From transactional to transformative: evolving research practices through mutual aid collaboration

Navigating payments in ethnographic research provides insights into social dynamics within ethnographic research contexts. Drawing from research with financially vulnerable queer male sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya, this article explores the meanings of money, privilege, and reciprocity within this specific socio-cultural setting. Reflecting on my position as a researcher from the Global North, it acknowledges privileges and addresses academic vulnerabilities resulting from unconventional research practices. By examining the roles of payments and reciprocity in research relationships, this article calls for reassessment of payment norms when engaging with economically marginalized communities. It highlights challenges in discussing these matters openly in academic circles and advocates for increased transparency and dialogue about financial aspects of fieldwork with interlocutors. The shift towards mutual collaboration outlined in this article fosters balanced reciprocity, ultimately facilitating the co-production of socially relevant anthropological knowledge aimed at promoting social justice and transformation for marginalized communities.