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A Southern encounter: Maternal body work and low‐income mothers in South Africa

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  • Bianca Stumbitz
  • Ameeta Jaga

Abstract

This article explores the maternal body work practices of black low‐income mothers from resource‐poor urban spaces in South Africa. Using Southern Theory to open our analytical lens, we recognize that location has implications for how we understand the embodiment of gender and the lactating body in the global South. We argue that maternal body work, as one form of gendered embodiment, must be understood in a postcolonial landscape where histories of colonization and indigenous gender orders continue to shape how women respond to work conditions and how they manage the competing demands of work and breastfeeding. Our analysis from 51 in‐depth interviews conducted in Cape Town, demonstrates that maternal body work practices are interpreted through the entanglement of embodiment and work and non‐work spaces. By emphasizing contextual specificities relating to low‐income workers' living, working and family realities, we advance studies on maternal body work and employment from the global South.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:27:y:2020:i:6:p:1485-1500
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12527
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robyn Lee, 2018. "Breastfeeding Bodies: Intimacies at Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 77-90, January.
    2. Rachel Lara Cohen & Carol Wolkowitz, 2018. "The Feminization of Body Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 42-62, January.
    3. Stumbitz, Bianca & Lewis, Suzan & Kyei, Abigail A. & Lyon, Fergus, 2018. "Maternity protection in formal and informal economy workplaces: The case of Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 373-384.
    4. Raewyn Connell, 2019. "New maps of struggle for gender justice: Rethinking feminist research on organizations and work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 54-63, January.
    5. Nanna Mik†Meyer & Anne Roelsgaard Obling & Carol Wolkowitz, 2018. "Bodies and Intimate Relations in Organizations and Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 1-8, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Caroline Gatrell & Jamie J. Ladge & Gary N. Powell, 2024. "Profane Pregnant Bodies Versus Sacred Organizational Systems: Exploring Pregnancy Discrimination at Work (R2)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(3), pages 527-542, July.

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