Exploring the Relation between Queerness and Globalization: Insights from a Photo-elicitation Research Project

Abstract

Heteronormative assumptions in development discourse render queer experiences and their political implications largely invisible in studies of development in the Philippines. There is, however, a need to examine queerness in the context of intersecting power relations of class, sexuality, and gender. In this article, I share my experience of using the visual method of auto-driven photo-elicitation in researching the relation between queerness and globalization in the context of call center work and the globalized space of the Makati central business district (CBD). The data gathering activity involved two phases: the photography phase, where participants took pictures in response to prompts in a shooting script, and the interview phase, where participants talked at length about the photographs they had taken. The photographs and interviews were then coded to bring out patterns and relationships that describe a particular form of subjectivity, which in turn was examined within a network of discourses in discourse analysis. Upon discussing the context of the research as well as the concepts on which the data gathering method is based, I explore the usefulness of the method to research in general as well as its place in feminist research in particular.