Sacrifice and distinction in dirty work: men’s construction of meaning in the butcher trade

Ruth Simpson, Jason Hughes, Natasha Slutskaya and Maria Balta
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Ruth Simpson: Brunel University, UK
Jason Hughes: University of Leicester, UK
Natasha Slutskaya: Brunel University, UK
Maria Balta: Brunel University, UK

Work, Employment & Society, 2014, vol. 28, issue 5, 754-770

Abstract: Through a study of the butcher trade, this article explores the meanings that men give to ‘dirty work’, that is jobs or roles that are seen as distasteful or ‘undesirable’. Based on qualitative data, we identify three themes from butchers’ accounts that relate to work-based meanings: sacrifice through physicality of work; loss and nostalgia in the face of industrial change; and distinction from membership of a shared trade. Drawing on Bourdieu, we argue that sacrifice and distinction help us understand some of the meanings men attach to dirty, manual work – forming part of a working-class ‘habitus’. Further, these assessments can be both ‘reproductive’ and ‘productive’ as butchers reinforce historically grounded evaluations of work and mobilize new meanings in response to changes in the trade.

Keywords: class; dirty work; masculinity; work meanings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:28:y:2014:i:5:p:754-770

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