“I Am My Body”. Physical Selves of Police Officers in a Changing Institution

Abstract

Most studies on identity work have overlooked the corporeal quality of occupational life. Despite calls to attempt such engagement, little is known about the role of the body in occupations for which corporeal elements are central in the affirmation of identity. This study aims to answer such calls by providing a detailed ethnography of police work. Focusing on four bodily practices, we demonstrate how fitness, intimidation, cleanliness, and toughness are central elements to the officers’ construction of self. We thereby highlight the notion of physical selfhood as a way to understand the body/identity nexus among police officers and their capacity to resist new work requirements. We view bodies through a lens of resistance, rather than docility and compliance as much previous research has done. We aim to contribute to scholarship on identity work by portraying the politicization of bodies as a powerful component, thereby helping professionals to deflect some important institutional pressures affecting their work.

‘Don’t Use “the Weak Word”’: Women Brewers, Identities and Gendered Territories of Embodied Work

“…Bodies of workers have received relatively limited attention in the sociology of work and sociology of the body as well as in research on organisations, work and employment (Hassard et al, 2000;Hockey and Allen-Collinson, 2009;McDowell, 2009;Wolkowitz, 2006), and more specifically within research on occupational identities (Courpasson and Monties, 2017).…”

“…Women in male-dominated environments face unique challenges and revert to distinct coping strategies to negotiate occupational identity (Hatmaker, 2013). Bodily performance can be influential in the construction of worker identity (Courpasson and Monties, 2017;Monaghan, 2002) and rich insights from an exploration of the body/work nexus can be gained (Wolkowitz, 2006). To date, research conducted on women in male-dominated environments has largely centred on women in large organisations (Denissen, 2010;Rabe-Hemp, 2008;Woodfield, 2016) rather than in niche sectors.…”

“…Conversely, while Courpasson and Monties' (2017) study explores the notion of physical selfhood of police officers and politicisation of bodies -with the body constituting a resource for identity work that can help resist organisational change -the gender dimension, although evident in the study's empirical data, was deemed beyond scope. Thus, the uniqueness of this article lies in foregrounding all three interconnected dimensions -that of body, work and gender -to consider how gendered bodily practices constitute resources for identity work.…”

“…The corporeality of occupational life and workers' bodies are often under-theorised in research on identity work, despite influencing the construction of occupational identity (Courpasson and Monties, 2017). For example, Brown's (2015) review of debates on identity work in organisations, focuses on discursive means, and overlooks the role of embodiment.…”

“…As brewsters are under-represented in the sector's formal networks and their 24 breweries are geographically dispersed, belonging to Project Venus reinforces their distinctive brewster identity and creates a sense of community. Building on Courpasson and Monties (2017), this article highlights the importance of the physical self in identity work but also broadens their work by recognising the impact of gendered bodily practices as well as the enactment of identity work at a collective level. While individual self-presentation is influential in identity work, it is collective identity making that facilitates the reshaping of the brewer's role and the construction of a shared narrative.…”