Kerrane, Ben, Kerrane, Katy, Bettany, Shona et al. (1 more author) (2023) ‘Othering’ the unprepared:Exploring the foodwork of Brexit-prepping mothers. Gender, Work and Organization. ISSN 0968-6673
Abstract
We explore the foodwork performed by white middle-class mothers in the United Kingdom who were preparing to feed their families in anticipation of post-Brexit resource scarcity. We illustrate their laborious preparations (‘prep-work’) as they stockpiled items (mostly food) in anticipation of shortages. We reveal tensions in how they envisaged how (and who) to feed. Analysis reveals how our (privileged, white middle-class) participants enrolled ‘good’ motherhood into prep-work and engaged in a new form of ‘othering’. Non-prepping ‘(m)others’ were positioned as deficient, ‘bad’ parents due to failure to save children from post-Brexit risk/hunger, and participants downplayed their own (classed and material) advantage in being able to prepare. By exploring their prep-work accounts, we illustrate how they assumed a morally superior motherhood position to the non-prepared underclass and make several contributions. First, we extend foodwork categories, recognizing additional foodwork of managing and hiding stockpiles (given stigma/ridicule surrounding prep-work). Second, we illustrate the darker side of motherhood that prep-work revealed, which clashes with elements of intensive motherhood ideology. Third, we illuminate the ‘othering’ of a new parental underclass: the unprepared.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. |
Keywords: | foodwork,gendered labor,morality,mothering,othering,prep-work,social class |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > The York Management School |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 29 Nov 2023 15:30 |
Last Modified: | 29 Mar 2025 00:10 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13086 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/gwao.13086 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:206053 |
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Description: Gender Work Organization - 2023 - Kerrane - Othering the unprepared: Exploring the foodwork of Brexit‐prepping mothers
Licence: CC-BY 2.5