Researching Nudism and Naturism: Ethical Considerations
DESCRIPTION OF SESSION
In this presentation, I seek to discuss the importance of Chapter 9, "Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples of Canada" of the TCPS and specifically the vital role of "building reciprocal, trusting relationships." However, I am interested in the possibilities and necessities for Chapter 9 outside of the context of FNIM peoples. A recent interpretation notes, "While Chapter 9 is designed to guide research involving those communities, its discussion of respectful relationships, collaboration and engagement between researchers and participants may also be an important source of guidance for research involving other distinct communities. The need to respect a community’s cultural traditions, customs and codes of practice may extend beyond FNIM communities." In my current research, I am engaging with nudists and naturists, and when conceptualizing of this project I knew that it would be essential to build "reciprocal, trusting relationships," and so I have drawn extensively on the principles set out in Chapter 9. Nudism, at its most basic, is about the social practice of communal nakedness. In Canada, there are, according to some estimates about 35,000 nudists; however, some 69% of Canadians have engaged in some "nudist activities" as observed by the Federation of Canadian Naturists in a 2014 survey (these activities range from sleeping nude through going to a nude beach). However, there is also significant concern among many nudists that their identities might be known, for instance, fears about custody or fears about what will happen if an employer finds out they are a nudist, how might a middle school teacher be affected if people find out they are nudist, etc. Thus there is some sense of precarity and fear amongst nudists. Many of the spaces where nudists congregate require admission, background checks, etc., and so, there is an expectation of some level of privacy. As such, this becomes a rich and complex space to study, especially in our current cultural moment where there is so much anxiety about bodies and naked bodies (i.e. locker rooms and bathrooms). Moreover, how does a researcher, particularly a textile (non-nudist) researcher engage with historical materials that likely includes photographs not only of men and women, but also boys and girls. How does a researcher engage a community with whom they may have little in common, a community that may even make them uncomfortable? A researcher engaging with nudism has many ethical considerations to consider, and this is not necessarily an easy task. While this research is not about Indigenous peoples, the lessons learned from Chapter 9 speak broadly to how we can begin to Indigenize and decolonize our ethical relationships as part of ongoing daily practices and while researching marginalized, precarious, or stigmatized groups. Chapter 9 serves as an important, if not essential, model for studying communities that find themselves or are positioned on the outside. While my focus in this presentation is on nudism and naturism, the insights could be beneficial to studying any number of "subcultures," which are often marginalized or have been subject to dubious and perhaps even abusive scholarship.
