Don Kulick

Theory in Furs : masochist anthropology

Was will die Anthropologie? Freuds analysis of masochism can serve as a lens with which to explore the longstanding anthropological interest in powerless or disenfranchised people. Recent anthropological work can be examined not only in the terms encouraged by its own diegesis as a relation between anthropologist and the powerless but also as elements in a constellation that includes anthropology as a discipline and capitalism. Exploration of the libidinal structure within which our discipline has taken shapethat is to say, the structure that gives not just possibility and meaning but also pleasure to the practice of anthropologycan shed light on the nature of the pleasure that anthropologists derive from identification with the powerless.Was will die Anthropologie? Freuds analysis of masochism can serve as a lens with which to explore the longstanding anthropological interest in powerless or disenfranchised people. Recent anthropological work can be examined not only in the terms encouraged by its own diegesis as a relation between anthropologist and the powerless but also as elements in a constellation that includes anthropology as a discipline and capitalism. Exploration of the libidinal structure within which our discipline has taken shapethat is to say, the structure that gives not just possibility and meaning but also pleasure to the practice of anthropologycan shed light on the nature of the pleasure that anthropologists derive from identification with the powerless.

When Privacy and Secrecy Collapse into One Another, Bad Things Can Happen

This article discusses privacy and secrecy in relation to the sexual lives of adults with significant disabilities. It compares ideologies and practices of privacy in two Scandinavian countries that diverge dramatically when it comes to sexuality and disability. In Sweden, the sexual lives of adults with disabilities are hindered and blocked by the people the welfare state pays to assist them. In Denmark, those same kinds of assistants facilitate sexual lives. A reason for this difference hinges on how “privacy” is conceptualized and practiced. In Denmark, to label something as “private” configures a particular kind of ethical space of engagement. In Sweden, “private” means “secret,” “off limits,” “beyond the boundary of knowledge or engagement.” This collapse of privacy and secrecy into one another has dire consequences for people with disabilities.

Warts and All

ethnos, vol. 66:2 , 2 001 (pp . 1 49–1 5 6) E ditorial notes in scholarly journals like this tend to be rather high-handed. In writing them, we imagine that editors like to think of themselves as standing on some craggy summit, scouring the disciplinary horizon for trends and possibilities, hatching visions, emanating confidence, and exuding inspiration. At least this is how we think we imagined ourselves, when we authored our two past Notes: in 1 996, when we assumed joint editorship of Ethnos, and in 1 998 , when we changed publishers, revamped the structure and scope of our Editorial Board, and expanded production of the journal from two to three issues a year. In both those editorials, we trumpeted that Ethnos was on the cusp of new developments in anthropology, and we proclaimed that the journal would promote work ‘that displays rich ethnography, solid methodological foundations, strong writing, and provocative theoretical commentary ’. Looking back on those somewhat sw ollen lines with more experienced and jaded eyes, we can’t help but ask ourselves what many readers probably thought when they read them in the first place, namely: what journal doesn’t? Which academic journal declares that it publishes work that displays shabby ethnography, weak methodological foundations, poor writing, and bland theoretical commentary? In fact, we are proud of what we have accomplished with the journal, and we hope our readers will agree that the articles that have appeared in Ethnos during the past five years are, on the whole, important, thought-provoking, engagingly written, frequently cutting-edge, and often even fun to read. So it isn’t as if our grandiose hopes were just hollow boasting or wishful thinking. Our terms as editors of Ethnos recently expired. Neither of us particularly wanted to quit; we both enjoy editing the journal, and we both feel that we are still in the process of developing it in interesting directions as an outlet for compelling anthropological work. We therefore agreed to continue editing Ethnos for another three years. However, after five years as editors, we Warts and All

De los otros: Intimacy and Homosexuality Among Mexican Men.

A detailed description of sexual practices and bonds among Latino males in Guadalajara, Mexico using a combination of ethnographic techniques and participant observations.