How does the sexual identity that anthropologists have in their "home" society affect the kind of sexuality they are allowed to express in other cultures? "Taboo looks at the ethnographer and sexuality in anthropological fieldwork and considers the many roles that sexuality plays in the anthropological production of knowledge and texts.
"Taboo looks at how the anthropologist's sexuality is perceived by the people with whom he or she does research. It looks at the frequency of sexual violence and intimidation in the field and why its existence is virtually unmentioned in anthropology. Other issues, including same-sex relationships, seduction and eroticism in the field, and traditional sex roles, are confronted. This lively book explores the influence this tabooed topic has had on the entire practice and production of anthropology. Both the seasoned anthropologist and those about to undertake fieldwork will find that "Taboo contains engrossingarticles on the types of personal and professional experiences which make up sexual life in the field.

Notes on contributors, Preface, Introduction The sexual life of anthropologists: erotic subjectivity and ethnographic work, 1 Lovers in the field: sex, dominance, and the female anthropologist, 2 Falling in love with an-Other lesbian: reflections on identity in fieldwork, 3 The penetrating intellect: on being white, straight, and male in Korea, 4 Walking the fire line: the erotic dimension of the fieldwork experience, 5 Tricks, friends, and lovers: erotic encounters in the field, 6 My 'chastity belt': avoiding seduction in Tonga, 7 Fear and loving in the West Indies: research from the heart (as well as the head), 8 Rape in the field: reflections from a survivor, Afterword Perspective and difference: sexualization, the field, and the ethnographer, Index