Posted by TJResearcher on March 26, 2001 at 09:17:56:
In Reply to: stakeholders, accountability posted by TJResearcher on March 25, 2001 at 20:10:43:
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Thank you to those of you who took me seriously enough to make an effort to be constructive. For the rest of you, well, thank you for giving me interesting stories to tell my students about what to expect in the field. For those who are so suspicious as to be unable to imagine an outsider having a genuine interest in their lives, I tried desperately to demonstrate my good intentions. For those who see my passion and goals as a waste of time, thank you for reminding me that graduating from one of the best schools in the world doesn't gaurantee relevant research. I myself sometimes chuckle at the crap that gets funded and put on CNN. Now that my own passion has been ripped to shreds, I'll have more humilty and compassion next time I'm tempted to laugh off someone else's research. For those of you who were real jerks about anything and everything I said, well, at least you were being honest (or were you?). More field stories for other researchers to ponder. You know its kind of funny, I had originally planned on having my hubbie help me with my research, because we are told of the problems of not being "one of the guys" in the field (problems of accessibility)... When he couldn't come, I decided to try anyway, stubborn feminist that I am. I suppose I could have pretended to be one of you on this board, maybe I would have been more successful in getting discussions started, but I've never been interested in being anyone other than who I am. Maybe that will be my fatal flaw as a researcher in a field that requires more acting than I ever imagined... I tried to be honest about my own background to show I didn't have anything to hide, personal details that one would think would be irrelevant suddenly make or break potential discussions. That alone is an interesting study in human nature. For all the derision and criticism about my irrelevant research questions, I just wish more of you had come up with a number of themes you would have liked to have seen seriously addressed. Some of you did bring up some interesting ideas, and took my inquiries for what they are: brainstorming. Some of you wrongly assumed that my inquiries made up the entirety of my work, and dismissed it out of hand. But it was never more than getting my feet wet. Someone commented that I should focus my energy on the sex workers union. I am involved with the sex workers union. I wanted to be able to provide a fuller picture of the concerns of sex workers vs. others (including customers). Someone commented that I should focus on U.S. prostitutes not those in Tijuana, I will when I graduate, but part of my educational goal is to expose myself to other forms of the industry in order to make myself, well, more educated and well-versed. Someone commented that I should focus on women in central or southern mexico, because they are more vulnerable. Well that is true, they are, but that is a slippery slope, you can always find someone more vulnerable than the next. I chose Tijuana because of the stark contrasts between the people who live here. I chose it because of its proximity to the U.S. I chose it because its growth as a city depended upon prohibition, and still provides illegal products and services to the U.S. consumer. The moral debates which have negatively impacted prostitution throughout U.S. history - play out in an interesting way in Tijuana. Anyway, if someone wants to meet up and let me tag along on their own escapade, or participate in some other way, please feel free to contact me anytime in the future: TJResearch@hotmail.com. Also, if you're intested in getting involved in research in your area, I would refer you to the: AIDS and Anthropology Research Group Its members have been involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS from the begining, and many of them have on-going projects in the U.S. Un ambrazo and mucho gracias, |
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