Pills, ills and the ugly face of aesthetic labour: ‘They should’ve discriminated against me’

Clare Butler and Joanne Harris
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Clare Butler: Newcastle University, UK
Joanne Harris: Office Manager in a professional services firm, UK

Work, Employment & Society, 2015, vol. 29, issue 3, 508-516

Abstract: This article presents a vivid account of one woman’s experience of taking on a second job – the role of a slimming club consultant – when her husband is made unemployed. Her story highlights how aesthetic labour, particularly when a worker’s appearance becomes more prominent over time, can lead to dangerous behaviours, namely the use of weight-loss pills and illegal drugs. These behaviours resulted in sleeplessness, frequent headaches and a feeling of disgust. Furthermore, this troubling account raises an important and uncomfortable question: can discrimination in the workplace sometimes be ‘for the best’?

Keywords: aesthetic labour; body; diet industry; discrimination; embodied capital; narrative; obesity; work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:29:y:2015:i:3:p:508-516

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