Risk rituals and the female life-course

Negotiating uncertainty in the transitions to womanhood and motherhood

Bibliographic Data

ID21148865
AuthorsSarah Moore (0000-0003-4961-9982, University of Bath, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume22
Issue1
Pages15-30
Publication date2020-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Risk & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-8575 • E-ISSN: 1469-8331
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13698575.2019.1676403
OpenAlexW2977838491
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited32

This article argues that key points in the female life-course – specifically, the transition into independent adulthood and motherhood – have come to be characterised by risk. The discussion is anchored in two case studies: the first concerns female undergraduate students’ strategies for managing the risks associated with socialising, and the second deals with the depiction of pregnancy-related health issues in British newspapers. Across both, discussion focuses on the protective and self-limiting routines that have become a distinctive feature of women’s lives. This article approaches these as ‘risk rituals’ and works towards a refinement of this concept. First, by suggesting that this concept should pay greater attention to the critical question of who is being asked to take responsibility for a risk. Secondly, by suggesting that ‘risk rituals’ might on occasion serve to mark and manage life-course transitions. The article’s conclusion seeks to explain why risk rituals might serve this function. Developing out of conditions of detraditionalisation and individualisation, risk rituals are nonetheless socially-patterned, rather than universal. They are, for example, a particular feature of the female life-course, and in making this argument the article points out the connections between practices of risk-avoidance on the one hand, and social constraints associated with gender on the other. In making this case, the article seeks to provide a fresh perspective on risk and the life-course, as well as contribute to the emerging ‘risk rituals’ literature and work on gender and risk

Depiction · Life course approach · Negotiation · Social science · Sociology · Medicine · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Psychology · Risk Perception and Management · Social Psychology

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