Gazing from the inside out during ethically heightened moments

Abstract

This autoethnographic account explores the everyday ethical and emotional issues that arise throughout the research process. Represented through creative analytic practice (CAP), I examine issues related to researcher safety, encountering the unexpected and sensitive topics, empathetic responsibility, role conflict, abandonment and intellectual distance ‐ all issues that shape the type of knowledge constructed as well as the researcher’s and participant’s well‐being. Emphasis is placed on using autoethnography (as a methodology) and CAP (as a form of representation) to deepen our understanding of the complexity of leisure experiences and meanings, while confronting how we come to know and write about ‘others’.

Keywords:

• autoethnography
• reflexivity
• creative analytic practice
• emotions
• ethics
• leisure
• poverty

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr Diana Parry for her inspiration and guidance in the original creation of this manuscript, and Dr Heather Mair for our on‐going discussions about poverty, leisure and homelessness – many of the ideas are embedded in this manuscript. I gratefully acknowledge the three reviewers who provided valuable feedback. Finally, with a heartfelt thank you, I would like to acknowledge the 14 women who shared their stories with me, and in doing so, changed my life both personally and professionally.