Gendering professionalism: role of dress, space and female relationships in the making of a "professional" woman
Year: 2006
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study is based on a fieldwork research conducted in the head office of a \nlocal contracting company in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It examines \nvarious everyday work activities and organizational structures whereby a particular \nform of professional female employee identity is constructed and the dominant \ncompany discourse of professionalism is gendered. During 14 weeks of intensive \nfieldwork, physical appearance, spatial dynamics, and work relationships between \nfemale employees emerged as three interconnected processes through which the \nwomen in the company identify and present themselves as professional female \nworkers. My analysis suggests that these processes are embedded in bodily dynamics \nand intersects with the prevailing discourse of professionalism in the creation of \ngendered and (hetero)sexualized identities of women in the company. In addition, I \ndiscuss the notions of agency and resistance during this creation process and raise \ncritical questions for further consideration.
Author: Onar Ş. Uşar
Language: English
Topic: Gender and Feminist Studies
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2589205096