“I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers
Purpose While past research has explored how opting-out enables mothers to break free from masculinist organizational cultures, less attention has been given to how they resist disciplinary power that constitutes and governs their subjectivities. This paper aims to add to the discussion of opting-o...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Emerald
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76148/ |
| _version_ | 1848800893982474240 |
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| author | Yoong, Melissa Mohamed, Nourhan |
| author_facet | Yoong, Melissa Mohamed, Nourhan |
| author_sort | Yoong, Melissa |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose
While past research has explored how opting-out enables mothers to break free from masculinist organizational cultures, less attention has been given to how they resist disciplinary power that constitutes and governs their subjectivities. This paper aims to add to the discussion of opting-out as a site of power and resistance by proposing the concept of “constructive resistance” as a productive vantage point for investigating opted-out mothers' subversive practices of self-making.
Design/methodology/approach
This Malaysian case study brings together the notion of constructive resistance, critical narrative analysis and APPRAISAL theory to examine the reflective stories of eighteen mothers who exited formal employment. These accounts were collected through an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured email interviews.
Findings
The mothers in the sample tend to construct themselves in two main ways, as (1) valuable mothers (capable, tireless, caring mothers who are key figures in their children's lives) and (2) competent professionals. These subjectivities are parasitic on gendered and neoliberal ideals but allow the mothers to undermine neoliberal capitalist work arrangements that were incongruent with their personal values and adversely impacted their well-being, as well as refuse organizational narratives that positioned them as “failed” workers.
Originality/value
Whereas power is primarily seen in previous opting-out scholarship as centralized and constraining, this case study illustrates how the lens of constructive resistance can be beneficial for examining opted-out mothers' struggles against a less direct form of power that governs through the production of truths and subjectivities. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:58:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-76148 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:58:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Emerald |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-761482025-05-16T06:42:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76148/ “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers Yoong, Melissa Mohamed, Nourhan Purpose While past research has explored how opting-out enables mothers to break free from masculinist organizational cultures, less attention has been given to how they resist disciplinary power that constitutes and governs their subjectivities. This paper aims to add to the discussion of opting-out as a site of power and resistance by proposing the concept of “constructive resistance” as a productive vantage point for investigating opted-out mothers' subversive practices of self-making. Design/methodology/approach This Malaysian case study brings together the notion of constructive resistance, critical narrative analysis and APPRAISAL theory to examine the reflective stories of eighteen mothers who exited formal employment. These accounts were collected through an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured email interviews. Findings The mothers in the sample tend to construct themselves in two main ways, as (1) valuable mothers (capable, tireless, caring mothers who are key figures in their children's lives) and (2) competent professionals. These subjectivities are parasitic on gendered and neoliberal ideals but allow the mothers to undermine neoliberal capitalist work arrangements that were incongruent with their personal values and adversely impacted their well-being, as well as refuse organizational narratives that positioned them as “failed” workers. Originality/value Whereas power is primarily seen in previous opting-out scholarship as centralized and constraining, this case study illustrates how the lens of constructive resistance can be beneficial for examining opted-out mothers' struggles against a less direct form of power that governs through the production of truths and subjectivities. Emerald 2023-09-15 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by_nc https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76148/1/Yoong%20and%20Mohamed%20%282023%29.pdf Yoong, Melissa and Mohamed, Nourhan (2023) “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion . ISSN 2040-7149 opt-out stories; critical narrative analysis; constructive resistance; appraisal theory; intensive mothering; neoliberalism https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-08-2022-0202 10.1108/EDI-08-2022-0202 10.1108/EDI-08-2022-0202 10.1108/EDI-08-2022-0202 |
| spellingShingle | opt-out stories; critical narrative analysis; constructive resistance; appraisal theory; intensive mothering; neoliberalism Yoong, Melissa Mohamed, Nourhan “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| title | “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| title_full | “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| title_fullStr | “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| title_full_unstemmed | “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| title_short | “I felt sad then, I feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| title_sort | “i felt sad then, i feel free now”: a case for examining the constructive resistance of opted-out mothers |
| topic | opt-out stories; critical narrative analysis; constructive resistance; appraisal theory; intensive mothering; neoliberalism |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76148/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76148/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76148/ |