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Academic mothers and the practice of embodied care: navigating and resisting uncaring structures in the neoliberal academy

Touboulic, Anne; Pecis, Lara

Authors

Lara Pecis



Abstract

Purpose: Recent research has captured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in widening gender inequalities, by highlighting that academic women have been disproportionately affected. During the COVID-19 pandemic, women assumed most of the care labour at home, whilst working at normal patterns, leaving them unable to perform as normal. This is very concerning because of the short and long-term detrimental consequences this will have on women’s well-being and their academic careers. This article aims to stimulate a change in the current understandings of academic work by pointing towards alternative – and more inclusive – ways of working in academia. Design/methodology/approach: The two authors engage with autoethnography and draw on their own personal experience of becoming breastfeeding academic mothers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: To understand the positioning of contemporary academic mothers, this study draws on insights from both cultural studies and organisation studies on the emergence of discursive formations about gender, that is “postfeminist sensibility”. Guided by autoethnographic accounts of academic motherhood, this study reveals that today academia creates an individualised, neutral (disembodied), output-focused and control-oriented understanding of academic work. Originality/value: This paper adds to the conversation of academic motherhood and the impact of the pandemic on working mothers. The study theoretically contributes with the lens of “motherhood” in grasping what academic work can become. It shows the power of motherhood in opening up an alternative way of conceptualising academic work, centred on embodied care and appreciative of the non-linearity and messiness of life.

Citation

Touboulic, A., & Pecis, L. (2024). Academic mothers and the practice of embodied care: navigating and resisting uncaring structures in the neoliberal academy. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, https://doi.org/10.1108/edi-07-2022-0194

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 6, 2023
Online Publication Date Jan 9, 2024
Publication Date Jan 9, 2024
Deposit Date Feb 2, 2024
Publicly Available Date Feb 2, 2024
Journal Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Print ISSN 2040-7149
Electronic ISSN 1758-7093
Publisher Emerald
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/edi-07-2022-0194
Keywords Motherhood, Academia, Postfeminism, Ethics of care, Bodies
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/30663811
Publisher URL https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EDI-07-2022-0194/full/html

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