Gendered Entanglements in Anthropological Practice: Critiques, Fieldwork Dilemmas, and Epistemological Challenges

Abstract (English)

This panel critically examines the gendered and intersectional dimensions of anthropological research, addressing the multifaceted challenges encountered by researchers of all genders—women, men, and non-binary anthropologists. It focuses on the complex dynamics of fieldwork shaped by power asymmetries, cultural norms, and institutional hierarchies. Drawing on insights from sociocultural, medical, and archaeological anthropology, this panel examines the ethical, methodological, and epistemological dilemmas inherent in engaging with participants whose identities reflect specific intersections of gender, power, and positionality.

Female anthropologists often face significant barriers when conducting research with male subjects, particularly in contexts where cultural norms tightly regulate cross-gender interactions or cast such engagements as transgressive. Male gatekeeping practices and entrenched gendered assumptions may undermine further women researchers’ authority and impede access to critical data. Conversely, male researchers engaging with women-centered topics—such as reproductive health, domestic violence, or sexuality—have to navigate the delicate dynamics of positionality, trust, and power, while taking into account the risk of reproducing patriarchal frameworks. Researchers from non-binary and gender-marginalized backgrounds face compounded vulnerabilities, including systemic misrecognition, exclusion, and hostility, exacerbated by the patriarchal and heteronormative structures embedded in both fieldwork and academia.

Feminist critiques in anthropology likewise challenge androcentric narratives, questioning biases in interpretations of labor, burial practices, and social hierarchies. This panel explores how intersectional and decolonial feminist methodologies can address institutional inequities, epistemic violence, and fieldwork dilemmas, offering alternative pathways to reimagine anthropological knowledge production. Critiques from the Global South, in particular, expose the existence of epistemic hierarchies, such as securing funds, conducting fieldwork and being regarded as producers of theory, which are more challenging for researchers who are not part of institutions of the Global North.

We invite scholars from all subfields of anthropology and archaeology to critically reflect on their experiences and share insights from their journeys navigating these contested terrains.