came early that semester beginning the second week in March. By the middle of that week, the entire world as most people knew and experienced it, was turned upside down. A rare and highly contagious virus referred to as Covid-19 since it was first discovered in 2019, was rapidly spreading across the globe. Naturally, all rational and logical people turned to science, medical experts, and world-renowned epidemiologists for answers as how to best deal with this life-threatening scenario. After all, previous

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experience had proven that those same experts through the use of science helped us survive and overcome threats from smallpox, tuberculosis, polio, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, SARS, Ebola, and a host of other potentially deadly maladies. Indeed, in the United States and around the world, the best and brightest research scientists, epidemiologists, and medical doctors swung into action establishing criteria for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Researchers worked around the clock to develop and test potential life-saving vaccines while much of society shut down and members of the general public isolated themselves in a mixture of fear, panic, desperation, and hope. Meanwhile, the President of the United States insisted that although perhaps 10 to 15 people might die from it, the virus would go away on its own, especially once spring and summer arrived. Within a year over onehalf million Americans had died from the disease and almost three million people died across the globe (CDC, 2022). This led the president to suggest live during one of his daily press conferences, that since bleach had been shown to kill the virus on surfaces, perhaps it could be injected into people’s veins to thwart the disease. The good news, however, is that also during that first year medical scientists developed a preventative vaccine that could potentially save millions of lives. Even before the Covid-19 vaccine was available for distribution, the internet exploded with conspiracy theories warning people that both the pandemic and the vaccine were government-orchestrated hoaxes. Other warnings insisted the vaccine was actually being used to infect people with Covid or to otherwise inflict a slow death upon those foolish enough to get it. Some people insisted the vaccine contained a microscopic tracking device that allowed the government to know and track all of the recipients’ activities. Both the virus and the vaccine became so politicized that members of the public sought potentially life or death advice from virtually everyone ranging from their hairdresser to their personal physician, with many being most heavily influenced by economically and politically motivated politicians as well as radio and television personalities. Celebrity hosts and anchors on one major conservative television network, despite being vaccinated themselves, promoted anti-vaccine conspiracies and encouraged people to disregard health officials’ pleas for people to wear masks and socially distance from others. Some conservatives in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate as well as some governors hoping to garner national recognition planted as well as reinforced doubt in medical science and promoted a host of conspiracy theories that challenged scientific facts about the disease. Those politicians, radio, and television personalities were not above using demagoguery, nationalism, and fake news to promote themselves and their causes with utter disregard for scientific data or the truth. By mid-year 2022, one million Americans had died from the Covid virus (Chuck and Siemaszko, 2022).

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Demagoguery, Nationalism, and “Fake News” A demagogue is a leader who appeals to the misconceptions, prejudices, and fears of people rather than by using a rational logical argument to gain their support. History is replete with demagogues who manipulated people into following them primarily through fear and intimidation. In the 1960s, a young sociopath by the name of Charles Manson used free sex and illegal drugs to recruit a group of misguided followers to obey his commands ranging in everything from providing sexual favors all the way to committing murder. Numerous demagogues have used religion to attract their followers. Religious and conspiracy beliefs share the feature of assuming powerful forces beyond our understanding determine the fate of the world (Frenken et al., 2022). They typically forecast the end of the world and convince their followers that they must adhere to explicit demands if they are to find redemption and salvation after the apocalypse. Doomsday cults are as old as humankind and have taken many forms. Their leaders typically exhibit a certain amount of charisma and charm preying upon people who are gullible, desperate, confused, frustrated, and/or angry. Demagogues pretend to sympathize with the plight of the downtrodden and provide comfort by convincing them that they can reverse their fortunes by following the admonitions of the leader. Initially, salvation requires sacrifice, but followers are told that ultimately all wrongs will be righted and they will be rewarded several-fold for their sacrifices—if not in this lifetime, in some type of idealistic afterlife. There were a number of Doomsday cults that formed during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries in the United States. Jim Jones and members of the People’s Temple started in Indianapolis, Indiana. Warning of an impending nuclear holocaust, Jones moved his followers to the west coast and became recognized as a religious group that provided aid to homeless and disenfranchised members of the community. As Jones and his followers became more extreme in their beliefs and actions, they moved to Guyana to escape scrutiny from American law enforcement and government officials. In 1978, the cult’s members participated in a mass suicide/homicide that claimed the lives of over 900 people. Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, Order of the Solar Temple, and the Branch Davidians are but a few of the Doomsday Cults that followed charismatic leaders to a fateful ending. Many Doomsday cults fall apart after the leader’s predictions of the end of the world prove to be false, but devoted followers can often be convinced to follow the demagogue despite repeated evidence that their prophecies are false and designed to manipulate their followers rather than help them. All demagogues are not associated with religion or spiritual prophecies. Adolf Hitler used the devastating loss of World War I, dire economic conditions, and nationalistic fears to gain political power and authority in Germany. Hitler promoted a renewed sense of nationalism, an ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation to the exclusion of any regard

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for other individuals, groups, or countries. Demagogues often seek scapegoats on which to blame groups or categories of people for social issues and problems being experienced. Hitler convinced the German people that all of their problems—economic, political, and social—were a result of allowing inferior races of people, most notably Jews, to exist among their midst. The myth of a superior Aryan race was not invented by Hitler, but his charisma and demagoguery convinced millions of followers that it was the Aryan’s destiny to rule the entire world if only they could eliminate those who were interfering with that divine plan—specifically, people of Jewish and African descent. His demagoguery resulted in the holocaust that slaughtered over six million people and led to World War II (Cohen, 2016 ). Today, some contemporary demagogues insist and have convinced their followers that the holocaust never occurred. Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Jim Jones, David Koresh, and all the other demagogues share many common characteristics including, but not limited to a narcissistic personality, greed, an unusual desire for power and authority, and a total disregard for facts, data, science, or the truth. All overtly reject rational and logical thought, critical thinking, individuality, and tolerance or concern for those who disagree with them. Moreover, they all reject science, facts, and truth. They prey on the weak and capitalize on their fears, frustration, and anger. Knowledge and intellectual thinking are their sworn enemies. The twenty-first century has seen the rise of anti-intellectualism— opposition and/or hostility toward intellectuals or to an intellectual viewpoint. This has led to increased reliance on faith and beliefs no matter how unfounded and misguided, and an attraction to political leaders who emphasize unbridled nationalism while capitalizing on followers’ fears, frustration, anger, and hatred. Hate crimes against minority groups have increased dramatically over the past few decades and reached an all-time high in 2020 (FBI, 2021). Reliance on charismatic and narcissistic celebrities has increased. Belief in myths, mysticism, and rumors have in many cases trumped the acceptance of facts, scientific research results, and proven realities. Demagogues tell the public anything that counters their beliefs and ideology is “fake news.” They convince people lies are simply “alternate facts.” They declare the free press to be enemies of the people, and argue that public schools, colleges, and universities brainwash young people into questioning the dogma and ideologies that they should believe and obey. Political Scientist, Matthew Motta (2017) pointed out that antiintellectualism has been around in the United States for a long time, but dramatically increased during the 2016 presidential election. Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and a four-wave panel from the Center for the Study of Political Psychology (CSPP) Motta found that antiintellectualism is strongly associated with support for politicians and political movements who make the distrust of scientists and other experts prominent components of their campaigns. In his research on the 2016

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presidential election, Motta (2017) found distinct polarization in regard to anti-intellectualism with progressives and those who voted for Democratic candidates holding far less anti-intellectual and anti-scientific attitudes than conservatives and those who supported Republican candidates. His research also showed that anti-intellectualism is inversely related to levels of education and especially verbal intelligence, or the ability to analyze information and solve problems using language-based reasoning. There is a reason why religious and political despots attack intellectuals and science. Demagogues and their followers replace factual information with misinformation and disinformation. Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus (1988) explained how the brain often creates misinformation by combining subjective information learned after an event with the objective information of the actual event, thus creating a new and potentially distorted memory or interpretation of the event. Demagogues not only capitalize on people’s tendency to rely on misinformation; they intentionally create and disseminate disinformation, which is creating and spreading misinformation with the intent to deceive others. They attempt to convince people that the return to some nostalgic, fantasized, idealistic past will solve all of the problems faced in a modern ever-changing society. In order to persuade people to agree with them they use both misinformation and disinformation with disregard for facts and truth. They condemn scientific research, facts, and data that refute their misinformation and disinformation as well as condemn those who question their ideological version of reality. They especially discourage critical thinking because they know that their arguments will not hold up under scrutiny. Reliance on uninformed opinions and conspiracy theories along with public reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic and the confidence placed in demagogues and their misinformation and disinformation cause reputable scientists and logical rational people to wonder if we are embarking on a new Age of Disenlightenment. Now, more than ever, there is a need for renewed interest in science and a need for both quantitative and qualitative sociological research.

The Need for Qualitative Social Scientific Research In the eighteenth century, Auguste Comte coined the term sociology to describe the systematic and scientific study of society and social interaction. He insisted that society and social evolution could best be analyzed and understood through the application of the philosophy of positivism—the premise that we live in a cause-and-effect world that can be objectively observed and logically explained. Emile Durkheim contended that the study of society and human social interaction through sociology is a logical continuation of the natural sciences insisting that it too must retain the same objectivity, rationalism, and approach to causality. He maintained that the same scientific method developed and utilized by the natural sciences could be applied to the social sciences.

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We discussed the scientific method in chapter one and demonstrated how it serves as the basic framework for both quantitative and qualitative social scientific research. Now, more than ever, there is a need to study society from a systematic scientific perspective. Centuries of research indicate the importance of what Emile Durkheim ([1895] 1982) called social facts—attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and social structures and how they shape, influence, and define human social behavior. These social facts are the keys to understanding how and why people do what they do in small groups as well as in large crowds and how people socially construct their realities. While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, a gentleman walked in wearing a t-shirt that declared “Stand Up For Science.” Listed below were several statements that included: • • • • • •

Earth is Not Flat Vaccines Work We’ve Been to the Moon Climate Change is Real Evolution is a Fact Science is Like Magic, But Real.

Who would have thought that any of those statements could be controversial in the twenty-first century? Now, more than ever, it is paramount that scientific research leads the way in helping people to better understand the world in which we live, and to prepare us for the future.

Design Your Own Qualitative Research Project Based on what you have learned about qualitative social scientific research, we challenge you to formulate, design, and implement a qualitative study for at least one of the following suggested research topics. A religious subculture in your area Your work or school environment The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or some other fantasy figure in a public setting Morticians or Funeral Directors or some other stigmatized occupation (strippers, garbage collectors, animal control officers, etc.) A hobby subculture such as motorcyclists, bowlers, hunters, or fishing enthusiasts Elementary school children (perhaps home-schooled children) Modern workout enthusiasts (marathoners, joggers, bicyclists, etc.)

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Conspiracy Theorists The Covid-19 Pandemic Contemporary social movement (e.g., Nationalism, Black Lives Matter, Me too, etc.) Has the United States Entered an Era of Disenlightenment? Why the Decline in Belief in Science? Once you have selected a research topic: 1 Develop an overarching unbiased research question. 2 Review as much existing literature as possible related to that topic. Be careful during the literature review to note the sources of information to distinguish between opinionated unsubstantiated claims and factual data obtained through systematic scientific research. 3 After carefully reviewing the literature, establish at least three specific research objectives. 4 Determine which type of qualitative research technique(s) would best attain those objectives: full participant observation, limited participant observation, non-participant observation, ethnographic interviews, or some other method. 5 Determine if you can best achieve your research objectives through solo research, or would it be better to conduct team research with a qualified colleague? 6 Once you have decided your method, will you disclose your research intentions, or will you conduct the research with non-disclosure? 7 Consider what ethical issues might arise while conducting the research study you have designed. What can you do to minimize these ethical issues? Make sure you can conduct your research study while maintaining full compliance with the American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics. 8 If you are affiliated with an accredited college or university either as a student, staff person, or faculty member (full or part-time), present your proposed research project to their Institutional Review Board (IRB) using their established rules, guidelines, process, and procedures. 9 Finally, determine what venue is best to report your research findings. It might be best to first present your study at a local, regional, or national social science meeting in order to get feedback from professional social scientists with expertise on the subject. 10 After gaining feedback and making suggested editorial revisions, submit your completed manuscript to a reputable refereed journal for peer review.

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Questions for Discussion 1 2 3 4 5

Synthesizing all that you have learned from chapters one through ten, what are the major advantages of utilizing qualitative research in the social sciences? What are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of using unobtrusive measures while conducting qualitative research? What are some of the advantages of utilizing team research? When might it be better to go it alone? How do you decide? What are some of the major ethical issues that must be considered when undertaking a qualitative research project? What role can qualitative social science play in debunking myths and conspiracy theories promoted by demagogues and others who question and/or deny the validity of scientific facts? What role can you play in doing so?

Glossary

Ageism is the belief that people in certain age categories are inferior to people in other age categories. Age of Reason the eighteenth century when philosophy turned toward reason and the scientific method as opposed to superstition and faith as the primary source for knowledge. Aggregates people who happen to be in the same place at the same time, as opposed to social groups. Anti-intellectualism opposition and/or hostility toward intellectuals or to an intellectual viewpoint. ASA Code of Ethics set of ethical guidelines adopted by the American Sociological Association in 1970 and revised in 1997 to provide specific principles for conducting sociological research. Authority knowledge presumably based on expertise in certain matters. Biases preconceived notions, prejudices, unfairness, favoritism, and stereotypes. BIPOC refers to black, indigenous, and people of color, and acknowledges the importance of their contributions to social science research and understanding. Case Study an in-depth study of a person, group, or particular social activity. Cognitive dissonance when people redefine their attitudes and beliefs and modify them to reduce the inconsistencies between those attitudes and beliefs and their behavior. Cultural relativism evaluating other groups by their cultural standards, not ours. Cultural traditions accepting so-called facts that are passed down from generation to generation. Dawn of Science the eighteenth century when philosophy turned toward reason and the scientific method as opposed to superstition and faith as the primary source for knowledge. Deductive Reasoning begins with a general understanding or theory that is then tested through the observation or study of specific situations.

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Degradation ceremony necessarily involves a “stripping of self” so that the new person loses his/her previous identity in order to be socialized into a “new” identity. Demagogue a leader who appeals to the misconceptions, prejudices, and fears of people rather than by using a rational logical argument. Demeanor that element of the individual’s ceremonial behavior typically conveyed through deportment, dress, and bearing which serves to express to those in his immediate presence that he is a person of certain desirable or undesirable qualities. Disinformation creating and spreading misinformation with the intent to deceive others. Dividing the social world informing some people of a potentially stigmatizing attribute while revealing it to others. Emotive dissonance the difference between feeling and feigning emotions. Enlightenment the eighteenth century when philosophy turned toward reason and the scientific method as opposed to superstition and faith as the primary source for knowledge. Ethnocentrism or the tendency to evaluate the customs of other groups according to one’s own cultural standards. Ethnography the study of a group of people in their natural environment through participant observation and extensive face-to-face interviewing. Ethnographic interviewing or intensive in-depth interviews. Experience primarily acquires knowledge through the technique of trial and error. Facts are objective statements that can be proven to be true. Faith a strong belief in “truths” that cannot be verified by any other source of knowledge. Feminist perspective studies, analyzes, and explains social phenomena from a gender-focused viewpoint. Field notes research notes taken in the field while conducting qualitative research. Full disclosure informing people that they are being studied and explaining to them the purpose and objectives of the research. Full participant observation is when a researcher becomes completely involved with the group under study and fully participates in their activities. Gemeinschaft a small community with traditional core values that emphasizes family, community gatherings, group worship, and social solidarity. Gesellschaft a large community comprised of diverse groups with competing values and norms. Grounded Theory is derived directly from data collected from research participants in real-world settings using methods like ethnographic interviews and participant observation.

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Hypotheses are proposed explanations for the problem made on the basis of previous research findings. Indigenous Group any group of people native to a specific region. Inductive Reasoning begins with specific observations and pieces them together to develop a general understanding of human behavior. Informant a valuable asset in gaining entry to a community as well as helping to collect and interpret research data. Interval level data categories that denote differences with no true zero. LGBTQ+ an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning, plus other non-traditional, non-binary sexual orientations and gender identities. Likert scale is a rating scale used to assess opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. Limited participant observation is when a researcher restricts their participation to only one or a few aspects of the group they are studying. Master status a status that dominates all other statuses. Meaningful symbols things that represent something other than themselves and have shared meaning among a particular group or subculture. Misinformation combines subjective information learned after an event with the objective information of the actual event, thus creating a new and potentially distorted memory or interpretation of the event. Nationalism an ideology that emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation to the exclusion of any regard for other individuals, groups, or countries. Nominal level data data that can only be categorized or labeled. Nondisclosure where researchers conduct their study secretly without informing people that they are being studied. Non-oppressive methods acknowledge and avoid sexism, racism, and colonialism as well as other forms of bias that have contributed to structural, systemic, and personal discrimination and oppression of groups and individuals. Non-participant observation when they systematically observe people’s behavior without their knowledge from afar. One-percenters hardcore bikers who are members of motorcycle clubs/ gangs that live a biker lifestyle centered around protecting turf/territory, drugs, and violence. Ordinal level data consists of categories that can be placed on a scale or in order. Partial disclosure where the researcher informs people that they are being studied but does not fully disclose the nature or purpose of the research. Participant observation in which a researcher systematically observes the people being studied while participating with them in their daily activities.

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Positivism the premise that we live in a “cause” and “effect” world that can be objectively observed and logically explained. Prejudices prejudgments. Qualitative field methods study those aspects of human behavior that cannot and should not be reduced to numbers and statistics. Quantitative research designs emphasize the use of numbers and statistics to analyze and explain human behavior. Ratio level data scaled data denoting differences with a true zero. Reliability consistency of research findings. Research design strategy for collecting data. Research objectives that outline the specific goals or purposes of the research project. Research question focused on what those being studied do and how they go about doing it. Reviewing the literature searching out all sources of information and results from previous studies to determine what is already known about the topic. Role distance when people play a role but remain detached from it to avoid any negative aspects of the role. Role embracement when a person’s sense of identity is partially influenced by a role. Role engulfment refers to how a person’s identity becomes based on a role the person assumes, superseding other roles. Role merger when a role becomes central to a person’s identity and the person literally becomes the role he or she is playing. Science is knowledge based on empirical evidence and facts gained through direct, systematic observation by trained experts in a particular field. Scientific method provides a set of guidelines for conducting research that follows these basic steps: choose a research question; review of the literature; state research objectives (quantitative research develops hypotheses); select a research design; collect data; analyze and interpret data; develop conclusions. Sexism the ideology that one sex is inherently superior or inferior to the other. Snowballing sampling technique asking research participants to provide names and contact information for others who are part of the same group under study. Social facts attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and social structures that shape, influence, and define human social behavior. Sociological imagination quality of mind that links biography to history and places individuals within the context of larger society. Sociology the systematic and scientific study of society and social interaction.

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Glossary

Standpoint Theory asserts that knowledge stems from social position and emphasizes the important influence of gender. Statement of a problem a concise and concrete social issue or problem to be researched. Stereotypes oversimplified ideas about a group or category of people. Subculture a group that shares many elements of mainstream culture but maintains its own distinctive customs, values, norms, and lifestyle. Symbol anything that represents something other than itself. Symbolic redefinition using euphemisms and alternative words to replace words that have a negative connotation (e.g., “passing on” as opposed to dying). Team research (Teamwork) when two or more researchers collaborate on a research project. Techniques of neutralization ways of neutralizing or minimizing the consequences of deviant behavior. Theory a set of interrelated propositions or statements based on empirical evidence that attempt to explain some phenomenon. Triangulation the use of multiple (usually three) techniques to gather and/or analyze data. Unobtrusive measure is a method of making and recording observations without intruding into the lives of those being observed. Validity accuracy of research findings. Values are inherently subjective ideas about what is socially desirable. Verbal intelligence or the ability to analyze information and solve problems using language-based reasoning. Verstehen empathetic understanding of human behavior and those being studied.

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Index

age: beef slaughter assembly line research and 30; Easter Bunny at shopping mall research and 30, 76–77; Santa Claus at shopping mall research and 30, 76–77 Age of Disenlightenment 182 Age of Enlightenment 25, 174–177 Age of Reason 174 ageism: description of 28–30; in motorcycling 122 aggregates 167 American Motorcycling Association 112 American Sociological Association 10–11, 14, 16–17, 25, 66, 106, 121 Ammann, Jakob 36 Anabaptist movement 28 anti-intellectualism 181 ASA. See American Sociological Association authority 173 Baby Boomers 127 Bandidos 111 beef slaughter assembly line research: age considerations 30; background on 51–52; as case study 6; coping methods in 60–61; earplugs 60; ethical considerations in 63–65; field notes in 13, 58–59; findings 59–63; full participant observation with nondisclosure in 6, 57–58; gaining entry for 52–56; interviewing in 58–63; note-taking in 13, 58–59; partial disclosure in 11; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 65–66; research objectives in 56–57; research question in 56–57; sabotage 60–62, 64–65; safety protocols 60, 64; shacklers 55–56; team research in 8 behavioral sciences 177

Beyond the Law 127 bias: age 28–30; cultural 28; in data analysis 19, 24; definition of 19; ethnic 27; gender 26–27; identifying of 21; interpretive 24; racial 27; self-awareness of 19–20; technology used to avoid 24–25 biker’s code 120–121 bikers versus motorcyclist enthusiasts 111–125, 130, 135 BIPOC scholars 25–27, 31 Blake, Robert 127 boot camp 140, 142, 146–149 Born to Ride 127 Bowling Alone 167 Branch Davidians 180 Brando, Marlon 111, 132 case studies 5–6 Center for the Study of Political Psychology 181 Charmaz, Kathy 91 Children of God 180 clothing, in subculture 159 Code of Ethics 10–11, 14–17, 25, 66, 106, 121 cognitive dissonance 106 Cohen, Andrew 176 Columbus, Christopher 177 Coming of Age in Samoa 7 common sense 173, 176 competence, professional 15 computer software programs 12, 24 Comte, Auguste 26 condemnation of the condemners 102–103 conspiracy theories 177–178 counting coup 73 Covid-19 pandemic 170, 178–179, 182

Index 197 CSPP. See Center for the Study of Political Psychology cultural bias 28 cultural relativism 28 cultural traditions 173 data: collection of 13–14; interval level 13; nominal level 13; ordinal 13; ratio level 13 data analysis, bias in 19, 24 Dawn of Science 174 Dean, James 111 deductive reasoning 2–3 degradation ceremony 147 demagogue 180–182 demeanor 161 denial of responsibility 102 disclosure: full 11–12; nondisclosure 11; partial 11 discrimination 26 disenfranchisement 26 disinformation 182 dividing their social worlds 101, 105 Doomsday cults 180 DuBois, W.E.B. 27 Durkheim, Emile 175, 182–183 Easter Bunny at shopping mall research: age considerations 30, 76–77; anonymity 78–79; background on 69; covert sexuality findings 80; elderly men and women in 75, 77; elementary schoolaged children in 73; ethical considerations in 77–78; ethnicity and 75–77; field notes in 72; findings in 72–77; full participant observation in 6, 11, 70–72; gaining entry for 69–70; infants and 72–73, 79–80; nondisclosure in 11–12, 70–72; note-taking in 13, 72; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 79–80; race and 75–76; research objectives in 69; research question in 69; team research in 8, 70–72; teenagers in 73–74; unobstructive measures in 72; young adults in 75 Easy Rider: “anti-heroic” heroes in 132; confrontations in 129–131; description of 127–129; headgear in 133; leather in 133; love interest in 131; motorcycle riding in 137; public perception of motorcyclists influenced by 134–135; sunglasses in 133–134; symbols in 132–133; women in 136 Electra Glide in Blue 127

embalming 89–90 emotional detachment 89–90 emotional labor 106 emotive dissonance 106 endorphins 120 Enlightenment 25, 174–177 ethical considerations: in beef slaughter assembly line research 63–65; Code of Ethics 10–11, 14–17, 25, 66, 106, 121; description of 30–31; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 77–78; in kindergarten research 150–151; in morticians and funeral directors research 92–93; in motorcycle movies content analysis 135–136; in motorcyclists research 121; in Old Order Amish research 46–47; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 77–78; in topless dancers research 106; in working out research 169 ethnic bias 27 ethnicity: Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 75–77; motorcyclist research 114–115; Santa Claus at shopping mall research and 75–77 ethnocentrism 28 ethnographer 7 ethnographic interviewing: definition of 7; example of 15; interviews versus 7; in morticians and funeral directors research 85; in motorcyclists research 113; in Old Order Amish research 37–39; in topless dancers research 99–100; in working out research 156 ethnography 6 ethnomethodology 78 experience, knowledge from 173 facts 31, 183 faith 173 “fake news” 181 feminist perspective 26 feminist scholars 25–26 feminist theory 26–27 field notes. See also note-taking; in beef slaughter assembly line research 13, 58–59; description of 12–13; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 72; in kindergarten research 143; in morticians and funeral directors research 85–86; in motorcyclists research 114–115; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 72; in topless dancers research 99–100

198

Index

Fine, Gary 79 Fonda, Peter 134 full disclosure: description of 11–12; in morticians and funeral directors research 85; in Old Order Amish research 37–39; in topless dancers research 99–100 full participant observation: in beef slaughter assembly line research 6, 57–58; definition of 6; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 6, 11, 70–72; in kindergarten research 142–143, 151; in motorcyclists research 6, 113; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 6, 11, 70–72; in working out research 6, 156–158 funeral directors research. See morticians and funeral directors research gemeinschaft 35 gender bias 26–27 gender identity 27 General Social Survey 181 gesellschaft 35 Goffman, Erving 79, 101, 161, 176 Gracey, Harry L. 139–140, 143, 149 Great Escape, The 127 grounded theory 2–4 GSS. See General Social Survey Guyana 180 Harley Davidson 115, 123–124, 128, 133 Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man 127 hate crimes 181 Heaven’s Gate 180 Hell’s Angels 111 Hell’s Angels ’69 127 Hell’s Angels on Wheels 127 Hickey, Joe 69, 76 Hitler, Adolf 180–181 Hogs, Blogs, Leathers and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling 113, 137 Hopper, Dennis 132–133 Hoschschild, Arlie 106 Hostetler, John 28, 36 human behavior 175–176 human rights 15 humility 43 Humphreys, Laud 15–16 hypotheses 4, 22

identity: Easter Bunny at shopping mall research and 79; gender 27; sexual 27 indigenous groups 28 inductive reasoning 3 informant 8, 37, 39–40, 46 integrity 15 intentional disenlightenment xvi Internal Review Boards 11 interpretive bias 24 interval level data 13 interviews: in beef slaughter assembly line research 58–63; ethnographic interviewing versus 7 Jones, Jim 180 journals 14, 22 kindergarten research: background on 139–140; as case study 6; curricula, schedules, and classroom activities in 145–146; ethical considerations in 150–151; feminist perspective in 27, 142; field notes in 143; findings in 143–150; full participant observation with nondisclosure in 142–143, 151; gaining entry for 140–141; Gracey’s involvement 139–140, 143, 149; interviewing in 143; master status in 140; military boot camp and 140, 142, 146–149; note-taking in 143; oneperson approach to 9–10; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 151–152; research objectives in 142; research questions in 142, 144; role engulfment in 141; socialization 146, 149; societal changes 152; Standpoint Theory in 142; student role 140, 148; weakness of 152 knowledge: from authority 173; from cultural traditions 173; from experience 173; methods of gaining 173; as power 25; Standpoint Theory on 26 Koresh, David 181 leather 133 LGBTQ+ scholars 25–27, 31 Likert scale 14, 23 limited participant observation: definition of 6; in Old Order Amish research 6, 37–39 literature, reviewing of 4–5, 20–21

Index 199 Loftus, Elizabeth 182 Loveless, The 127 Lowney, Kathleen 7 Macy, William H. 131 Manson, Charles 180 Martineau, Harriet 26 master status 140 Mead, Margaret 7 meaningful symbols 158–159 Mennonites 36 military boot camp 140, 142, 146–149 misinformation 182 morticians and funeral directors research: age considerations 30; background on 83; embalming 89–90; emotional detachment 89–90; ethical considerations in 92–93; ethnographic interviewing with full disclosure in 85; field notes in 85–86; financial compensation 87–88, 91–93; findings in 86–92; full disclosure in 85; gaining entry for 84–85; historical considerations 87; limited participant observation in 6; monetary compensation 91–93; note-taking in 85–86; partial disclosure in 11; professionalism in 90–91; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 93–94; research objectives in 83–84; research question in 83–84; role distance in 89–90; stereotypes 90; stigmatization issues 86–89, 91; symbolic redefinition 89; team research in 8 motorcycle enthusiasts versus bikers 111–125 motorcycle movies content analysis: background on 127; Easy Rider 127–135; ethical considerations in 135–136; Internet for 128; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 136–137; research objectives in 127–128; research question in 127–128; Wild Hogs 127–135; Wild One 127–135 motorcycling: ageism in 122; autonomy in 119; biker’s code 120–121; brotherhood in 117, 120, 124; by Baby Boomers 127; excitement in 119; freedom in 119–120; fun in 120; media portrayal of 127–128; public perception of 134–135; racism in 123; sexism in 122–123; smartness in 119; social class in 123–124; subculture in 9, 117, 122,

127, 135; toughness in 118; transcendentalism in 120; trouble in 117–118 motorcyclist research: age considerations 30; background on 111; data collection in 14; ethical considerations in 121; ethnographic interviewing in 113; feminist perspective in 27; field notes in 114–115; findings 115–121; full participant observation with nondisclosure in 6, 113; gaining entry for 111–112; “lower class cultural concerns” 117; note-taking in 114–115; “outlaw bikers” 117; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 121–124; research design used in 5; research objectives in 112–113; research question in 112–113; social stratification 122; subcategories in 116; team research in 9, 113 Motta, Matthew 181–182 NAACP 27 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. See NAACP National Funeral Directors Association 92 nationalism 180–181 natural sciences research 21 nature versus nurture debate 21 neutralization techniques 101–102, 105 Nicholson, Jack 130, 133 nominal level data 13 non-oppressive methods 28 non-participant observation 6 nondisclosure: in beef slaughter assembly line research 57–58; definition of 11; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 11–12, 70–72; in kindergarten research 142–143; in motorcyclists research 6, 113; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 70–72; in working out research 156–158 note-taking. See also field notes; in beef slaughter assembly line research 13, 58–59; description of 13; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 13, 72; in kindergarten research 143; in morticians and funeral directors research 85–86; in motorcyclists research 114–115; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 13; in topless dancers research 99–100

200

Index

OASDI 51 objectivity 19, 25, 31 Old Age Survivors Disability Insurance. See OASDI Old Order Amish research: age considerations 29–30; background on 34–35; as case study of 6; cultural relativism in 28; ethical considerations in 46–47; ethnographic interviewing with full disclosure in 37–39; feminist perspective in 27; findings 39–44; full disclosure in 11, 37–39; gaining entry 10, 36–39; gender stratification 9; historical background 35–36; Hostetler’s 28, 36; humility 43; informant in 8, 37, 39–40, 46; Kansas community 44–46; limited participant observation in 6, 37–39; Oklahoma community 36–44; photography in 42–43, 46–47; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 47–49; research objectives in 35–36; research question in 35–36; team research in 8–9 one-percenters 112, 122 Order of the Solar Temple 180 ordinal level data 13 outlaw biker gangs 111–112 Pagans 111 partial disclosure 11 participant observation: definition of 6; examples of 8, 15; in working out research 163 patriarchy 27 “peace sign” 117 peer-reviewed journals 22 people of color 27 People’s Temple 180 Pirsig, Robert 119 Playboy magazine 80 positivism 182 pragmatism 159 prejudices 19, 26 professional competence 15 professional responsibility 15 professionalism 90–91 psychology 177 Putnam, Robert 167 qualitative data 25 qualitative fieldwork 156

qualitative research: case studies. See case studies; data collection in 14; definition of 4; description of 2; designs 4; need for 182–183; non-oppressive methods used in 28; objectivity in 31; project 183–184; quantitative research and 5; reporting of findings 14; subjectivity in 31 qualitative sociological field studies 3, 10 quantitative research: description of 2; designs 4; qualitative research and 5 quantitative survey 156 questionnaires 23 race: Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 75–76; motorcyclist research 114–115; Santa Claus at shopping mall research and 75–76 racial bias 27 racism, in motorcycling 123 ratio level data 13 reasoning: deductive 2–3; inductive 3 reliability 5, 20 religion 173–174 research, team: description of 8–10, 23; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 70–72; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 70–72; in topless dancers research 9–10, 99–100 research design: definition of 5; qualitative 4; quantitative 4; selection of 5, 19 research designs: case studies. See case studies; participant observation 6 research methods, unbiased and unobtrusive 23–24 research objectives: in beef slaughter assembly line research 56–57; description of 4, 22; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 69; in kindergarten research 142; in morticians and funeral directors research 83–84; in motorcycle movies content analysis 127–128; in motorcyclists research 112–113; in Old Order Amish research 35–36; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 69; in topless dancers research 98; in working out research 155–156 research papers, Wikipedia use for 22 research participants 26

Index 201 research question: in beef slaughter assembly line research 56–57; choosing of 4; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 69; in kindergarten research 142, 144; in morticians and funeral directors research 83–84; in motorcycle movies content analysis 127–128; in motorcyclists research 112–113; in Old Order Amish research 35–36; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 69; in topless dancers research 98, 103; unbiased 21–22; in working out research 155–156 research topic: description of 4; research question from 21; selection of 20–21 researcher diversity 26 respect 15 results, inability to generalize 26 reviewing the literature 4–5, 20–21 Ritzer, George 101 role distance: in Easter Bunny in shopping mall research 79; in morticians and funeral directors research 89–90; in Santa Claus in shopping mall research 79 role embracement 79 role engulfment 141, 151 role merger 79 Santa Claus at shopping mall research: age considerations 30, 76–77; anonymity 78; background on 69; covert sexuality findings 80; elderly men and women in 75, 77; elementary school-aged children in 73; ethical considerations in 77–78; ethnicity and 75–77; findings in 72–77; flirtation during 74, 80; full participant observation in 6, 11; gaining entry for 69–70; infants and 72–73, 79–80; nondisclosure in 11–12, 70–72; note-taking in 13; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 79–80; race and 75–76; research objectives in 69; research question in 69; teenagers in 73–74; unobstructive measures in 72; young adults in 75 scapegoats 11 science: conspiracy theories versus 177–178; definition of 174; science fiction versus 178–179 science fiction 178–179 scientific method 3, 174 scientific responsibility 15

sexism: description of 27; in motorcycling 122–123 sexual identity 27 sexual orientation 27 Simons, Menno 35 Smith, Dorothy 26 snowballing sampling technique 84, 93 social class, in motorcycling 123–124 social facts 183 social group 166 social reality 78 social responsibility 15 social science research: ageism in 29; human behavior predictions using 176; people of color in 27; qualitative sociological field studies as 3; resistance to 174–175 social scientific knowledge 2 social scientific thinking xv sociological imagination 34 sociologists 14–15 sociology 174–175, 182 Standpoint Theory 26, 142 statement of a problem 4, 21, 190 statistical analyses 14 stereotypes: definition of 19; in morticians and funeral directors research 90 Stone 127 Strodtbeck, Fred 176 subculture: clothing in 159; definition of 156; meaningful symbols 158–159; in motorcyclists research 9, 117, 122, 127, 135; weight room 156, 158–160, 166; in working out research 156 subjectivity 31 Sudnow, David 89 symbol(s): in Easy Rider 132–133; in weight room 159–160, 165; in Wild One, The 132–133 symbolic redefinition 89 systemic racism 26 team research: description of 8–10, 23; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 70–72; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 70–72; in topless dancers research 9–10, 99–100 Tearoom Trade 15 techniques of neutralization 101–102, 105 technology: bias avoidance uses of 24–25; in working out research 165–166 TEKS. See Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

202

Index

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills 143, 145–146 theory: definition of 2; grounded 2–4; Standpoint 26, 142 topless dancers research: academic credibility of 108; age considerations 30; background on 97–98; cognitive dissonance in 106; condemnation of the condemners in 102–103; denial of a victim 102; denial of injury in 102; denial of responsibility in 102; dividing their social worlds 101, 105; ethical considerations in 106; ethnographic interviewing with full disclosure in 99–100; feminist perspective in 27; field notes in 99–100; financial compensation 107; findings in 100–103; full disclosure in 99–100; gaining entry in 98–99; limited participant observation in 6; neutralization techniques 101–102, 105; note-taking in 99–100; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 107–109; replication of 103–106; research design used in 5; research objectives in 98; research question in 98, 103; smoking in 109; stigma issues 98, 101–103, 105, 108; tattoos 104; team research in 9–10, 99–100; unobstructive measures used in 12 transcendentalism 120 triangulation 23 unbiased research question 21–22 uninformed opinions 177–178 uniqueness argument 175 unobstructive measures: description of 12, 28; in Easter Bunny at shopping mall research 72; in Santa Claus at shopping mall research 72 validity 5 values 31 verbal intelligence 182 Verstehen 27, 152 Weber, Max 31, 152 weight room. See also working out research; demeanor in 161; motivations 161–162; “newbies” in 159–160; “regulars” in 158–162; social interactions in 166–167; status

hierarchy in 160; subculture of 156, 158–160, 166; symbols in 159–160, 165 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 80 Wikipedia 21–22 Wild Angels, The 127 Wild Hogs: “anti-heroic” heroes in 132; confrontations in 129–131; description of 127–129; headgear in 133; leather in 133; love interest in 131; motorcycle riding in 137; public perception of motorcyclists influenced by 134–135; sunglasses in 134; themes in 129–132; women in 136 Wild One, The: “anti-heroic” heroes in 132; confrontations in 129–131; description of 111, 127–129; headgear in 133; leather in 133; love interest in 131; motorcycle riding in 137; public perception of motorcyclists influenced by 134–135; sunglasses in 133; symbols in 132–133; themes in 129–132; women in 136 women: contributions by 26; in working out research 158, 165–166 working out research. See also weight room; age considerations 30; background on 155; Covid-19 pandemic effects 170; demeanor 161; ethical considerations in 169; ethnographic interviewing in 156; fitness center environments 164–168; full participant observation with nondisclosure in 6, 156–158; gaining entry for 155; motivations 161–162; participant observation in 163; qualitative fieldwork with quantitative survey in 156; quirks, perks, and unanticipated findings in 169–170; research design used in 5; research objectives in 155–156; research question in 155–156; settings for 162–164; social interactions 166–167; status hierarchy 160; survey administration in 158; team research 162–164; technology in 165–166; twenty-first century findings 164–169; weight room subculture 156, 158–160, 166; women in 158, 165–166; workout groups 168–169 World’s Fastest Indian, The 127 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 119