ABSTRACT
Emblematic power is entrenched in the uniform and bodily image of the police. The COVID-19 pandemic has afforded a new layer of understandings of ‘dirty work' with police officers, and has shown how the police uniform is perceived to be an involuntary vehicle for physical contamination and symbolic taint. This article is based on interviews with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces over the summer of 2020 and explores how the COVID-19 pandemic caused increased fear and anxiety about virus contraction, particularly when officers were not prioritised for testing and vaccinations at the time. The possibility of transmitting COVID-19 to family members motivated officers to treat their uniforms differently, and they undertook purification rituals to mitigate violations of the physical and symbolic space around the body. Fear and anxiety of ‘the unknown' is a motivator for discussions about long-term effects of officer well-being, and the significance of learning to prepare for future pandemics.
ABSTRACT
Recruiting cisgender, heterosexual young men for research participation can be a difficult endeavour. This is more challenging with qualitative research studies that require substantial time commitment, or be of a sensitive nature, such as discussions of sex, intimacy, and emotion. These challenges can be amplified with the shift to online data collection procedures due to COVID-19. In this paper I reflect on the process of recruiting cisgender, heterosexual men for a qualitative study on sex and intimacy that relied solely on online advertising during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I build on a critical men and masculinity (CMM) studies framework by considering a ‘sex-as-dirty-work' approach which centres the uncomfortable practice of talking about and researching sex. I highlight the success of this approach that counters recommended best practice in getting men to participate. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of this approach, and suggestions for researchers. [ FROM AUTHOR]
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic primarily affects people in precarious conditions, and sex workers are in a vulnerable position because their occupation is usually considered “dirty work.” Examining the cases in Taiwan, we find that contrary to general imagination, sex workers managed to make their living not only by diversifying their economic activities but also by reorganizing their core services—sex. Moreover, they were able to adapt their relations with peers and clients and gained social capital that empowered them to alleviate negative impacts brought by the pandemic. Copyright © 2021 by the Society for Applied Anthropology
ABSTRACT
Research on calling has largely focused on its benefits for employees. This study contends that experiencing work as a moral duty based calling in invisible-dirty occupations can yield both favorable and unfavorable employee outcomes. Whether employees feel burdened or supported in their work and family roles depends on the demands and resources provided by the workplace. In a sample of 175 janitors at a large government hospital designated for treating COVID-19 patients in the national capital region of India, hypothesis testing results support that work calling is positively associated with both positive (job performance, subjective career success), and negative (work-family and family-work conflicts, burnout) outcomes. Further, job demands strengthen the relationship of work calling with work-family and family-work conflicts, and burnout, whereas, job resources augment the relationship between work calling and job performance, and subjective career success.