Using 'the body' as an 'instrument of research': kimch'i and pavlova

Often researchers position themselves in relation to race, age and gender, but the body is less often discussed as an actual 'instrument of research'. We aim to extend thinking on this point by reflecting on a project we conducted on migrant women and food in New Zealand. We present a vign...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArea (London 1969) Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 208 - 217
Main Authors Longhurst, Robyn, Ho, Elsie, Johnston, Lynda
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2008
Subjects
bodies
Body
disgust
embodied knowing
Emotional attachments
Emotional expression
Emotions
Food
Foodways
Geography
Geography education
Human geography
Lunches
Migrants
New Zealand
Pavlova
Qualitative analysis
Research methods
Stomach
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Summary:Often researchers position themselves in relation to race, age and gender, but the body is less often discussed as an actual 'instrument of research'. We aim to extend thinking on this point by reflecting on a project we conducted on migrant women and food in New Zealand. We present a vignette as an example of how we used our bodies as 'instruments of research' at a 'shared lunch' attended by new migrants from a range of different countries. At the lunch some combined on their plates spicy dishes such as kimch'i (fermented vegetables) and sweet dishes such as pavlova (a meringue dessert). For others this combination prompted feelings of disgust. We conclude that the body is a primary tool through which all interactions and emotions filter in accessing research subjects and their geographies.
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ISSN:0004-0894
1475-4762
DOI:10.1111/j.1475-4762.2008.00805.x