Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities 30

SAGE Visual Methods
Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities
Contributors: Steven J. Gold Editors: Jason Hughes Book Title: SAGE Visual Methods Chapter Title: "Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities" Pub. Date: August 2004 Access Date: February 24, 2014 Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd City: London Print ISBN: 9781446241028 Online ISBN: 9781446268520 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446268520 Print pages: v2-89-v2-111
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002764204266237 [p. v2-89 ]
Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

http://abs.sagepub.com/content/47/12/1551 Contact SAGE Publications at http://www.sagepub.com http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002764204266237 Encoding from PDF of original work Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities, Steven J. GoldAmerican Behavioral Scientist, vol. 47 (12) (2004): pp. 15511572. 2004 Sage Publications. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications via Copyright Clearance Center's Rightslink service. Drawing on the author's research with three migrant populationsJews from the former Soviet Union, Vietnamese, and Israelisthis article offers several suggestions for integrating photography into fieldwork studies. Visual methods are shown to be useful for learning about the research context, generating rapport with respondents, analyzing findings, and sharing research with students and colleagues. Examples show how photography contributed to the understanding of migrant communities, entrepreneurs' use of coethnic and outgroup labor, and gender patterns. For the past 20 years, I have been involved in studies of migrant and ethnic communities. At the time I began research in this area, I was already familiar with visual sociology and believed that the use of photography could contribute much to research on immigration. However, there were few sources of information that could direct me toward integrating visuals into sociological research. Through a trial and error process, I eventually developed a series of techniques to achieve this end. In retrospect, I realize that I learned as much from the social interactions involved with taking photographs, showing images to respondents, and sharing prints with colleagues and students as I
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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities
did from analyzing what is shown in the images themselves. The purpose of this article is to share some of these techniques with those who wish to incorporate visuals into their own studies.
Integrating Visuals into Social Researchhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

During the past two decades, a considerable body of literature has been published that offers a variety of theoretical and practical suggestions about how to incorporate visuals into social research. However, no one approach has emerged as being appropriate for all of the myriad activities with which sociologists are involved (Banks, 2001; Becker, 1986; Prosser, 1998; Rose, 2001; [p. v2-90 ] Wagner, 2002). A major debate within this scholarship concerns the extent to which the visual should be treated as the primary object of analysis or if images should be used as one of many tools available for the investigation of social life. One body of work contends that images should be the central object of study and focus of investigation. For example, Ball and Smith (1992) sought to make visuals a serious source of data worthy of analysis (p. 14), whereas Emmison and Smith (2000) hoped to position visual research as a central theme of investigations into society and culture (p. x). Erving Goffman's Gender Advertisements (1979), which relies on the analysis of hundreds of magazine clippings, is held up as an exemplar of this orientation (Emmison & Smith, 2000). Proponents of this method berate the use of images as illustrations that depict visually what is already described in the text (Hammond, 1998). For example, Ball and Smith (1992) criticized the use of photographs and film footage used to illustrate ethnographic work: We have argued that as part of ethnographic reports, photographs are largely ancillary to the principal analytic purposes of the work. They are usually presented as a descriptive resource rather than a visual topic of inquiry.
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Here as is so often the case pictures serve a simply decorative and illustrative function. (pp. 1112) Studies reflecting this approach offer convincing evidence of the value of visually based scholarship. Paradoxically, however, by demanding that visuals be placed at the center of social research, this scheme may actually discourage a broader body of investigators from incorporating visual elements into their projects. Because relatively few sociological issues are fundamentally visual, those whose research concerns nonvisual topics and requires the analysis of nonvisual data may get the impression that incorporating photographs into their projects is purely illustrative or documentary and hence, an inadequate application of visual methods (Emmison & Smith, 2000, p. 55). An alternative approach rests on the idea that images can be effectively integrated with other forms of information to improve sociological work, even if analysis of the visual is not the central focus. In such cases, photos are treated not solely as sources of data but also as tools that facilitate the process of research more generally. They help to establish rapport with respondents, contextualize and lend specificity to the subject matter in question, and can humanize the portrayal of respondents. In addition, the inclusion of images can encourage students and colleagues to join the analytical enterprise and make presentations more accessible to diverse audiences (Collier & Collier, 1986; Grady, 1996; Harper, 1987; Vergara, 1997). In a recent article on the use of visual evidence in sociological analysis, Becker (2002) referred to this use of visuals as he described Berger and Mohr's (1975) A Seventh Man, a study of migrant laborers in Western [p. v2-91 ] Europe. Becker contended that even though the accompanying images are uncaptioned, the article provides enough information (ethnographic, statistical, and historical) about the experience of these workers to permit readers to interpret what is shown. Becker further asserted that this mode of presentation yields a more active, personal, and engaging experience than if images and text were explicitly integrated by the authors. The work of ethnographic filmmakers offers another model for incorporating images into fieldwork projects (Barbash & Taylor, 1997). For them, a good deal of knowledge and analysis about the group, community, or phenomenon in question has already been generated prior to the initiation of filming. Images are used as a means of illustrating
important themes, relationships, and processes associated with the subject in question or in the activity of documentary making itself (Minh-Ha, 1992). Filmmakers edit footage, audio, and narration into a sequence that they can share with an audience. Such documentary footage is not raw data and not analyzed to generate findings. However, neither is it redundant or superfluous in the ways that Ball and Smith (1992) condemned. Instead, as Barbash and Taylor (1997) asserted in their guide to ethnographic filmmaking, The act of filming is often likened by anthropologists to the documentation or demonstration of research that precedes and determines it (p. 70). I have used this approach to incorporate photography into fieldwork projects on immigration involving three ethnic/nationality groups: Soviet Jews, Vietnamese, and Israelis (Gold 1992; 1995a; 2002). None of these projects were primarily visual in nature. Yet I used photography extensively in each of them and found it to be a valuable tool.
Three Uses of Photography in Field Researchhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

Ethnographic investigations are commonly used to explore social life and to reflect on the applicability of theoretical formulations to real world settings (Burawoy, 1991). Many of the most influential of these reveal the complex and often unexpected ways that people cope with the situations that they confront. Drawing from this tradition, this article contributes to the refinement of general propositions about the behavior of immigrant and ethnic groups as they adapt to new environments. I understand visual research as a tool that complements existing methods. Accordingly, I use images in conjunction with other approaches commonly used in community studies, such as literature reviews, participant observation, in-depth interviews (with group members and informed observers), and the inspection of official documents and statistics. In the following section, I briefly describe three areas of ethnographic
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research within which I found photography to be useful: gaining an orientation to the field setting, establishing rapport with respondents, and analyzing data. [p. v2-92 ] Gaining orientation. When starting a field study, photographs are useful for recording information about people, locations, and events of interest. For example, photographs can document what environments look like, how they provide a context in which groups interact, and who is present at events. The resulting images can be reviewed to assist in recording, coding, and analysis of field notes (Collier, 1967; Suchar, 1997). As Stinchcombe (1984) noted, as an academic discipline, sociology tends to value parsimonious and abstract findings that describe social relationships without having to deal with the full range of complexity associated with real people and situations. The most prestigious forms of social research are based on methods such as library research, surveys and analysis of official statistics that keep investigators distant from the people, and processes and settings that they claim to study (Blumer, 1969; Harper, 1987; Stinchcombe, 1984). Even ethnographic data are often collected through gatekeepers and spokespersons in office settings or in focus groups distant from the places where the social relations of greatest sociological significance take place. Moreover, in describing what they have discovered, social scientists too often rely on academic abstractions about which they know a great deal rather than situational knowledge associated with the setting at hand about which they know much less (Harper, 1987). When we describe an occupation as service work, we gloss over what it is like to actually perform the job; when we summarize social relations as embedded in networks, we add little to a more general understanding of the deep and intricate relationships on which communities are based. Through my experience of using and teaching visual sociology, I have found that the need to create photographs in research settings can offer a corrective to this academic distancing. Visual documentation often demands that researchers come into contact with the participants and details of social life to a degree that exceeds what is generally applied in other methods. For example, Vergara's (1997) photographic explorations of inner-city environments offers a more detailed, phenomenologically rich, and ultimately
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more powerful account of life in urban America than is available in more traditional approaches to the topic. I have worked to apply this procedure in my research on migrant communities. Accordingly, whenever I could, I moved out of the air-conditioned offices of restaurants and factories into kitchens, shop floors, and warehouses. To chronicle religious communities, I often returned following interviews to observe and photograph holiday celebrations. I also attended festivals, classes, weddings, baby showers, and political demonstrations. In this way, the act of making photographs both required and encouraged me to confront individuals and aspects of the social world from which I might have otherwise remained at a distance. My need to get near was further reinforced by my reliance on wide-angle lenses that require close proximity for effective [p. v2-93 ] use (Gold, 1995c). The resulting interactions and images enhanced my own insight and my ability to share findings with colleagues. Developing rapport. Making and sharing photographs can be helpful in generating rapport with respondents. As Collier (1967) pointed out in Visual Anthropology, many individuals and groups who are unfamiliar with the goals and intentions of social science researchers can comprehend the purposes of photographers. In this way, making photographs gives a field-worker a basis for meeting and interacting with those present in the location of research. Once established, the initial interaction leads to another during return visits when photographs are presented to their subjects. Figure 1: Soviet Jews look at photographs that I had taken of their community. Showing photographs to members and respondents generates rapport. In addition, the comments they made while looking at prints provided me with a lot of insight into respondents knowledge of and opinions about members in their communities.
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I often began interviews by showing respondents a series of pictures that I had taken in the course of studying their communities (see Figure 1). This allowed me to quickly and specifically demonstrate my familiarity with the subject and environment of research. I believe that this grounding often enhanced the quality of the interviews that followed. For example, at the start of a fieldwork trip among Israeli emigrants in London, I presented a slide talk on Israelis in the United States to several members of the community that had been arranged by a local colleague. During the course of a week, I interviewed [p. v2-94 ] a number of the persons who had attended my talk. This presentation offered an excellent introduction and facilitated the interviews that followed. In many cases, showing photographs to members of migrant communities can be treated as a form of photo elicitation (Harper, 2002). As respondents view images of their community, their comments can be very informative. Such reflections have provided me with significant insight into migrants views of their broader community and how specific events and persons are regarded. In addition, community members reactions suggest their impressions of and familiarity with various personalities, strategies, locations, and subgroups within their communities. For example, migrants often-cynical comments about other members of their communities shown in photographs played an important role in making me realize that in contrast to academic assertions about pervasive coethnic solidarity, migrant populations are often highly segmented and stratified (see below). Whenever possible, I gave copies of images to the persons I had photographed. When individuals are shown pictures of themselves, even more specific comments
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are sometimes elicited. Such was the case when members of a Vietnamese family poignantly reflected on their experience of downward mobility from relative affluence in the country of origin to their current austere circumstances in the United States. Analysis. Most fieldwork methodologies encourage researchers to engage in a sequential process of collecting, coding, and analyzing data; memo writing; and revisiting field settings to check their observations, refine findings, and create higher level generalizations (Berg, 2001; Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 1995; Strauss, 1987; White, 1987). Visual sociologists have understood how visual information can be useful in this kind of research and as such, have developed a body of literature that describes ways which photographs can be incorporated (Gold, 1995c; Harper, 1987; Suchar, 1997). Suchar (1997) drew on what he called Becker's (1986) interrogatory principle, whereby images are used to help answer sociological questions suggested by literature review and previous fieldwork. The resulting photos are then analyzed in light of other data to generate supplementary questions. Repeating this cycle allows a researcher to incorporate additional evidence (photographic and otherwise) and produce findings.
Case Applicationshat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

The discussion that follows demonstrates some of the ways that I have used photography within three topics that are of general interest to scholars of international migration migrant communities, ethnic economies, and the place of gender in migration processes. [p. v2-95 ]
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Communitieshat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

Studies of immigrant communities associated with ethnic-mobilization theory suggest that in the modern era, major benefits are garnered by populations who organize on a broad, group-wide, or international scale (Shanahan & Olzak, 2002). Consequently, local forms of organization and group solidarity are likely to be superseded by grouplevel patterns. Modernization first eliminates collective action on the basis of smallscale and local cleavages (Nielsen, 1985, p. 147). However, many recent immigrant and refugee populations are marked by diversity in terms of background, interests, experiences, and identities. For them, ethnic identification and community formation tend to take place within subgroups that share commonalties rather than at the level of the entire population (Gold 1992, 1995a, 2002; I. Kim, 1981; Light, Sabagh, Bozorgmehr, & Der-Martirosian, 1994; Menjivar, 2001). Hence, scholars of ethnic and minority groups seek to understand the prevailing forms of group solidarity that exist within various populations. Do small networks predominate? Are broad-based collectives more common? Or is a combination of both forms prevalent? Finally, what group characteristics and contexts are associated with segmented and inclusive solidarity? My research including photographs can shed some light on this debate. I found that Soviet Jews, Vietnamese, and Israelis cooperate among themselves and with other ethnic groups as well. However, various subgroups internal to these populations maintain more extensive forms of cooperation than exist within the communities at large. I discerned this as I showed photographs that I had taken in the course of fieldwork to coethnics. I initially expected respondents to take pride in the upward mobility and organizational accomplishments of their successful countrymen and countrywomen. However, respondents were often unimpressed by the achievements of elite conationals. They expressed feelings of alienation from those people shown in my photos
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and described them as self-serving. Figure 2 illustrates some of the differences that exist within migrant communities. As I investigated further, I found that networks among Soviet Jewish, Vietnamese, and Israeli emigrants correspond to members social characteristics as well as the particular circumstances of the context of settlement. In contrast to negative characterizations of successful compatriots, most respondents revealed affiliations to subgroups made up of friends, relatives, and others with whom they shared trust and close relations. Among these groups, social capital, organization, and solidarity were strongest among individuals who were already bonded by commonalties of origin, immigration experience, ideological orientation, religious outlook, class, and occupation (Coleman, 1988; Portes, 1998) (see Figure 2C). On the level of the entire [p. v2-96 ] Figure 2: Community. Photographs reveal diversity in social orientations and access to resources even within a single migrant community. The existence of various subgroups suggests diverse orientations and patterns of association and cooperation. Social capital is shared among those bonded by common social features. 2A (top), a Soviet Jewish doctor's association banquet. 2B (bottom), a Vietnamese American runs for political office, Orange County, California, 1994.
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[p. v2-97 ] Figure 2 (Continued): 2C, middle-aged Israeli men who have formed a recreational flying club, Los Angeles, California.
ethnic population, various subgroups competed with each other, sometimes reinforcing local segmentation. Immigrants and especially refugees had learned from experience that co-nationals were likely to manipulate or exploit them. Accordingly, they withheld trust from those they did not know well.
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In conclusion, at least among these populations, access to networks and resources is a contingent process. Reflecting social structure, it varies according to the characteristics of migrants, the nature of the receiving society, and conditions in the country of origin. As suggested by photo-based interviews and other evidence, the strongest ties tended to be maintained among those subgroups and networks already sharing high levels of social capital. Although group members expressed a desire to develop group-wide alliances, these were hard to establish and maintain. Soviet Jewish, Vietnamese, and Israeli communities demonstrate the great deal of difficulty involved in creating viable and inclusive ethnic organizations among segmented populations. Over time, broader forms of amalgamation may occur, but I found little evidence of them as yet.
Coethnic and Out-Group Laborhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

Since the 1960s, sociologists have revised their understanding of the place of ethnicity in social and economic life. Prior to that time, social theorists [p. v2-98 ] asserted that as societies became more and more advanced, ascriptive characteristics race, gender, religion, and ethnicity would be of diminishing economic, social, and political importance as societies became increasingly organized on the basis of skills. However, since the 1960s, a broad range of scholars have come to understand that ethnic-based ties and resources continue to be vitally important to shaping economic life and access to resources (Bonacich & Modell, 1980; Light & Gold, 2000; Portes & Rumbaut, 1996). Although appreciating the importance of ethnicity in economic life, much literature on the topic is concerned with the forms of connection, integration, and solidarity that occur within a single ethnic group. Portes and Bach (1985) showed how Cuban entrepreneurs work together and hire recently arrived coethnics to maintain a powerful ethnic economy in Miami, one that offers coethnics better earnings than generally available to Cubans who find jobs in the larger economy. Illsoo Kim (1981) and Min (1996) made similar arguments about Korean Americans economic pursuits. However, in recent years, a number of scholars have noted the ways by which ethnic entrepreneurs take advantage of their connections with other ethnic populations, institutions, and social developments to create jobs, successfully manage businesses, and increase earnings.
Through fieldwork that included photography, I found that it is true that many migrant groups have a desire to help their countrymen and countrywomen by providing jobs and advice. Loyalty alone, however, is a poor basis for running a business. A deeper look reveals that the issue of coethnic employment is a complex one. Soviet Jews, Vietnamese, and Israelis'desires to hire coethnics are often constrained by economic realties involving the costs and accessibility of coethnic workers versus other potential employees that are available in the labor market. Drawing from Becker's (1986) suggestion to pose sociological questions that could be addressed visually, I asked, Who is employed in ethnic businesses and what is the relationship between employers and workers? As I observed, photographed, and discussed this question, I developed a better understanding of it (see Figure 3). During interviews, members of all three groups described coethnics as easier to communicate with than out-group members as well as being more resourceful, knowledgeable, predictable, and sometimes, trustworthy. At the same time, they also mentioned the disadvantages associated with hiring co-nationals. As a result of coethnic expectations, business owners claimed that workers must be given privileges (including preferential treatment and higher wages) not extended to out-group members. A London-based Israeli real estate broker who formerly ran a restaurant described why she avoided co-national employees: I had two chefs one from Thailand and an Israeli woman and their attitude was completely different. She was always moody, having a long [p. v2-99 ] face. I needed to constantly pacify her. On the other hand, with him, I had no problems what so ever. He recognized who is the boss, and complied with my demands. With her, I needed to plan ahead every conversation. (Gold, 2002, pp. 7374) Figure 3: Soviet Jewish owner of an auto repair shop with Afghani and Russian mechanics
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In the course of observing and photographing Soviet Jewish, Vietnamese, and Israeli businesses, I consistently noticed Latinos and members of other groups as employees. This finding contrasted dramatically with the prevailing image of coethnic cooperation. The consistency of this observation prompted me to look closer, to ask questions about out-group labor, and to collect more photographic and other kinds of information about interethnic and intraethnic economic cooperation (see Figure 4). Through this approach, I found that another reason entrepreneurs have for avoiding coethnics is that coethnic workers are generally more likely than out-group members to use their employment experience as an apprenticeship that provides them with the knowledge, connections, and capital needed to start their own businesses at a later date. This practice is very common among populations with high rates of selfemployment and can be a source of considerable consternation, because employers realize that they are training today's coethnic employee to be tomorrow's competitor (Light & Gold, 2000). Because immigrant business resources and strategies have their [p. v2-100 ] Figure 4: Use of out-group labor. Although sociological literature has emphasized the role of economic cooperation among members of the same ethnic/nationality group, fieldwork evidence (photographic and otherwise) revealed the importance of noncoethnic employees. 4A, a sign seeking sewing machine operators in the garment district of Los Angeles, California; errors in Spanish suggest that someone not himself or herself fluent in Spanish is intentionally seeking Latino workers.
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[p. v2-101 ] Figure 4 (Continued): 4B, Israeli entrepreneurs employing Latino workers
origins in shared communal sources, the potential for coethnic competition is considerable. Accordingly, Soviet Jewish, Vietnamese, and Israeli entrepreneurs are generally concerned with competition control.
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Yossi, an Israeli building contractor in Los Angeles, California, described his experience with coethnic employees. Despite (or perhaps, because of) the fact that they acted in the same way he had, he regretfully resolved not to hire Israelis in the future: Investigator: Did you ever have friction with your Israeli employees? Yossi: Well you see, Israelis, I find most of them are like me. They took me as an example for them. They want to also become self-employed. I think it's just the nature of the Israeli. So there were sometimes friction and also they care too much about the details of how I run my company, and I don't like that. I don't want to say that they are spying, but they copy me which is perfectly okay, but only as long as it helps me. Investigator: Yeah. They'll open their own business and then make it harder for you. Yossi: Right. But I understand that and I accept that as long as they are not cheating on me that's fine with me. But if I need to be somewhere else for a while and a potential customer comes to the work site and asks for a contractor and they give their card or leave their number that's [p. v2-102 ] cheating. I don't accept. So I need to be careful of Israelis and now I hire Mexican workers more. (Gold, 2002, p. 77) Vietnamese too found out-group labor to be beneficial in running ethnic businesses. Rather than employing fellow refugees, they increasingly relied on Mexican, Chicano, and Central American workers. A Chinese-Vietnamese journalist who had extensive contacts in the business community explained why many coethnic businesses employ Latinos: Mexican, no green card, so you pay cheap. I pay you $5 an hour, but I pay Mexican $3 an hour. Mexicans are strong, and if I need to fire him, he just goes (Gold, 1994, p. 213). Reliance on Latino workers had become so common that during visits to the garment district of Los Angeles, California, I frequently observed and photographed signs in grammatically flawed Spanish, suggesting that Latino workers were sought by non-coethnic employers (see Figure 4A).
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Finally, Soviet migr business owners avoided employing coethnic workers because they lacked the skills and characteristics needed in their enterprises. For example, a Ukrainian couple employed a Chicana seamstress in their clothing outlet. Not only did she help with the sewing but she also facilitated relations with Spanish-speaking customers. Visiting this shop over a period of years, I got to know both the owner and the employee pretty well. At least in this case, the Ukrainian couple maintained close relations with their single employee. In a pattern unlike that associated with many employers of Latino workers, they treated her well and often left her in charge of the shop. The use of photography helped me notice, document, and explore the use of outgroup labor in ethnic businesses. In so doing, I was moved to challenge widely held assertions regarding the role of coethnic cooperation in making these enterprises viable. In recent years, several scholars have published studies validating my findings as they describe the employment of one migrant group by another. My research, influenced by photography, played a role in contributing to this new approach (Chinn, 2001; D. Y. Kim, 1999; Lee, 2000). In turn, this growing body of work is clarifying our understanding of ethnic economies.
Genderhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

Popular debate often emphasizes family values and gender roles as being central to migrant groups social and economic fate (Sowell, 1981). However, relatively little systematic research has been devoted to examining the gender patterns of migrant families. As a consequence, many assertions regarding the role of gender in migrants adaptation overemphasize the influence of invariant group culture on outcomes while disregarding contextual effects. [p. v2-103 ] Consider the example of Korean women's behavior. Korean women have an extremely low rate of labor force participation in Korea but a high one in the United States (Min,
1998). Aphorisms about Korean family values are thus incapable of accounting for such a dramatic transformation in family arrangements. Alternatively, the importance of a group's experience and context must be considered. Instead of relying on assertions of cultural determinism to account for gendered patterns among migrant groups, another approach stresses the skills and outlooks shared by members of an ethnic group: the tool kit of experience-based symbols, stories, rituals, and worldviews that people may use in varying configurations to direct action and solve different kinds of problems they confront (Swidler, 1986, p. 273). A growing number of scholars have found this approach to be helpful in understanding the complex patterns of gender that exist within migrant populations (Fernndez-Kelly & Garca, 1990; Gabaccia, 1994; Hondagneu-Sotelo, 1994; Kibria, 1993). Although they acknowledge that gender norms exist among migrant (and indeed all social) groups, scholars find that most cultures include contradictory prescriptions about gender (e.g., women should stay at home; parents need to work to support their children) and moreover, norms are interpreted according to immediate concerns. Whatever their cultural preferences, women, men, and families generally make decisions about work, caring for children, gaining education, involving themselves in community organizations, and other issues according to context. Among Soviet Jewish, Vietnamese, and Israel immigrants, I observed diverse approaches with regard to gender, reflecting circumstances. Photographic evidence suggests the context-driven diversity in the gender arrangements maintained within these populations. Such evidence provides a useful corrective to blanket generalizations about the supposed gender orientations of various nationalities. In addition, an examination of who appears in photographs highlights how gender patterns were implicated in my own fieldwork interactions with respondents. Vietnamese refugees reveal probably the most multiform array of gender arrangements, reflecting generational, cultural, economic, and class diversity within their larger population and the myriad circumstances they confront in adapting to new environments (see Figures 2B, 5, and 6). For example, members of the same network of recently arrived Vietnamese families with whom I conducted fieldwork in Oakland, California, during the early 1980s
maintained very different gendered relations with me. During 2 years of weekly visits, the La family made up of two brothers, a sister, and two male cousins never introduced me to the female member of their household, even though they often described her and showed me examples of her schoolwork. My relations were exclusively with males. In contrast, visits with the Dinh household, which included a married couple, male and female cousins, and a young daughter, always included [p. v2-104 ] Figure 5: Recently arrived Vietnamese men hold a party in a cramped downtown Oakland, California, apartment.
Figure 6: Vietnamese refugees protest against the government of Vietnam. Political leadership for such events is generally organized by men.
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[p. v2-105 ] both male and females. In addition, the Dinhs introduced me to several male and female friends and relatives who were not part of the domicile. This example demonstrates that two families who shared common nationality, social network, location, and refugee status maintained distinctly different patterns of gendered sociability (Gold, 1992). Although diversity was evident among these populations, gender arrangements were not simply random. For example, among the Vietnamese, women were heavily involved in entrepreneurship, with men often attempting to establish high-prestige careers in existing firms or the nonprofit sector. This was most evident among high-status refugees wherein men had been in the military or government prior to entering the United States and sought to take on activist roles within the refugee community (see Figure 6). These men sometimes found positions in the refugee resettlement system (Gold, 1992). Vietnamese women explained that they readily entered self-employment because in Vietnam, small business is understood to be an extension of domestic duties and also because shortages of men during the war years yielded an increased demand for women's labor. Over time, women sometimes became more successful breadwinners than men (Kibria, 1993) (see Figure 7). However, depending on their resources, opportunities, and needs, women too, took bureaucratic positions, whereas men became entrepreneurs. Figure 7: Vietnamese female employer and a Latino worker
Israelis followed an opposite pattern with regard to gender. Men revealed very high rates of self-employment most of the self-employed Israelis that I photographed were men. Their substantial earnings permitted their wives to maintain lower rates of labor
force participation. For their part, Israeli women often engaged in social networking to acquire assistance for the [p. v2-106 ] domestic activities with which they were charged, to develop a social life, and to provide Israeli-style cultural and linguistic activities for their children. A considerable fraction of Israeli women have training and skills in areas relevant to community work teaching, social work, and the like. Consequently, they drew on these skills in delivering services to their community and to native-born co-religionists as well (see Figure 8). Figure 8: Israeli community leaders network at the Los Angeles Jewish Federation building. In addition to their volunteer efforts on behalf of their community, many hold jobs that involve communal connections insurance, real estate sales, and ethnic media.
Even when Israeli immigrant women followed income-generating careers, these often involved community work as journalists, teachers, real estate salespeople, and the like (Gold, 1995b, 2002). Moreover, many suggested that networking provided them with a degree of empowerment and access to resources whether they worked for pay or not. Because Israeli migrant women were so extensively involved in activism, they were my key communal contacts, and I employed several as research assistants during a decade of fieldwork research on their group (Gold, 2002). This pattern is evident in my photos (see Figure 8). Finally, having grown up in the former Soviet system that mandated employment of both women and men and provided education in technical and professional fields for both genders, Soviet Jewish men and women [p. v2-107 ] alike focused on paid
employment, often in technical and professional fields (see Figure 3). Furthermore, members of this group were often less oriented toward communal activism than many other migrant populations, largely because they are unfamiliar with it. (Prior to the 1990s, organizational life in the Soviet Union took place only under government control.) Accordingly, among Jews from the former Soviet Union, neither gender manifests a significant propensity toward activism, whereas both women and men are involved in work (Gold, 1995a, 2003). Some forms of communal activism and leadership within this population are furnished by the Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement, within which male rabbis take dominant roles (Gold, 1995a) (see Figure 1). Like the Soviet Jews, a fraction of the Israeli emigrant population is also involved in gendered religious activities in which adult women and men interact and pray separately. As noted, despite these patterns of gendered adjustment, each group showed a considerable degree of variation in its gender arrangements, with both men and women engaging in domestic care, income generation, and communal activism. Documentation (photographic and otherwise) of such diverse strategies suggests that migrant families gender arrangements reflect practical concerns as much as they do idealized notions about how women and men should behave.
Conclusionshat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

When integrated with other research techniques, photography has been beneficial to my studies of migrant adaptation. Admittedly, many of the social patterns that I discuss could not have been discovered through the use of photography alone. However, the incorporation and analysis of visual information helped me to learn more about the groups in question and also connect my observations with existing sociological knowledge. Showing photographs to respondents assisted me with establishing rapport and often yielded insightful comments about the nature of the communities in question. The act of taking photographs encouraged me to approach, observe, and think about the social world in a much more focused and empirically based manner than would have been
the case had I not used photography. Photographs provided me with an additional form of evidence that I used to confirm, refine, or question existing sociological knowledge. Photographs helped me to illustrate the diversity of behavior patterns that exist within groups and social categories thus, challenging overly general characterizations of groups. Finally, photographs offered a means of sharing analysis and research findings with students and colleagues. My use of photography as one of many tools for the exploration of social issues may not satisfy those who seek to develop a fully visual social science. [p. v2-108 ] However, these techniques do offer means of including a visual dimension in the investigation of a wide range of topics and circumstances. As such, this approach offers potential benefits for numerous scholars.
Notes
1. Research manuals encourage fieldworkers to get close to participants and observe activities firsthand. However, many recent ethnographic works rely on formal interviews as their primary method. 2. Workers often sought to avoid coethnic employers as well to obtain better wages, benefits, and working conditions (Gold, 2002; Light & Gold 2000).
References
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Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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Integrating Visuals into Social Researchhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

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Three Uses of Photography in Field Researchhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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Case Applicationshat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

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Communitieshat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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Coethnic and Out-Group Laborhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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Genderhat is the Visual in Visual Methods?

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SAGE Visual Methods: Using Photography in Studies of Immigrant Communities

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