This paper examines the relationship between accompanied research and the relationships produced in the field. It focuses on active fatherhood and the interactions it affords with other men.
Contribution long abstract
In many regions, men doing fieldwork achieve access to knowledge and activities through socializing with other men. In patriarchal settings, these bonding interactions are often marked by rituals involving drinking, dining, smoking, and specific linguistic styles. The presence of a child in the field alters this dynamic, affording new forms of socializing and, at times, different interlocutors altogether. Based on fieldwork in China, this chapter describes access to fieldsites and the registers formed within fieldsites through the presence of my daughter. While fatherhood in the field limited my capacity to partake in some male-dominated activities—thereby preventing me from engaging with gatekeepers—it also allows new opportunities for conversation regarding parenting activities, education, inter-cultural differences, and gender dynamics. Overall, fatherhood in the field nullifies many rituals of masculinity while prompting interactions where fatherhood—as a social role and les through with to view the world—becomes dominant.