Nuns, Dykes, Drugs and Gendered Bodies: An Autoethnography of a Lesbian Feminist’s Journey Through ‘Good Time’ Sociology

• Published in: Sexualities Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 295 - 315
• Main Author: Ettorre, Elizabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2010; Sage Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Autobiography; Autoethnography; Embodiment; Ethnography; Feminism; Gender; Gender identity; Gift Giving; Imagination; Lesbianism; LGBTQ people; Nuns; Sexuality; Sociological imagination; Sociology; Substance abuse; United Kingdom; lesbian; embodiment; gender; sexuality; autobiography; autoethnography; Autoethnography; Feminism; Female homosexuality; Transcendence; Sexuality; Body (Human); Gender; Sociologist
• ISSN: 1363-4607; 1461-7382
• DOI: 10.1177/1363460709363137

This article provides an autoethnographic account of my personal journey through ‘good time’ sociology. Telling my story involves recounting my experience as a Catholic nun and closeted lesbian in 1970s’ USA; providing a picture of what it was like to do the first PhD on lesbians in the UK; explaining the impact of drugs and alcohol research on my lesbian feminist sociological imagination and reflecting upon the place of ‘deviant bodies’ in the new genetics and generally in society. My stories are framed by the backdrop of being a lesbian feminist sociologist in academia and informed by a small yet, emerging body of work by LGBT scholars who use autoethnography. Autoethnography is introduced as a methodological tool for speaking and writing reflexively about being out in academia. I demonstrate that telling one’s story can become a gift — ‘a telling creating conversations that transcends our traumas’ and a way of healing ourselves and others.