Abstract:In a modern world where technology is readily available, handwork is sometimes taken for granted, hidden or viewed with suspicion by outsiders, without fully understanding the benefits of engaging in such mindful activity. Younger women face challenges of trying to fit into a hobby subculture that is stereotypically reserved for older women (45 years and older). In-person and online qualitative research with 32 young women leisure crafters (aged 18–44 years) attest to some of the difficulties of trying to enga… Show more
“…The material resources to which makers had access transformed how they produced PPE. Reflective of how younger and/or less‐financially well‐off sewists regularly manage inter‐household conflicts that can emerge because they do not have spaces specifically dedicated to their craft (Stalp, 2006; Stalp et al., 2018), younger makers living with others often indicated that the members of their households were upset that they had “taken over” common areas to produce PPE. When asked on the questionnaire how members of her household felt about her efforts to make masks, a white woman in her 30s living in the Eastern United States explained:My husband is mostly very supportive (and has even spent some time helping to cut elastic) although he gets tired of all the materials being in the way and sometimes seems a little dismissive when I prioritize it over other things he sees as more high priority.…”
Section: Setting the Stage: Ppe Shortages During A Neoliberal Pandemi...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Technologies and bodies are saturated with gendered meanings that inform the who, what, where, why, and how of social reproduction. Quilters, for example, navigate meanings that associate technologies such as fabrics, needles, thread, and sewing machines with domesticated femininity as they engage in social reproduction (Stalp, 2015; Stalp et al., 2018). Such meanings have material consequences for gendered bodies as they are physically contorted to align with institutional and interpersonal expectations for how particular bodies ought to look, move, smell, and sound (Hochschild, 1983; Kang, 2010).…”
Feminist scholars explore the gendered aspects of social reproduction within neoliberal contexts where the responsibility for reproducing daily and intergenerational life is shifted onto individuals and civil society groups. Using qualitative data from 665 self‐administered online questionnaires and 78 interviews with individual makers living in the United States who fabricated and distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, we consider the gendered contours of this socially reproductive labor that emerged at the household and community levels in response to a pandemic that has been transformed by decades of neoliberal governance strategies. As makers creatively utilized multiple kinds of labor to provide PPE for others, they both reproduced and subverted gendered inequalities in their households and communities. We draw on the “choreography of care work” literature to develop a conceptual framework for future considerations of social reproduction that highlights how its often ignored intricacies are centrally important to how gendered inequalities are reproduced and/or reworked amid disasters. Like a complex dance that is rewritten and enacted in emergent manners, makers creatively deployed multiple kinds of labor within shifting networks of people, technologies, and institutions to ensure social reproduction during the ongoing pandemic.
“…The material resources to which makers had access transformed how they produced PPE. Reflective of how younger and/or less‐financially well‐off sewists regularly manage inter‐household conflicts that can emerge because they do not have spaces specifically dedicated to their craft (Stalp, 2006; Stalp et al., 2018), younger makers living with others often indicated that the members of their households were upset that they had “taken over” common areas to produce PPE. When asked on the questionnaire how members of her household felt about her efforts to make masks, a white woman in her 30s living in the Eastern United States explained:My husband is mostly very supportive (and has even spent some time helping to cut elastic) although he gets tired of all the materials being in the way and sometimes seems a little dismissive when I prioritize it over other things he sees as more high priority.…”
Section: Setting the Stage: Ppe Shortages During A Neoliberal Pandemi...mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Technologies and bodies are saturated with gendered meanings that inform the who, what, where, why, and how of social reproduction. Quilters, for example, navigate meanings that associate technologies such as fabrics, needles, thread, and sewing machines with domesticated femininity as they engage in social reproduction (Stalp, 2015; Stalp et al., 2018). Such meanings have material consequences for gendered bodies as they are physically contorted to align with institutional and interpersonal expectations for how particular bodies ought to look, move, smell, and sound (Hochschild, 1983; Kang, 2010).…”
Feminist scholars explore the gendered aspects of social reproduction within neoliberal contexts where the responsibility for reproducing daily and intergenerational life is shifted onto individuals and civil society groups. Using qualitative data from 665 self‐administered online questionnaires and 78 interviews with individual makers living in the United States who fabricated and distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, we consider the gendered contours of this socially reproductive labor that emerged at the household and community levels in response to a pandemic that has been transformed by decades of neoliberal governance strategies. As makers creatively utilized multiple kinds of labor to provide PPE for others, they both reproduced and subverted gendered inequalities in their households and communities. We draw on the “choreography of care work” literature to develop a conceptual framework for future considerations of social reproduction that highlights how its often ignored intricacies are centrally important to how gendered inequalities are reproduced and/or reworked amid disasters. Like a complex dance that is rewritten and enacted in emergent manners, makers creatively deployed multiple kinds of labor within shifting networks of people, technologies, and institutions to ensure social reproduction during the ongoing pandemic.
“…Ample feedback regarding the impact of crochet on multiple areas of the girls' lives is observed as noted in Table 1. The merging of fibers with high tech or math encouraged STEAM learning (Stalp et al, 2018) and more interest in "math in real life." Three girls expressed that crochet connected to math and STEAM by including fabric in STEM creativity conversations and raising the visibility of making the connections of handicrafts to the hard sciences (Stalp et al, 2018).…”
Section: Stem Learningmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The literature also showed that crochet can foster creativity in girls. Studies reported crochet as a great outlet for creativity (Myers 2011), and the old world craft of crochet can be used as a tool for young women to expand their creativity (Pickrem, 2019;Stalp et al, 2018). In addition, Kijima et al (2021) present research on design thinking and integrating artistic approaches in relation to the importance of STEAM learning and how it complements STEM.…”
Recent STEAM programs have made accomplishments in recruiting K-12 girl students to participate in STEAM activities. Educational researchers have called for studies of how STEM programs engage girls. However, little research has embedded STEM education with girl education such as their emotional needs, identity, and self-expression. This study examined how crochet that was embedded in a STEM summer camp impacted their sense of belonging, creativity, well-being, and STEAM learning. For this qualitative study, surveys were conducted with 37 student participants and Discord was used as part of the data sources. Findings indicated that crocheting enhanced students’ sense of belonging, creativity, well-being, as well as STEM learning. This study contributes to the STEM learning program design for girls in secondary schools with two closely related theories: constructivist learning environment theory and sense of belonging theory. This study added new knowledge to the research of crochet in girl education and STEM program design.
“…We use the term "makers" because respondents often referred to themselves as such. Study participants also regularly utilised machine sewing and 3D printing equipment, and libraries, entrepreneurial centres, and universities often include these technologies in "maker spaces" (Stalp 2020;Stalp et al 2018).…”
Do volunteers and civil society groups entrench or subvert neoliberalisation? We contribute to this debate by utilising data from 662 self‐administered questionnaires and 78 semi‐structured interviews with adults who made and distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to a failed federal response to the COVID‐19 pandemic in the USA. The state’s failure to protect Americans angered PPE makers, even as they worked to address PPE shortages. Many purposefully assisted populations marginalised by neoliberal policies, taking pride in their ability to help. Although makers generally did not seek to reform the institutions that had failed them, our results indicate that civil society groups may challenge neoliberalisation by rallying communities to mitigate its worst impacts. Instead of being a passive conduit for neoliberalisation, PPE makers’ efforts in the USA were more accurately characterised by ambivalent engagements with neoliberalisation that sometimes bolstered collective efforts to challenge neoliberal governance and its associated inequities.
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