Girl bosses, punk poodles, and pink smoothies: Girlhood as Enterprising Femininity

Anna Alexandersson and Viktorija Kalonaityte

Gender, Work and Organization, 2021, vol. 28, issue 1, 416-438

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to add to the broader field of feminist organization and entrepreneurship scholarship by introducing and theorizing girlhood as a distinct enterprising femininity. More specifically, we investigate how girlhood, now enjoying a prominent role in commercial culture, impacts the relationship between enterprising self and femininity due to girlhood's many non‐entrepreneurial features. We draw on the scholarship from the field of cultural studies to present the core politico‐aesthetical categories, used to express girlhood as a distinct form of femininity. Empirically, we present and analyze an illustrative case of two large women‐only professional networks that use girlhood and enterprising as their core message to their audiences. Our contributions render visible and provide a theoretical framework for studying girlhood as enterprising femininity, and add to the theorization of gendered and intersectional tensions and struggles between the market pressures to conform to the prevailing ideals of individualized success and the political ambition to challenge the status quo. More so, our theorization of girlhood as enterprising femininity allows us to raise question of what facets of femininity remain excluded – and thus in need of further theorization and critical feminist interventions – within the economic domain.

Date: 2021
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