A femininity that ‘giveth and taketh away’: The prosperity gospel and postfeminism in the neoliberal economy

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.

Caring during COVID‐19: A gendered analysis of Australian university responses to managing remote working and caring responsibilities

“…All individuals, regardless of gender, class, race, sexuality or ability, are positioned as having equal opportunity to succeed (Blackmore, 2006). Within this framework, gendered (and other) inequalities are invisible and legitimated (Acker, 2006), or 'unspeakable' (Gill, 2014;Reilly, Jones, Vasquez, & Krisjanous, 2016), rendering inequality more difficult to articulate and address (Kelan, 2009;Sullivan & Delaney, 2016).…”

Aesthetic labouring and the female entrepreneur: ‘Entrepreneurship that wouldn’t chip your nails’

“…However, in line with the discourse of choice and agency, aesthetic labour may be seen as the outcome or reward for entrepreneurial success. Studies have pointed out that femininity is often presented as a marketable product (Duffy and Hund, 2015) While research on aesthetic labour has positioned this as instrumental to work success (Sullivan and Delaney, 2017), a postfeminist perspective obscures this relation by regarding the makeover as individual choice (Duffy and Hund, 2015). First, this undermines any recognition of aesthetics and the management of the (female) body as work.…”

“…This draws, in part, upon the masculinised elements of success, acknowledging the necessity for financial profitability, but expands this to include a particularly feminine consumerist lifestyle (Adamson, 2017). Entrepreneurship is constructed as the potential key to 'having it all,' offering women the opportunity to seamlessly blend work and family (Sullivan and Delaney, 2017). So, whilst postfeminism claims to move beyond gendered norms of entrepreneurial success, the manner in which the feminine can be incorporated within successful entrepreneurial identity remains subject to debate.…”

Precariousness, Gender, Resistance and Consent in the Face of Global Production Network’s ‘Reforms’ of Pakistan’s Garment Manufacturing Industry

“…Their choices can shape each groups' resistance or consent in the workplace. Also, if personal concerns are not entirely consumed by practical or social concerns, this grants spaces for agents to fulfil the demands of increased roles wrought by global industrialisation (Sullivan and Delaney, 2017), while simultaneously protecting their personal concerns. Despite the conflicts and tensions multiple roles can produce, workers can exploit the multiple identities this produces to strategically deal with structural pressures and opportunities stemming from globalization.…”