Étudier la violence homophobe d’un point de vue anthropologique

réflexions sur la méthodologie du terrain

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the issues connected with the researcher’s position during a PhD fieldwork regarding homophobic violence in an African city with a predominantly Sunni Muslim population. Different levels of the researcher’s own identity - geopolitical provenance, gender and sexual orientation – are analyzed in relationship to the context of the fieldwork, the topic of the research, and the political choices of the author. The narration follows the changes of the fieldwork, including the description and analysis of certain violent episodes lived by the researcher. This violence is analyzed as the result of attempts to control and judgements, and as an important source of methodological potential. The notions of visibility and invisibility are utilized in a reflexive way to understand how the researcher can use her own placement to build her fieldwork network. This article also analyzes the choices made by the researcher to develop a political engagement in the fieldwork. Such choices had unpredictable – and not only negative – consequences. Such conflictual situations became an important part of the research conducted, and are considered as a fruitful way to reflect on the issues addressed by the fieldwork.