'Motherhood capital' in tourism fieldwork: Experiences from Arctic Canada

Abstract

Drawing on a study of resident attitudes toward tourism development in the Canadian Arctic, this article examines the experiences of one of the authors who was accompanied by her infant son during her fieldwork. Utilising Lo’s (Sociological Perspectives 59(3):694–713, 2016) concept of ‘motherhood capital’, derived from the work of Pierre Bourdieu, we argue that the presence of her son, who joined her on five occasions between the age of 9 and 22 months, disrupted normal research roles and relationships. We describe how her son helped rather than hindered her acceptance into the Inuit communities where she was working. By using Bourdieusian theory to examine researcher experience, we move beyond the descriptive accounts that often dominate methodological discussions. Instead we aim to demonstrate the value of applying theory that is normally only used to examine encounters observed during fieldwork, to include analysing the researcher’s access and interactions. Due to the child-centred nature of the communities and the shared common ground of parenthood, we propose that Stewart’s demonstration of motherhood had the effect of dismantling several of the barriers some researchers face when entering communities for the first time. Motherhood capital facilitated her privileged access to the field and changed her perceived status from an outside researcher to an equal-status mother. This was particularly important in an indigenous context where she was always going to be seen as ‘other’. Drawing on extensive journal entries, this article adopts a reflexive approach to explore the influences her infant had on her experiences in the field.