Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2012
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Sociology
Committee Chair
Beggan, James K.
Author's Keywords
Emotional labor; Funeral industry; Transgendered occupations; Gender
Subject
Sex role in the work environment; Undertakers and undertaking--Social aspects; Women white collar workers
Abstract
Hochschild (1983) stated that emotional labor has unique consequences for women. However, most studies of these consequences have been situated in feminized occupations which have wage penalties and little upward mobility (see Sweet and Meiksins, 2004). This poses a problem as it may be difficult to tease apart what stressors are the result of emotional labor and which are a part of the broader issues of feminized work. The present research suggests that the funeral industry is a unique context for the study of women's emotional labor, as it is a numerically male dominated profession (BLS, 2010). Using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with thirteen female funeral directors, the present research explored how women connected work roles and societal norms. The results suggest that beliefs in gender essentialism, or beliefs in other's essentialism, may influence how women experience and perform emotional labor.
Recommended Citation
Pruitt, Allison Scott, "Emotional labor in a gendered occupation : the work of a female funeral director." (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1160.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1160
