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Organizing Gender? Looking at Metaphors as Frames of Meaning in Gender/Organizational Texts
Author(s) -
Leonard Pauline
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
gender, work and organization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.159
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1468-0432
pISSN - 0968-6673
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0432.00149
Subject(s) - rhetorical question , mainstream , construct (python library) , sociology , meaning (existential) , gender schema theory , space (punctuation) , doing gender , frame (networking) , metaphor , social psychology , psychology , epistemology , gender studies , linguistics , political science , computer science , telecommunications , philosophy , law , psychotherapist , programming language
This article examines the ways in which the writing of gender and organizational theory has made use of metaphors to frame understanding about gender and gender relations. Key examples of different theoretical approaches to explaining gender difference within organizations are analysed as texts , to explore the ways in which rhetorical devices play a crucial role in constructing knowledges about women, men, and organizational life. In particular, three metaphors are uncovered: those of space, time and the sexual body. These have important connections with metaphors embedded in ‘mainstream’ (masculinist) organizational theory and are thus shown to construct our understanding of gender in particular, and somewhat limited, ways. However, in the second half of the article, alternative significations of these metaphors are explored. These suggest other readings which may open up the ways in which women, men and gender relations are framed within gender/organizational theoretical texts.