Anthropophilosophy of peripheral masculine sexualities: autoethnographies and the oxymoron of participant observation

Abstract

This article develops a theoretical reflection on the relationships between autoethnography, participant observation and studies on male sexualities, discussing the epistemological and methodological limits of knowledge production when researchers share experiences, practices and symbolic universes with their research interlocutors. The study adopts an exploratory qualitative approach based on an associative thematic literature review, drawing on contributions from anthropology, sociology of sexualities, philosophy and gender studies. The analysis mobilizes authors who discuss embodiment, subjectivity, regimes of truth and reflexivity in social research, in order to problematize the position of the researcher involved in the dynamics under investigation. From this perspective, the article discusses what is termed the “oxymoron of participant observation”, referring to the paradox that emerges when the lived experience of the researcher intersects with the research process. It is argued that autoethnography can function as a relevant analytical device for making such implications visible and for expanding reflexivity in the social sciences, particularly in studies on masculinities and sexualities. The paper concludes that recognizing the experiential and embodied dimensions of knowledge production contributes to a more critical and situated understanding of complex social phenomena.