Gender, class, and culture merge in the lived experiences of women on strike in the South. This book examines women unionists’ life histories through the lens of narrative analysis, interpreting their multiple perspectives as four coherent discourse communities: social activists, union feminists, women martyrs, and women whose identities are defined by their work in non-traditional fields.
Reviews
"This book is an excellent cross-reference of gender and class, focusing on the conflict between traditional working-class women, with “theories of caring” and “selfeffacement and loss,” and unionism." -- Labor Studies Journal
Contents
1. The Fabric of Hope and Resistance 2. A Feminist Working-Class Narrative Study 3. "Good as a Man": Identity [Re]formation in Male-Dominated Jobs 4. "I Had to Constantly Fight": Solidarity and Social Activism 5. "I Just Couldn’t Say No": Self-Abnegation and Sacrifice 6. "I Do the Politics": Union Feminism and Social Justice 7. Global Solidarity: The Warp and Weft of Change