postindustrial-feminization-of-work
The shift in labor markets where service work demands traits historically coded as feminine, such as empathy and communication, reshaping gender roles in the workforce.
1 chapter across 1 book
Better Living through Reality TV: Television and Post-Welfare Citizenship (2008)Laurie Ouellette; James Hay
The chapter explores the transformation of work ethics from a Protestant ideal of industriousness to a postindustrial ethic centered on self-entrepreneurialism and self-promotion, highlighting the gendered dimensions of this shift. It examines how reality TV makeover programs reflect and reinforce these changes by promoting continual self-fashioning as a strategy for economic survival, with femininity historically linked to self-improvement and now extended to men in the flexible labor market. The chapter also discusses how postindustrial work feminizes labor expectations, requiring traits traditionally coded as female, and how makeover shows like Queer Eye illustrate these dynamics by teaching men feminine-coded skills to succeed professionally and socially.