A femininity that ‘giveth and taketh away’ : The prosperity gospel and postfeminism in the neoliberal economy
(2017) In Human Relations 70(7). p.836-859- Abstract
- This article explores how postfeminist and prosperity gospel discourses intersect in an organizational context to produce a particular ideal of feminine subjectivity that reproduces a neoliberal agenda. We focus on narratives written by female national vice presidents in a multi-national network marketing organization headquartered in America. Network marketing tends to attract a vast number of women who are enticed by grand messages of material and spiritual riches; however, such messages are often at odds with the precarious and uncertain working conditions. We contribute to gender and organization scholarship by introducing the concept of evangelical entrepreneurial femininity to explore the tensions and demands that are placed on women... (More)
- This article explores how postfeminist and prosperity gospel discourses intersect in an organizational context to produce a particular ideal of feminine subjectivity that reproduces a neoliberal agenda. We focus on narratives written by female national vice presidents in a multi-national network marketing organization headquartered in America. Network marketing tends to attract a vast number of women who are enticed by grand messages of material and spiritual riches; however, such messages are often at odds with the precarious and uncertain working conditions. We contribute to gender and organization scholarship by introducing the concept of evangelical entrepreneurial femininity to explore the tensions and demands that are placed on women in an organizational context where postfeminism and prosperity gospel discourses intersect. In doing so, we question the expectations and constraints that many working women negotiate in this neoliberal age of alleged ‘freedom’ and ‘equality’, and raise a number of concerns for feminist critique. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/a4c7689b-69ec-4cf2-aa2c-6ac9af8ce6ce
- author
- Sullivan, Katie LU and Delaney, Helen
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-07-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- discourse, evangelical entrepreneurial femininity, neoliberalism, network marketing, postfeminism, prosperity gospel, women/gender
- in
- Human Relations
- volume
- 70
- issue
- 7
- pages
- 24 pages
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85020290680
- wos:000402847000003
- ISSN
- 0018-7267
- DOI
- 10.1177/0018726716676322
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a4c7689b-69ec-4cf2-aa2c-6ac9af8ce6ce
- date added to LUP
- 2016-11-14 14:44:44
- date last changed
- 2022-04-16 20:54:52
@article{a4c7689b-69ec-4cf2-aa2c-6ac9af8ce6ce,
abstract = {{This article explores how postfeminist and prosperity gospel discourses intersect in an organizational context to produce a particular ideal of feminine subjectivity that reproduces a neoliberal agenda. We focus on narratives written by female national vice presidents in a multi-national network marketing organization headquartered in America. Network marketing tends to attract a vast number of women who are enticed by grand messages of material and spiritual riches; however, such messages are often at odds with the precarious and uncertain working conditions. We contribute to gender and organization scholarship by introducing the concept of evangelical entrepreneurial femininity to explore the tensions and demands that are placed on women in an organizational context where postfeminism and prosperity gospel discourses intersect. In doing so, we question the expectations and constraints that many working women negotiate in this neoliberal age of alleged ‘freedom’ and ‘equality’, and raise a number of concerns for feminist critique.}},
author = {{Sullivan, Katie and Delaney, Helen}},
issn = {{0018-7267}},
keywords = {{discourse; evangelical entrepreneurial femininity; neoliberalism; network marketing; postfeminism; prosperity gospel; women/gender}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{07}},
number = {{7}},
pages = {{836--859}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Human Relations}},
title = {{A femininity that ‘giveth and taketh away’ : The prosperity gospel and postfeminism in the neoliberal economy}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018726716676322}},
doi = {{10.1177/0018726716676322}},
volume = {{70}},
year = {{2017}},
}