Masculinity and Class in the Context of Dirty Work

Abstract

Through an ethnographic study of 'dirty work' (refuse collection and street cleaning), this article explores how masculinity and class intersect -how, in a mutually constitutive sense, they produce attitudes and practices, strengths and vulnerabilities, which are shaped by shifting relations of privilege and power. We find resistance to class subordination through adherence to traditional forms of masculinity and through esteem-enhancing social comparison (e.g. with women; with migrant workers). Men also mobilised powerful nostalgic themes around the loss of traditional jobs as well as trade union power. We argue that displays of masculine resilience in the face of devaluation are less indicative of a culture of masculine dominance but more an expression of vulnerability and social dislocation, serving both as a source of resistance whilst simultaneously reinforcing anchors of social disadvantage that characterise forms of dirty work.We suggest that combining social comparison with intersectionality can potentially highlight how categories of difference are strategically deployed in response to varied and unequally valued social positionalities.

‘Lower than a Snake’s Belly’: Discursive Constructions of Dignity and Heroism in Low-Status Garbage Work

“…Thus, self-esteem can be identified based on the possession of a job, and the possession of a job that others could not do. As observed elsewhere (Slutskaya et al 2016) such narratives feed into displays of masculine resilience, as well as heroic endurance where lesser 'others' fail to endure the physical rigours of the job. To be employed, self-reliant and hard working placed collectors above the unemployed and failed garbage workers: a status that allowed talk of self-worth and respect.…”

“…While there has been growing interest in the labour of garbage collectors (most recently Simpson et al 2014a;Slutskaya et al 2016;Hughes et al 2017) particularly in relation to conceptions of dirt, they are, as Ashworth and Kreiner (1999) originally pointed out, a relatively underexplored occupational grouping. As compared to the volumes written on middle managers, company executives and organisational leaders, there is a nascent literature on garbage workers.…”

“…Instead, it is a job where dirt and physicality dominate. For example, in relation to refuse collectors, the physical demands of the job are evident in the fact that the job principally involves the lifting and/or pulling of heavy bins (Slutskaya et al 2016). Given this it is unsurprising that refuse collectors experience a range of fatal and nonfatal hazards, including musculoskeletal, respiratory, gastrointestinal and hearing complaints (Kuijer and FringsDressen 2004;Garrido et al 2015).…”

“…Following on from related occupational studies by Simpson et al (2014a), Slutskaya et al (2016) and Hughes et al (2017), we explore the experiences of what is perhaps the least outwardly 'heroic' job: garbage collection. Where doctors and firefighters are associated with saving lives and soldiers speak to bravery, the garbage collector is charged with handling the waste of other people.…”

The Dialogue: an Essential Component to Consider “Organization as a Community of Persons”

“…This culture promoted a Bswaggering masculinity^ (Meyer 1999, p. 117). In this context, men could activate some norms and behaviours that promote physical capabilities to resist to the low status attached to class and occupational positions (Slutskaya et al 2016). But employees as automobile workers in Meyer's (1999) study maintained this masculine rough identity through a boy-like playfulness where crudeness is more symbolic than real.…”