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Doing hot and ‘dirty’ work: Masculinities and occupational identity in firefighting

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  • Tamika Alana Perrott

Abstract

Within industrial societies, firefighters are often sexualized, celebrated and elevated as respectable working‐class heroes. Drawing from fieldwork and interviews with 33 men currently employed in an Australian metropolitan fire service, I explore the making of masculinities across four stations. Utilizing Beverly Skeggs’ social exchange theory and Mary Douglas’ theory of risk and analysis of pollution, this article argues that men attempt to construct respectable masculinities, in an effort to protect their self‐image as the heroes of contemporary society. Exploring issues surrounding morality and physicality, the findings suggest that firefighters consciously distance themselves from potential sites of pollution, which include avoiding stigmatized stations. This article extends gender theory by showing how working‐class men distinguish from each other through intra‐age distinction in order to construct respectable working‐class masculinities.

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  • Tamika Alana Perrott, 2019. "Doing hot and ‘dirty’ work: Masculinities and occupational identity in firefighting," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(10), pages 1398-1412, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:26:y:2019:i:10:p:1398-1412
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12412
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    Cited by:

    1. Rafael Alcadipani, 2020. "Pandemic and macho organizations: Wake‐up call or business as usual?," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 734-746, September.
    2. Adams, Nicholas Norman, 2023. "“It's how people act out there that counts”: Examining linkages between emerging and protective organisationally desirable managerial masculinities and a reimagining of formal safety policies in the o," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    3. Esperanza Meri & Almudena A. Navas & Enrico Mora, 2023. "‘If She Can, All of You Can’: Violence as a Restoration of the Male Mandate in Vocational Education Training," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-13, October.
    4. Trang Thi Quynh Dinh & Janne Tienari, 2022. "Brothers and broken dreams: Men, masculinity, and emotions in platform capitalism," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 609-625, March.
    5. Susanne Y. P. Choi & Siran Li, 2021. "Migration, service work, and masculinity in the global South: Private security guards in post‐socialist China," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 641-655, March.

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