Citation

Pacholok S. Gend. Work Organ. 2009; 16(4): 471-500.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00452.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article is based on a case study of a catastrophic wildfire that occurred in western Canada in 2003. The organization of the firefighting efforts and unequal support and praise from the public and the media resulted in a hierarchy between firefighting groups. This created inter-group tension and conflicts that firefighters resolved using discursive strategies that positioned some occupational groups as superior and others as subordinate. I argue that we cannot fully understand firefighters' strategies for negotiating this hierarchy without examining masculinity dynamics; something that previous research on boundary work and the comparative self have yet to examine.