Other publication
Studying the clothing of children as a site of 'silent embodiments' – an opening to the field of organization studies
Authors: Astrid Huopalainen, Suvi Satama
Conference name: International Critical Management Studies Conference
Publication year: 2017
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/28646966
Abstract
In this paper, we turn to the clothing of children and argue for a fuller appreciation of this interdisciplinary and underdeveloped research area in the field of organization studies (OS). Here, we approach the clothing of children as a contested, embodied-material site in a broader context of power dynamics, parental-, media-, market- and other influences, where different idea(l)s about childhood, innocence, vulnerability, sexuality, status, class and gender are continuously negotiated. In particular, we show how the clothing of children constitutes a dynamic locus for the entwinement of ideas about aesthetics, embodiment and materiality, and thus offers us an intriguing empirical site where ‘silent embodiments’ underneath material surfaces are teased out. The empirical material of this paper consists of personal diary notes and memories from our own childhood, as well as our everyday experiences of children’s wear as mothers of toddlers. By using the method of ‘memory work’, we aim at giving detailed descriptions of the ways in which we are surrounded by ‘silent embodiments’, how these matter to us, and how children’s clothes are inherently present in our everyday lives. We argue that the clothing of children serves as a meaningful theoretical and empirical context that could offer valuable insights to OS, and contribute to the literatures on children, materiality and silenced embodiments in our scholarly field. Finally, we offer suggestions and insights into the future empirical study of the clothing of children as a sensory domain in OS. A deeper analysis of the clothing of children has the potential to develop more critical discussions of the (silent) embodied experiences and materiality both in the field of OS, and in contemporary material and consumer culture more broadly.
In this paper, we turn to the clothing of children and argue for a fuller appreciation of this interdisciplinary and underdeveloped research area in the field of organization studies (OS). Here, we approach the clothing of children as a contested, embodied-material site in a broader context of power dynamics, parental-, media-, market- and other influences, where different idea(l)s about childhood, innocence, vulnerability, sexuality, status, class and gender are continuously negotiated. In particular, we show how the clothing of children constitutes a dynamic locus for the entwinement of ideas about aesthetics, embodiment and materiality, and thus offers us an intriguing empirical site where ‘silent embodiments’ underneath material surfaces are teased out. The empirical material of this paper consists of personal diary notes and memories from our own childhood, as well as our everyday experiences of children’s wear as mothers of toddlers. By using the method of ‘memory work’, we aim at giving detailed descriptions of the ways in which we are surrounded by ‘silent embodiments’, how these matter to us, and how children’s clothes are inherently present in our everyday lives. We argue that the clothing of children serves as a meaningful theoretical and empirical context that could offer valuable insights to OS, and contribute to the literatures on children, materiality and silenced embodiments in our scholarly field. Finally, we offer suggestions and insights into the future empirical study of the clothing of children as a sensory domain in OS. A deeper analysis of the clothing of children has the potential to develop more critical discussions of the (silent) embodied experiences and materiality both in the field of OS, and in contemporary material and consumer culture more broadly.
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