Performing Sexual Inequalities: Participatory action research on social inequalities in sexual communities using theater for participation and dissemination.
Principal Investigator: Niels Teunis
In the course of my ongoing research project on racism in the gay male community, I have deepened my thinking about the role of the researcher in society, and have begun to fashion what I believe is a unique way of integrating research with community collaboration in a sincere effort to affect positive social change. In the case of my research, the very practice I have chosen reflects the reflexive position vis-B-vis the topic or racism, and the role of the researcher in affecting change. The way in which I conducted my research was totally novel for me.
On May 16 and 17, 2002 I stood on stage with group called Out/Rage in a multi-disciplinary performance called What Color is Your Fag? In January 2002, I had invited these men to come together in an performative inquiry of racism in the gay community. We participated in a series of workshops over the course of two months, meeting twice a week. In the workshops we investigated our own positions in this contentious arena that is formed by racism in this country in general and the gay community of San Francisco in particular. Through writing, monologue work, dance, improvisational theater, and role playing, the group developed the performance in which I participated. Despite the fact that I was the initiator of the project, the participants were so engaged that they also claimed ownership over this critical project. It is therefore not just a group that serves my research, but in fact a group that takes its own mission “to explore racism in theatrical dialogue” very seriously.
There are three main reasons, directly relevant to my research topic, why I chose to organize a theater performance.
- I recognized the incredible difficulties of a white researcher
interviewing gay men of color. The suspicions that have
been created by many centuries of racist practice in this
country raise barriers that are invoked every time I present
myself as a researcher. I therefore decided to develop a
participatory action research program.
- In research on racism in one specific community, where
the possibility to occupy space and time and use scarce
resources are the immediate concerns, a focus on bodies
is only logical. Performance based methods afford the opportunity
to study physical interactions better than discourse based
research tools.
- By organizing a performance, I was not the only one to convey findings to the outside world. I equally shared authorship with all the members of the group. In this manner, my privilege did not increase at the expense of the other men, which would be perpetuation of racist inequality of US society. The collaborative nature of this work investigates and strives to increase equality through its findings and its very practice.
I have in addition to this theater project, which was followed by a second performance a year later, conducted in-depth interviews with gay men of color. I have been fortunate to speak with these men who I would otherwise not have met. Not all are interested in exploring and expressing oppression in performance, but many are willing to share their stories.
Funding: Jon Sims Center for the Arts; San Francisco State University Human Sexuality Studies Program