writing_womans_lives_symposium_paper_book_v2

In recognizing the potentially exploitative nature of this research, I echo Janet Finch’s concerns of
the ethical dilemmas that could arise when women interview women. I found that my shared dual
identity here as both woman and Muslim increased the shared experiences and discourses between
myself and the participants. The findings above reveal that using the visual method in combination
with the narrative interviewing style provided a bridge to cross over the cultural boundaries that
exist between us. While the lexicon of language used could have been the same between any two
young Muslim women living in large western cosmopolitan cities, it was the individual visual stories
and narratives shared among us which led to a greater common understanding of the framework of
their everyday lives in London. It is this approach of collective meaning making between women who
share a common platform for discussion that paved the way for more interesting and nuanced
findings. However, the willingness and openness of our conversations revealed a large allocation of
trust from the participants to myself, which could render some of the findings of this study
vulnerable to those who wish to use it in the future and who might have different or even opposing
research interests to myself. I feel this burden of responsibility to the collective wellbeing of women,
especially those of us who are often further marginalized and exploited for research purposes based
on colour, ethnicity, religious belief, and age.
Finally, I realize that the push and pull between my responsibilities to conducting thorough social
research and my ethical responsibilities to the multiple groups with which I self‐identify, stem from
the contradictions that exist within the classic textbook paradigm of what constitutes “good”
research. As the pioneering feminist sociologist Ann Oakley reminds all research students, the
textbook definitions of producing reliable and valid data are flawed in their stringent approach of
objectivity, hierarchy, and detachment (2005). My conditioning as a student researcher to follow the
quantitative guidelines of reliability, validity and generalizability imposed shackles on my personal
wish to build intimate and non‐hierarchical relationships with my participants. I argue that through
this study I have come to hold in high esteem the importance of personal involvement in social
research in creating high quality, ethical studies which not only add to the larger field of academic
research but also to the arena of potential autoethnographic learning.
In conclusion, this project has confirmed for me the need for both professionals and everyday
people to move beyond the debates of multiculturalism and assimilation in London. There is a clear
and important need in the current global situation to better understand the integral everyday lives of
Muslim women living in western countries and this proposed study has outlined an initial stepping
stone on the path of understanding and respect to changing the stereotypical discourse, one
narrative at a time.
Keywords: Muslim, Women, Narrative, Voice, Qualitative
Souzan MANSOUR
MSc Social Research Methods
London School of Economics 2013
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