%0 Journal Article
%T Assessing Contradictions: Methodological Challenges when Mapping Symbolic Boundaries
%A Lisa MB S£¿lvberg
%A Vegard Jarness
%J Cultural Sociology
%@ 1749-9763
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1749975518819907
%X In this article, we address the methodological question of making sense of contradictions in sociological analysis. Focusing on the scholarly debate about generating and interpreting data on symbolic boundaries ¨C the ways in which social actors evaluate, categorise and judge others ¨C we argue in favour of the continued relevance of the qualitative interview. We discuss how we can move beyond merely mapping attitudinal stances and deal with inconsistencies and contradictions in interviewees¡¯ accounts when classifying others. Rather than seeing contradictions as reflecting a fundamentally unreliable and invalid method of studying people¡¯s feelings, thoughts and attitudes, we argue that they can be viewed as reflecting existing contradictions that people grapple with in everyday life. To illustrate our methodological points, we conduct a small-scale empirical analysis of bodily distinction and symbolic boundaries among a sample of physically active, upper-class men in Norway. Highlighting tensions between interviewees¡¯ honourable and visceral narratives, our analysis explores how such tensions can be teased out by using certain interviewing techniques. We argue that interviewees¡¯ contradictory accounts are connected to the level of abstraction in the phrasing of interview questions. We thus emphasise the importance of methodological reflexivity in studying symbolic boundaries
%K Body
%K class
%K lifestyle
%K photo-elicitation
%K qualitative interviews
%K status
%K stratification symbolic boundaries
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1749975518819907