‘I am the black duck’ affective aspects of working-class mothers’ involvement in parental communities

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse working-class mothers' narratives of social interactions among parents at their children's schools. A special focus is paid to the emotions that arise in such interactions and their role in the reproduction of class. A narrative analysis of six stories of white, working-class mothers of compulsory school aged children was carried out. The study is set in Iceland, which gives a unique opportunity for classed and gendered analysis of parental communities as the country is at the forefront of gender equality in the world. Additionally, the compulsory school system is still relatively unsegregated. Findings show that the parental communities reproduce the symbolic violence endured by the working-class mothers within the field of education. Accounts of resistance and anger are present in some of the accounts but affective responses such as inferiority and shame are all-encompassing and contribute to the reproduction of class.

“I am not a monster”: An affective–discursive analysis of men's perspectives on their engagement in violence against women

“…Social class in Iceland is undertheorised, and no official definitions have been provided by authorities. We followed examples from recent research on social class in Iceland (see, e.g., Auðardóttir, 2022) and focused on the occupations and the educational levels of the participants, as well as their parents. The men classified as members of the working class did not pursue further studies after finishing compulsory education.…”

“…Masculinities and femininities are fluid and contradictory (Connell, 2005; Paechter, 2007) and intersect with other social categories, such as class, race, age, and sexual orientation, which are differently positioned within relations of power (Collins, 2000; Crenshaw, 1989). Accordingly, whereas research points out that men from all segments of society engage in sexual violence (Phipps, 2009; Wacquant, 2009), discourses on sexual violence implicate and represent men differently, depending on their social positioning (Gavey, 2018; Lazard, 2020; Phipps, 2009).…”