Abstract
The chapter looks at the effects of sexualized identity and desire on the process of data production through a discussion of flirting in the field. In an attempt to generate new insights into different gender and power dynamics during the research process, as well as illustrate the effect that these dynamics might have on the type as well as the amount of data we produce and collect, Lyn Johnstone offers four glimpses into ways in which she encountered and reciprocated flirtatious banter directed by my male interviewees during fieldwork encounters in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Exploring the role that agency, power, and performance play in such flirtatious encounters, the chapter discusses the ways in which flirtation can both impede and facilitate data production.
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Johnstone, L. (2019). Landscapes of Desire: The Effect of Gender, Sexualized Identity, and Flirting on Data Production in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. In: Johnstone, L. (eds) The Politics of Conducting Research in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95531-5_5
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