Chapter 6: Donning Wigs, Divining Feelings, and Other Dilemmas of Doing Research in Devoutly Religious Contexts

I am driving my car in a small Midwestern city that I do not know well. I have spent the morning explaining my research interests to various members of the administrative body of an ultra-orthodox Jewish religious school for girls, a process called “negotiating access.” I think I have been successful, but I am unsure. I am wearing a long, black skirt that covers my knees, tights that cover my legs below, a long-sleeved blouse with a light sweater over it and a scarf that hides my neck. My usually wild hair is tucked neatly into a hat that covers almost all of it; only a few curls on my forehead and at the base of my neck are obstinately poking out. Proof of my transformation: my small children almost didn’t recognize me when I was leaving the house in the morning. My daughter, who was 3 years old at the time, cried bitterly when she saw me dressed this way, every part of me shrouded. She howled at me to take off my hat and would only hug me goodbye when I complied.