Attraction in the Field

Abstract

Physical or sexual attraction plays an important role in shaping a wide range of relationships and in myriad ways. Our primary interest here is in how attraction shapes the qualitative research experience. Close examination of popular sociological ethnographies found that attractiveness is used as a descriptor, and almost always in a distancing fashion, but never considered in a reflexive manner. We explore implications of this silence surrounding attraction and urge greater candidness among sociologists conducting field research and teachers of qualitative methods.