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Can Mothers Be Heroes? Maternity and Maternal Body Work in Military Firefighters

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  • Eloisio Moulin de Souza

Abstract

Objective: the article analyzes the discursive practices related to maternity and maternal body work that circulate among military firefighters, through the cultural construction of the hero firefighter that affects simultaneously the construction of military women as ideal mothers and firefighters. Theoretical framework: to do so, we used studies on maternal body work and gender in military organizations. Method: we conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers and pregnant military firefighters, and data were analyzed using the Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA). Results: the hero establishes conflicts between motherhood and work that reduce the status of women firefighters in the organization. To deal with these conflicts and contradictions, women firefighters engage in maternal body work, seeking to reconcile the demands of work and motherhood. Conclusion: the results of the article show that building the hero firefighter’s imaginary represents an unwritten social norm, which establishes power relations that downgrade and push away simultaneously the maternal bodies from the possibility of being considered heroic and ideal bodies for the military firefighter work.

Suggested Citation

  • Eloisio Moulin de Souza, 2022. "Can Mothers Be Heroes? Maternity and Maternal Body Work in Military Firefighters," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 26(sup2022), pages 210193-2101.
    • Handle: RePEc:abg:anprac:v:26:y:2022:i:sup2022:1536
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    File URL: https://rac.anpad.org.br/index.php/rac/article/view/1536/1791
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sophie Hennekam & Jawad Syed & Faiza Ali & Jean‐Pierre Dumazert, 2019. "A multilevel perspective of the identity transition to motherhood," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 915-933, July.
    2. Bianca Stumbitz & Ameeta Jaga, 2020. "A Southern encounter: Maternal body work and low‐income mothers in South Africa," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 1485-1500, November.
    3. Miliann Kang & Hye Jun Park & Juyeon Park, 2020. "Teachers as good mothers, mothers as good teachers: Functional and ideological work–family alignment in the South Korean teaching profession," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 395-413, May.
    4. Meagan Tyler & Lisa Carson & Benjamin Reynolds, 2019. "Are fire services ‘extremely gendered’ organizations? Examining the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in Australia," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(9), pages 1304-1323, September.
    5. Sophie Hennekam & Jawad Syed & Faiza Ali & Jean-Pierre Dumazert, 2019. "A multilevel perspective of the identity transition to motherhood," Post-Print hal-03232775, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Aimee Louise Middlemiss & Ilaria Boncori & Joanna Brewis & Julie Davies & Victoria Louise Newton, 2024. "Employment leave for early pregnancy endings: A biopolitical reproductive governance analysis in England and Wales," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 75-91, January.

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