​Nikki Lane, a Ph. D student in Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology at American University, is seeking Black women who partner with women* in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (DMV) to share their stories and experiences about the city, the "scene," and/or living in the DMV for her dissertation which concerns the way that Black women experience and talk about their lives in the context of the DMV.



Your participation would include an interview lasting between 60-90 minutes at a quiet and private location of your choosing.  Understanding that not everyone has access to such a space, the researcher offers her own home, conveniently located in Washington, D.C. near a metro with abundant street parking, as a possible location for the interview.  All interviews will be audiotaped (unless you request that it not be) and your identity kept anonymous in the reporting of the data.

 

A $15 gift card will be conferred to the participant at the conclusion of the interview.   In addition to this direct benefit, feminist scholars agree that women benefit from telling their stories—having their experiences felt.  In offering this opportunity for you to share your experiences and lend your voice and experience to the production of knowledge about Black women in Washington, D.C., this innovative research about space, race, language, and sexuality intends to make your experiences felt in a new and exciting way in the field of anthropology.



This project benefits the social sciences by providing information about how Black queer/gay/lesbian/bisexual people are and always have been vital to African American life and history in Washington, D.C. and the Nation.  Additionally, this project begins to fill in a significant gap in the ethnographic record regarding Black queer/lesbian/bisexual women’s experiences and use of the urban environment.

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For more information or to schedule an interview please email Nikki Lane at LadyLovin[at]thedoctorlane.com​



*“Black” here is broadly defined and includes women of color who are of mixed herita​​ge. “Women” is also broadly defined and includes those women who are trans-identified, and those genderqueer/transmen who feel like they have insight to provide. If these categories still don't apply to you and you feel like you have valuable information about Black women who partner with women and live or have lived in and around Washington, D.C. please do not hesitate to email the address above.

 

American University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) has reviewed and approved this research under protocol #13076
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