ERIC Number: EJ1270523
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0954-0253
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Ideal Bodies at Work: Faculty Mothers and Pregnancy in Academia
Gender and Education, v32 n7 p961-976 2020
This study explores female faculty members' pregnancy and pregnant embodiment in academia. Based on semi-structured interviews with 32 faculty mothers from 21 academic institutions in the U.S., I examine their experiences of working while pregnant and highlight the ways that the pregnant body disrupts the masculine disembodied ideal academic worker norm. Pregnancy can still be an anomaly in the university classroom where the division between work and family--mind and body--is the norm and where the 'ideal academic worker' model can influence who succeeds or fails. The ideal of the disembodied academic influenced the pregnant women's decisions about when to announce their pregnancy, how they managed their pregnant body, and how colleagues and students responded to their growing physique. The conclusion calls for more research on how the academic workplace responds to the embodied realities brought about by the changing sex composition of university faculty.
Descriptors: Females, Women Faculty, Pregnancy, College Faculty, Social Attitudes, Family Work Relationship, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Behavior, Gender Issues, Masculinity, Human Body, Self Disclosure (Individuals), Coping, College Students, Student Attitudes
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A