Third Shift Appearance Work

263 Pages·2015·3.72 MB·English

by  Jennifer Haskin

Wayne State University
Wayne State University Dissertations
1-1-2015
Third Shift Appearance Work: Experiences Of
Career-Oriented Mothers
Jennifer Haskin
Wayne State University,
Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations
Part of theSociology Commons
Recommended Citation
Haskin, Jennifer, "Third Shift Appearance Work: Experiences Of Career-Oriented Mothers" (2015).Wayne State University
Dissertations.Paper 1355.
This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState.
THIRD SHIFT APPEARANCE WORK:
EXPERIENCES OF CAREER-ORIENTED MOTHERS

by

JENNIFER HASKIN
DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Graduate School
of Wayne State University,
Detroit, Michigan
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
2015
MAJOR: SOCIOLOGY
Approved By:
______________________________________
Advisor Date
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
© COPYRIGHT BY
JENNIFER HASKIN
2015
All Rights Reserved
DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my loves –

James, Daphne, Ava, and Beatrice

ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although this dissertation research is my own creation, there are a number of
people who have touched this project, and made it possible. I would like to take a
moment to acknowledge and thank some of them.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the members of my dissertation
committee for their support: Dr. Heather Dillaway, Dr. Heidi Gottfried, Dr. Krista
Brumley, and Dr. Anne Duggan. I would like to extend a special thank you to Dr.
Heather Dillaway for being my advisor, mentor, and friend through my academic career;
your undying support is something that I appreciate more than you will ever know. I
would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Heidi Gottfried for always providing me
with great resources, and to Dr. Brumley and Dr. Duggan for joining the project in the
end stages. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Janet Hankin, and the entire
Department of Sociology for giving me the push I needed to finally get this dissertation
research done. I would also like to thank Dr. Joe Dunbar, and the staff in the KCP/AGEP
office for giving me opportunities to present my research at KCP meetings, and for
generously funding my travels when I presented my work elsewhere. Finally, I would
like to acknowledge Wayne State University for generously providing me with
Dissertation Research Award.
I will forever be grateful for the undying support and encouragement of my
family and friends. Specifically, my parents Mary and Dennis Haskin, who financially
supported the first few years of this scholarly endeavor, and stepped in to take care of my
kids when the writing got intense. I must give a special thank you to each of my children.
James, you kept me sane throughout this entire journey – thank you for always making
me smile. Daphne, I could not have gotten through this process without your love,
iii
support, and encouragement. You always stepped in when I needed you. Ava, thank you
for being so brave, for understanding when I could not always be there, and reminding
me that it was okay to take a break from time to time – I needed them. And finally, my
little Beatrice, who kept me company while I transcribed interviews, and gave me kisses
when I needed them the most – I heart you. The four of you have all grown up so much
over the last seven years, and I am so proud of the people you are. A special thank you to
my dear friends, Colleen, Julia, Julie, Kristi, and Peel, who inspire me every day. I am
lucky to have you girls in my life.
A very special thank you to my mentors during my Master’s Degree studies at
Eastern Michigan University, Dr. Jay Weinstein and Dr. Barbara Richardson. I never
forgot that you had me promise to get my Ph.D. on the day I defended my Master’s
Thesis. I am grateful to you both.
Most importantly, there are the 21 women in the study, who took time away from
their busy lives to participate in my research. Without all of you, this dissertation would
not be possible. I sincerely thank you for letting me into your lives.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………….ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………..iii
LIST OF TABLES………...……………………………………………………………..vii
CHAPTERS
Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………....1
Chapter Two: Literature Review………………………………………………....10
Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework………………………………………….45
Chapter Four: Methodology...……………………………………………………62
Chapter Five: Women’s Appearance Work Experiences…………………….…..88
Chapter Six: Responding to Appearance Norms: Resistance and
Accommodation…………………………………………………..116
Chapter Seven: Social Location and Appearance Work……………………..…146
Chapter Eight: Conclusion……...…...………………………………………….183
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Recruitment Flyer…………………………………………….......194
Appendix B: Research Information Sheet………………....................................195
Appendix C: Interview Schedule……………………………...….……….…....197
Appendix D: Participant Information Survey......................................................205
Appendix E: Recruitment Letter..........................................................................208
Appendix F: Screening Sheet...............................................................................209
Appendix G: Resource Packet.............................................................................211
Appendix H: IRB Approval.................................................................................223
Appendix I: IRB Continuation.............................................................................224
v
REFERENCES................................................................................................................225
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................252
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT........................................................................254

vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Participants………………………………………………………...………...79-80
Table 2: Women’s job Title/Organizational Descriptors………………………................82

vii
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Over the last four decades, we have seen a considerable increase in the number of
mothers with young children in the paid work force in the United States. According to
2014 U.S. Department of Labor employment statistics, “57% of women participate in the
labor force,” over 64% of whom are mothers with children under the age of six.1 Middle-
class working mothers have become the norm, rather than the exception. Paralleling
women’s participation in paid work is an increase in the attention to working women’s
bodies and physical appearance (Wolf [1991] 2002; Rhode 2010). Corbett (2007: 157)
concurs: “Appearance matters in our society today more than it ever has before.” And
appearance still matters more for women than men. The increase in attention to women’s
bodies and appearance also intensifies upon motherhood. In fact, I argue that negotiating
appearance norms remains central to working women’s and working mothers’ daily
concerns. For example, alongside other gendered expectations that accompany the
transition into motherhood, new mothers in the U.S. are encouraged to rush out and “get
their bodies back” to their pre-pregnancy form (Dworkin and Wachs 2004). Career-
oriented mothers, already confronted with masculine “ideal worker” (Brumley 2014)
norms, find themselves facing additional pressures to negotiate “professional body”
(Trethewey 1999) standards and manage their post baby maternal bodies at work (Gatrell
et.al. 2013).
The normative assumption that women are the natural caretakers of the family and
the lack of paid parental leave on the federal level in the United States, coupled with the

1 http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/stats_data.htm