Reflexivity and the construction of competing discourses of masculinity in a female-dominated profession

Adamson, Maria (2014) Reflexivity and the construction of competing discourses of masculinity in a female-dominated profession. Gender, Work and Organization, 21 (6) . pp. 559-572. ISSN 0968-6673 [Article] (doi:10.1111/gwao.12058)

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Abstract

This paper contributes to the debates on reflexivity and change by extending our understanding of (non-)reflexivity mechanisms in the discursive constructions of gender. Specifically, I explore how and why women persistently construct contradictory discursive accounts of men and masculinity in a female-dominated profession of counselling psychology in Russia. Drawing on the concept of ‘interpretative repertoires’ I argue that female counsellors construct different kinds of masculinities based on three ‘repertoires’: psycho-biological, structural and relational. I demonstrate how these constructions of masculinity are imbued with different meanings and are used to explain only certain contexts, which precludes women's ability to reflect on their contradictory nature. I conclude by discussing how an exploration of discursive (non-)reflexivity extends our understanding of the conditions for gender transformations

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