New article on Constructing the Deviant Other: Mothering and Fathering at the Workplace

A new article by Clarissa Kugelberg in Gender, Work & Organization

2006 Constructing the Deviant Other: Mothering and Fathering at the Workplace, Gender, Work & Organization, Vol 13, Issue 2, pp. 152-173.

Abstract

Gender stereotyping is a widely described and documented process that permeates working life in western societies. It is characterized by ascribing greatly simplified attributes to women and men and forging a dualistic view of gender in which women and men are conceptualized as antipodes to each other. Through this ongoing reproduction of simplistic views; contradictions, variations and complexities are concealed, together with the richness of individuals' competence and experiences. Intimately related to this gender stereotyping are assumptions that distinct kinds of jobs and positions fit either men or women. In this article I investigate the constructions of motherhood and fatherhood as important elements in the processes of gender stereotyping. I argue that the production of stereotypes is part of an inter-discursive contest which has a significant impact on gender relations and women's opportunities. My discussion derives from an anthropological study of one workplace.

Author-Supplied Keywords: gender stereotyping, constructing mothering, constructing fathering, contested discourses, workplace study.