Cultural Anthropology: ANTH 1010
Social Sciences
Coursework
Ethnography Assignment
ANTH 1010 - Cultural Anthropology
Jonathen Green
11/14/17
For my ethnography project, I partnered with my wife as my cultural informant. For my research, we went to a local nail salon because she told me that she has witnessed a unique culture there in the past.
I did not tell my partner, but I did have some preconceived notions and reservations about what I should expect, that I'd had from a previous visit to a different salon years earlier. I was worried that the place would be very loud, brightly lit, and would smell like nail polish and that I might get a headache. I was also concerned that my fingers and toes might hurt from the treatment. I expected the customers to be loud and obnoxious rich white women and for the employees to be Asian women bickering at one another in a foreign language.
On my first visit to the Salon, I was immediately surprised by the environment. It was quiet and calm with relaxing music playing. The air smelled clean and nice and the lighting was soft and pleasing. A middle-aged Asian man, who I assume was either the owner or the manager of the place, greeted Nichole and I. Nichole explained that we were there for manicures and pedicures and he invited Nichole to select a color from a large wall full of various nail polishes. He said to me, "You don't have to choose a color," and then he laughed and said, "Unless you want to of course." with a silly tone that I think was meant as a soft joke in regards to my gender.
On the far wall was a row of twelve chairs that were unusually large and tall that I recall thinking resembled some type of royal throne. Each had a small bathtub bowl at its feet. There were already two women seated and one was soaking her feet. The man and another employee, a small Asian woman, prepared water in two chairs next to these other customers and invited me to sit while I waited for Nichole to select her polish colors. I noticed as I walked towards my chair, that all of the ladies in the room, both clients and customers, were watching me, and had stopped talking with one another, but they were also making an effort not to stare at me which I noticed because whenever I looked back at one of them they would each look away nonchalantly as if they were inspecting the ceiling for cobwebs or something. I believed that they were taking special notice of me because I was breaking a cultural norm by being a man in a primarily feminine location. Later, when I interviewed Nichole, she suggested that she felt I was correct.
However, she also indicated that it's likely because I’m an obviously straight “butch” male and that my display of orientation was more important than just my gender. She explained that on previous visits that there were other men present but that they projected a more feminine/gay appearance and therefore she thinks that they were more likely to be accepted as insiders where as I was an obvious outsider.
When I chose my chair, I chose to sit in the chair that was not next to one of the other female clients, so as to place my wife, a female, in between myself and her. However, I only realized that I had segregated myself after I had seated and think it was an unconscious choice. When I asked Nichole if she had noticed this, she said that she had not.
The young Asian woman began working on my feet first, while Nichole sat and soaked. I remember feeling a little surprised and uncomfortable at first when she took my foot into her hands aggressively and with authority. She trimmed my nails and rubbed my feet with oils and salts and massaged my calves. I recall at first feeling a bit awkward and guilty sitting next to my wife with another woman touching my feet as if I had unwittingly broken some type of unspoken rule. At the same time, the man came over to work on my wife's feet and began massaging them. I remember feeling a little jealousy at first and then, noticing my feelings, I felt surprised and a little ashamed of my own jealousy. Then I looked around and everybody was calm and relaxed and so I just closed my eyes, listened to the music and conversation and calmed down and enjoyed my foot massage.
My hypothesis, is that within society there is a complex system of subtle gender protocols that one is compelled to honor regardless of whether he or she realizes it.
ANTH 1010 - Cultural Anthropology
Jonathen Green
11/14/17
For my ethnography project, I partnered with my wife as my cultural informant. For my research, we went to a local nail salon because she told me that she has witnessed a unique culture there in the past.
I did not tell my partner, but I did have some preconceived notions and reservations about what I should expect, that I'd had from a previous visit to a different salon years earlier. I was worried that the place would be very loud, brightly lit, and would smell like nail polish and that I might get a headache. I was also concerned that my fingers and toes might hurt from the treatment. I expected the customers to be loud and obnoxious rich white women and for the employees to be Asian women bickering at one another in a foreign language.
On my first visit to the Salon, I was immediately surprised by the environment. It was quiet and calm with relaxing music playing. The air smelled clean and nice and the lighting was soft and pleasing. A middle-aged Asian man, who I assume was either the owner or the manager of the place, greeted Nichole and I. Nichole explained that we were there for manicures and pedicures and he invited Nichole to select a color from a large wall full of various nail polishes. He said to me, "You don't have to choose a color," and then he laughed and said, "Unless you want to of course." with a silly tone that I think was meant as a soft joke in regards to my gender.
On the far wall was a row of twelve chairs that were unusually large and tall that I recall thinking resembled some type of royal throne. Each had a small bathtub bowl at its feet. There were already two women seated and one was soaking her feet. The man and another employee, a small Asian woman, prepared water in two chairs next to these other customers and invited me to sit while I waited for Nichole to select her polish colors. I noticed as I walked towards my chair, that all of the ladies in the room, both clients and customers, were watching me, and had stopped talking with one another, but they were also making an effort not to stare at me which I noticed because whenever I looked back at one of them they would each look away nonchalantly as if they were inspecting the ceiling for cobwebs or something. I believed that they were taking special notice of me because I was breaking a cultural norm by being a man in a primarily feminine location. Later, when I interviewed Nichole, she suggested that she felt I was correct.
However, she also indicated that it's likely because I’m an obviously straight “butch” male and that my display of orientation was more important than just my gender. She explained that on previous visits that there were other men present but that they projected a more feminine/gay appearance and therefore she thinks that they were more likely to be accepted as insiders where as I was an obvious outsider.
When I chose my chair, I chose to sit in the chair that was not next to one of the other female clients, so as to place my wife, a female, in between myself and her. However, I only realized that I had segregated myself after I had seated and think it was an unconscious choice. When I asked Nichole if she had noticed this, she said that she had not.
The young Asian woman began working on my feet first, while Nichole sat and soaked. I remember feeling a little surprised and uncomfortable at first when she took my foot into her hands aggressively and with authority. She trimmed my nails and rubbed my feet with oils and salts and massaged my calves. I recall at first feeling a bit awkward and guilty sitting next to my wife with another woman touching my feet as if I had unwittingly broken some type of unspoken rule. At the same time, the man came over to work on my wife's feet and began massaging them. I remember feeling a little jealousy at first and then, noticing my feelings, I felt surprised and a little ashamed of my own jealousy. Then I looked around and everybody was calm and relaxed and so I just closed my eyes, listened to the music and conversation and calmed down and enjoyed my foot massage.
My hypothesis, is that within society there is a complex system of subtle gender protocols that one is compelled to honor regardless of whether he or she realizes it.