Sexuality, Masculinity, and Taint Management Among Firefighters and Correctional Officers

Abstract

Based on qualitative field and interview data, this comparative analysis of dirty work by firefighters and correctional officers demonstrates that taint management and its relative utility is inextricably bound to and embedded within macro-level discourses. While firefighters labor to fulfill expectations as "America's heroes," correctional officers work to squelch images as "professional babysitters" and the "scum of law enforcement." The authors' analysis illustrates how discourses of occupational prestige and masculine heterosexuality allow firefighters to frame their work in preferred, privileged terms while correctional officers struggle to combat taint discursively associated with low-level feminized care work or with brutish, deviant sexuality. This study extends theoretical understandings of identity construction, dirty work, taint management, and organizational performances of masculinity and sexuality. The authors' analysis concludes with limitations, future directions, and practical applications regarding the potentially dysfunctional results of taint management.

Occupational image, organizational image and identity in dirty work: Intersections of organizational efforts and media accounts

“…Broader social, political and historical considerations play a role in the construction of organizational identity and image. This we can see vividly in dirty work occupations (Dick, 2005;Grandy, 2008;Tracy and Scott, 2006). Our research provides support for Gioia et al's (2000) model of identity-image interdependence and extends it by including an additional form of image, occupational image.…”

“…Grandy (2008), Heinsler et al, (1990), and Tracy and Scott (2006) argue that the marginal place that some dirty work occupations hold in society means that those who perform the work struggle to secure positive identities. Individual identity construction is a complex process whereby the individual has to grapple or balance various considerations including, macro (e.g., media portrayal, societal discourses, organizational rules), meso (e.g., social groups) and micro (e.g., agency) resources (Dick, 2005;Grandy, 2008;Tracy and Scott, 2006). We build upon the extant literature that links individual and organizational identity construction in dirty work occupations (e.g., Kreiner et al, 2006a).…”

Managing spoiled identities: dirty workers' struggles for a favourable sense of self

“…In the end, the contribution of this research is two-fold in that it makes a theoretical, as well as an empirical contribution. First, building upon the work of Dick (2005) and Tracy and Scott (2006) this research draws attention to the complexity of identity construction for dirty workers as they struggle to manage the various forces, that is, macro, meso and micro, that play a role in this process. Second, Brewis and Linstead (2002) draw attention to sex work as a fruitful, yet relatively unexplored site for management research.…”

Blue-Collar Discourses of Workplace Dignity: Using Outgroup Comparisons to Construct Positive Identities

“…Meares et al (2004), in their study of people mistreatment, found that subordinated organizational members-whether by sex, race, education level, or organizational position-were more likely to have muted narratives of abuse than more privileged members. From a gender perspective, Tracy and Scott (2006) argue that firefighters' masculine jobs (i.e., jobs that require physical strength and bravery) are a resource for creating highly esteemed occupational identities; whereas, corrections officers' feminized job tasks (e.g., feeding inmates, providing care) stigmatize that male-dominated occupational group and serve as a hindrance to crafting dignified identities.…”