Abstract
This chapter explores how men experience visibility. In particular, it considers the challenges men face in the ‘eye of the gaze’ (Townley, 1992). The gaze captures some of the power dynamics of visibility and the disciplinary and controlling effects of surveillance as individuals are subject to normalizing scrutiny and judgements. Power is implicated in the relationship between gazers and those captured in their view in that, through systems of classification and categorization, a form of reality or knowledge is created and maintained. Drawing on a research project which focussed on the challenges men face in four non-traditional careers (nursing, primary school teaching, cabin crew and librarianship), I explore the different ways visibility ‘plays out’ for men in these roles. These occupations are defined as non-traditional on the grounds that they are numerically dominated by women and because they draw on skills and attributes, such as nurturance, service and care, which are culturally associated with femininity. Here, men ‘stand out’ as gendered subjects and are visible as ‘exceptions to the rule’. Masculinity is ‘on the line’ (Morgan, 1992) and available for scrutiny in contexts where women’s dispositions and women’s experiences represent the unmarked case. In these respects, while in general terms gender can be seen to be a problem that attaches to women, in non-traditional work contexts it becomes an issue that is visibly associated with men.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adkins, L. (1995) Gendered Work. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Alvesson, M. (1998) ‘Gender relations and identity at work: A case study of masculinities and femininities in an advertising agency’, Human Relations, 51(8): 969–1005.
Bolton, S. (2005) ‘Women’s work, dirty work: The gynaecology nurse as other’, Gender, Work and Organization, 12(2): 169–186.
Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. London: Routledge.
Eriksson, P. and Kovalainen, A. (2008) Qualitative Methods in Business Research. London: Sage.
Essers, E. and Benschop, Y. (2007) ‘Enterprising identities: Female entrepreneurs of Moroccan or Turkish origin’, Organization Studies, 28(1): 49–69.
Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Hall, E. (1993) ‘Smiling, deferring and flirting: Doing gender by giving good service’, Work and Occupations, 20(4): 452–471.
Kanter, R. (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Kimmel, M. (1994) ‘Masculinity as homophobia: Fear, shame and silence in the construction of gender identity’. In Brod, H. and Kaufman, M. (eds) Theorising Masculinities, pp. 119–141. London: Sage.
Lewis, P. (2006) ‘The quest for invisibility: Female entrepreneurs and the masculine norm of entrepreneurship’, Gender, Work and Organization, 13(5): 453–469.
Martin, P. Y. (2006) ‘Practising gender at work: Further thoughts on reflexivity’, Gender Work and Organization, 13(3): 254–276.
Morgan, D. (1992) Discovering Men. London: Routledge.
Perriton, L. (1999) ‘The provocative and evocative gaze upon women in management development’, Gender and Education, 11(3): 295–307.
Pullen, A. (2006) Managing Identity. London: Palgrave.
Sargent, P. (2001) Real Men or Real Teachers: Contradictions in the Lives of Men Elementary School Teachers. Harriman TN: Men’s Studies Press.
Schwandt, T. (1998) ‘Constructivist, interpretivism: Approaches to human enquiry’. In Denzin, N. and Lincoln, Y. (eds) The Landscape of Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Simpson, R. (2007) ‘Emotional labour and identity work of men in caring roles’. In Lewis, P. and Simpson, R. (eds) Gendering Emotion in Organizations. London: Palgrave.
Simpson, R. (2009) Men in Caring Occupations: Doing Gender Differently. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Snow, E. (1989) ‘Theorizing the male gaze: Some problems’, Representations, 25: 30–41.
Townley, B. (1992) ‘In the eye of the gaze: The constitutive role of performance appraisal’. In Townley, B., Barrar, P. and Cooper, C. (eds) Managing Organizations. London: Routledge.
Tyler, M. and Abbott, P. (1998) ‘Chocs away: Weight watching in the contemporary airline industry’, Sociology, 32(3): 433–450.
Whitehead, S. (2004) ‘Man: The Invisible Gendered Subject’. In Whitehead, S. and Barrett, F. (eds) The Masculinities Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Williams, C. (2003) ‘Sky service: The demands of emotional labour in the airline industry’, Gender, Work and Organization, 10(5): 513–550.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2010 Ruth Simpson
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Simpson, R. (2010). A Reversal of the Gaze: Men’s Experiences of Visibility in Non-traditional Occupations. In: Lewis, P., Simpson, R. (eds) Revealing and Concealing Gender. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230285576_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230285576_12
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-30326-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-28557-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)