Policy and the Pregnant Body at Work
Strategies of Secrecy, Silence and Supra-performance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12310554 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Caroline Gatrell (0000-0003-3134-3252, Lancaster University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 158-181 |
| Publication date | 2009-11-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Gender Work and Organization (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0968-6673 • E-ISSN: 1468-0432 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00485.x |
| OpenAlex | W1942390969 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 51 |
| References cited | 22 |
This article considers how women manage their pregnant bodies at work. Through netnographic research and drawing upon feminist discussions of the leaky pregnant body, I examine the experiences of US and UK women who correspond on interactive websites or chat rooms. Drawing upon ‘expert advice’ and the experiences of employed pregnant women in this study, I suggest that the bodily manifestations of pregnancy are taboo in some workplaces. I note how these women did not appear to draw upon policy as a resource for dealing with negative reactions to pregnancy from colleagues and employers. Instead, they tended to adopt strategies of secrecy, silence and supra-performance in order to try and blend in. In the context of these strategies, I demonstrate how women's attempts to manage and control their bodies are severely compromised during pregnancy, when the body may be leaky and unpredictable
Aesthetics · Art · Context (archaeology · Political science · Pregnancy · Resource (disambiguation · Secrecy · Silence · Taboo · Work (physics · Computer Science · Emotional Labor in Professions · Engineering · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
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Profane Pregnant Bodies Versus Sacred Organizational Systems
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Unsilencing silence on business school sexism
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Body Beautiful? Gender, Identity and the Body in Professional Services Firms
Power and the perception of pregnancy in the academy
A multilevel perspective of the identity transition to motherhood
The Embodiment of Women in Wine
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Giving Up
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Constructing Girlhood
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Maternal body work
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(In)justice Dynamics Around Maternity Leave
Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Work, Employment and Society
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Academic mothers and the practice of embodied care
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The woman in the body
Leaky Bodies and Boundaries
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Maternity Leave and the Contract of Employment
Virtual Servants
Cyberspace as Potential Space
The feminist politics of breastfeeding
Secrets and lies
New Body-Geographies
Hard Labour
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| Unique citing works | 51 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 51 |