Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative approaches for the study of gay bears' food intake in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Author(s)

Unsain, Ramiro Fernandez ; Sato, Priscila de Morais ; Ulian, Mariana Dimitrov ; Sabatini, Fernanda ; da Silva Oliveira, Mayara Sanay ; Scagliusi, Fernanda Baeza

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH JOURNAL; v. 21, n. 4, p. 12-pg., 2021-02-10.

Abstract

Purpose The authors aimed to triangulate food intake data obtained by two qualitative methods (in-depth interviews and participant observations) and one quantitative method (food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ)). The purpose of this paper was to analyze the kind of data each method produced and how these different pieces of information are methodologically related to the characteristics and limitations of different methods used and theoretically connected to participants' identities and masculinities. Design/methodology/approach The analysis was based on data from an ethnographic study; whose participants were 35 men who self-identified as gay bears. The participants' food intake was investigated through participant observations, in-depth interviews and an FFQ. Findings The qualitative methods indicated an overconsumption of meat and beer and a rejection of fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables, as diacritical signs of the bears' identity. The FFQ showed a major consumption of minimally processed food, with fruits and vegetables being eaten more than meat. The authors proposed that the participants have compartmentalized their many habitual intakes and assessed one of them, separately, according to the method used (what was being asked and the context of that moment). Additionally, the authors connected these two patterns of habitual intake to the participants' identities and masculinities, questioning the existence of a constant hegemonic masculinity among this group. Originality/value The triangulation of methods employed in the present study is seldom addressed in the literature. This approximation provided a rich discussion regarding the connections between eating, sexuality, gender and identity, through a novel methodological and theoretical lens. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/00031-0 - Fat stigma experiences and how these are built thought the life trajectory of fat women before and after bariatric surgery: a study centered on ethnography
• Grantee: Mariana Dimitrov Ulian
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 15/12235-8 - The erotic belly: intersections between health, genders, feedings and sexualities in the homosexual bear community in the City of São Paulo, Brazil
• Grantee: Ramiro Andres Fernandez Unsain
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 17/05651-0 - Ultra processed food consumption and feeding practices of mothers in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre: a mixed-methods approach
• Grantee: Priscila de Morais Sato
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral