Recherches sociologiques et
anthropologiques
44-2 (2013)
Transgresser le genre au travail : des hommes dans des domaines professionnels
“féminins”
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Nicky Le Feuvre et Isabelle Zinn
Ambivalent Gender Accountability.
Male Florists in the Swiss Context
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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Nicky Le Feuvre et Isabelle Zinn, « Ambivalent Gender Accountability. Male Florists in the Swiss Context »,
Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques [En ligne], 44-2 | 2013, mis en ligne le 20 janvier 2014, consulté le
21 janvier 2014. URL : http://rsa.revues.org/1027 ; DOI : 10.4000/rsa.1027
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© Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques
Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques 2013/2
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn : 21-45
Ambivalent Gender Accountability
Male Florists in the Swiss Context
Nicky Le Feuvre *, Isabelle Zinn **
This article investigates the ways in which male florists mobilise, neutralise or
challenge sex category membership in the course of their daily activities. Our
main interest lies in the idea that individuals invest gender norms with varying
levels of salience in specific social contexts. We therefore focus on the ways in
which male florists account for their professional activities in normative gendered ways, whilst also stressing the opportunities for challenging gender norms
that are associated with the minority status of being a man in a highly feminised
occupation. Our findings will suggest that the concept of “accountability”,
combining the dimensions of orientation to sex category, gender assessment
and enforcement (Hollander, 2013), provides a useful framework for analysing
situations that apparently do not correspond to gender accomplishment in the
normative sense of the term. In conclusion, we show that the accountability of
male florists to sex categories and gender norms varies considerably, according
to the particular dimension of their experiences studied and that in this sense,
sex category membership is activated, neutralised or challenged with varying
levels of intensity on the different scenes of professional florists.
Keywords : florists, gender, masculinity, skills, switzerland
I. Introduction
The aim of this article is to investigate when gender becomes salient for
individuals at work and to better understand exactly how they mobilise,
neutralise or challenge gender stereotypes in the course of their daily activities. We thus intend to explore “accountability” to sex category membership (Garfinkel, 1967 ; Heritage, 1984 ; Hollander, 2013 ; West/Zimmerman, 1987, 2009) amongst male florists in Switzerland. Although we
describe the vertical segregation that places men in the most rewarding
positions of this highly feminized occupation, our main interest lies in the
idea that sex categories and gender norms (being a man or a woman, acting in a masculine or feminine way, etc.) are invested with varying levels
______________________________
*
Lausanne University.
Lausanne University & EHESS Paris.
**
22
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
of salience by individuals in specific social contexts (Zinn, 2012, 2013). In
so doing, we focus here on the ways in which male florists account for
some aspects of their professional activities in normative gendered ways,
whilst also neutralising or challenging gender norms in other settings. The
minority status of being a man in this highly feminised occupation is thus
associated with what could be called ambivalent gender accountability
(Hollander, 2013). This finding clearly stresses the interest of investigating when and how sex affiliation becomes salient or not to individuals.
The article is based on an on-going research project on the accomplishment and experience of masculinities in two occupations (florists and butchers), which are characterised by contrasting gender compositions. Here
we will focus exclusively on data from the fieldwork on florists. This project uses a variety of methods (formal and informal interviews with florists, discussions with their occupational representatives and floral school
teachers, and participant observation in different occupational settings,
e.g. flower markets, florist shops, training sessions), which we also draw
on here1. The aim is to understand how individuals relate to existing gender categories and to analyse the effects this may have for men’s experiences in occupations that are statistically “feminised” or are numerically
dominated by men. In this article, we are interested in exactly how Swiss
male florists “gender” (or not) their professional activities2. We propose to
explore the extent to which giving a client advice about wedding flowers
or preparing other floral arrangements are portrayed as gendered activities.
Whilst investigating under what circumstances gender categories become
salient for individuals, we are also interested in exploring the extent to
which they may be perceived as irrelevant to the interactions taking place
in a given workplace situation. We thus focus on the significance male
florists attach – explicitly or implicitly – to sex categories and gender
norms in order to tease out the extent to which gender categories become
significant (or not) in particular occupational activities.
The article is structured around five main sections. After briefly presenting the gender composition of florists in the Swiss context (II), we will
present a short review of the theoretical perspectives developed to date for
the analysis of men in highly feminised occupations (III), before presenting our research methods (IV) and going on to analyse when and how
male florists make gender relevant to their career paths, interactions with
clients, perceptions of skill and daily activities (V). In discussion of this
data (VI), we will argue that the “accountability” of male florists to gender
categories varies considerably according to the particular dimension of
their experiences under study. They clearly relate very strongly to sex cat______________________________
1
Isabelle Zinn carried out the fieldwork on which this article is based in the course of her PhD research.
The authors have jointly analyzed the interview and ethnographic data collected, notably within IP6 of
the National Centre of Competency in Research (NCCR LIVES) “Overcoming Vulnerability : LifeCourse Perspectives”, of which both authors are members. See : http://www.lives-nccr.ch/en.
2
We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments on a previous
version of this article.
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
23
egories when explaining their personal trajectories, and men’s position within the profession more generally. Likewise, they systematically mobilise
gender categories in their assessment of clients. However, sex category
membership is seen as largely irrelevant to the sexual division of tasks or
to their description of professional skills and performance. In this sense,
we can conclude that sex category membership is potentially mobilised,
neutralised or contested differently on a variety of professional scenes.
II. The Gender Composition of Florists in Switzerland
In Switzerland, becoming a florist usually involves a 36-month apprenticeship, leading to a CFC qualification3. This diploma is acquired either
entirely through an apprenticeship in an established floral business (floral
shop or supermarket)4 or through a dedicated course at a vocational
school5, during which the students do more limited internships in florists’
shops. Although it is legally possible to set up a floral business or to work
as a florist without this CFC qualification, more than 80% of Swiss florists
are qualified in this way (OFS, 2011a)6. Officially, each trainee florist follows the same course, since there is a national curriculum and no options
for specialization. However, in reality, some differences exist, according
to the location of work placements.
Official career advice documents indicate that florists undertake the following tasks : welcoming clients and giving advice about floral compositions, cutting and preparing fresh flowers, creating floral bouquets and
arrangements in accordance with orders, organizing delivery and delivering flowers, carrying heavy equipment, attractively arranging commercial
outlets in order to enhance business, decorating various locations (offices,
churches, etc.) with flowers (CSFO, 2012b). In addition to these tasks, our
field observations also revealed a number of additional activities for selfemployed florists, including obtaining the “right” flowers at the right time,
negotiating prices at auctions, book-keeping, stock control and staff management.
The most recent data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (in 2000)
indicate that, of the 6122 florists in Switzerland, just 366 (6%) are men7.
Since the beginning of the Swiss census in 1970, the profession has had a
clear-cut majority of female workers (OFS, 2011a). In fact, the number of
male florists has been slowly decreasing since the 1970s. However, as in
other occupations (e.g. Tain, 2007), although the profession is clearly nu______________________________
3
The CFC (certificat fédéral de capacité) is a nationally recognized diploma (CSFO, 2012a).
The apprenticeship includes practical and theoretical modules ; each apprentice spends one day a week
at school, following classes on topics that include botany, floral art, commercial techniques and standard
academic subjects (CSFO, 2012b).
5
There are only two training centres that offer such a full-time course in Switzerland, which means that
most trainees follow the apprenticeship route into the occupation.
6
Out of the 80% of florists that have the CFC diploma, 8% also hold a federal certificate, which is a
diploma in advanced vocational training (OFS, 2011a).
7
These data are from the 2000 Swiss census. Unfortunately, no more recent data is currently available.
4
24
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
merically feminised, men tend to dominate representative functions. Thus,
in 2012, the Board of the Swiss Professional Florist Association8 is composed of three men, plus the General Secretary, for just one woman. Furthermore, the directors of the six major floral auctions in Switzerland are
also men. In other words, the small minority of male florists tend to occupy the most visible positions within the occupation, whereas the overwhelmming majority of female workers occupy full- or part-time salaried
positions (Table 1).
There are also some gender specificities regarding employment conditions : nearly 20% of florists are self-employed, they own or rent their
own florist shop, pay themselves from their commercial profits and usually employ salaried collaborators and/or apprentices. Whereas 52% of the
male florists are self-employed, this is only the case for 17% of their female counterparts (OFS, 2012a). However, because the occupation is so
highly feminized, the vast majority of florist shops in Switzerland
(n = 1027) are nevertheless owned and run by women rather than by men
(n = 190). Furthermore, 351 of the 366 male florists (96%) work fulltime9, as against 74% of their female counterparts. However, compared to
the Swiss average of just 42.2% of women in full-time jobs (OFS, 2012b),
rates of female part-time work are surprisingly low here. This would seem
to be explained by two specific characteristics of the occupation : women’s discontinuous activity patterns and the relatively low levels of pay
salaried florists can command in the Swiss context (see below).
As indicated in Table 1, 57% of female florists in employment are aged
below 30 years, whereas this is the case for less than 22% of their male
counterparts. While the number of male florists working full-time is high
and stable throughout the course of their professional life, women’s career
paths are characterized by more diversified employment patterns. An
overwhelming majority (94%) of young female florists (20-24 years old)
work full-time, but this is the case for just 16% of those aged 35-39 years.
We can therefore hypothesize that the relatively high average rate of female full-time employment is due to the fact that many female florists
leave the labour market when they have children10 and generally do not
return to jobs as florists. In other words, most female florists are young
and childless.
______________________________
8
Membership of this association is limited to florist businesses, rather than individual florists. In 2012,
about 54% (660) of all established florist shops were registered members of the Swiss professional florist association, covering 2800 or about 47% of all professional florists. The association represents, promotes and defends the interests of the so-called “green industry”. It provides its members with information and documentation on various issues, including : training opportunities, job vacancies, and ongoing events in the floral business. The association also provides legal advice and business consulting
for its members. The web site search engine also enables members of the public to locate the nearest floral shop (Swiss Professional Florist Association : www.florist.ch).
9
It is important to note that full-time employment for salaried collaborators is usually equivalent to five
working days a week, often with irregular hours, such as working on Saturdays and Sundays and/or late
on weekdays. Most of the self-employed florists work at least a six-day week.
10
In Switzerland, the average age of women at first birth is 28.7 years (OFS, 2011b).
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
25
This hypothesis can be partially confirmed by a comparison between
the census data for 1990 and 2000, which shows that qualified female florists do indeed tend to leave the profession in large numbers over time.
Thus, in 1990, 1537 women aged between 20 and 24 years were employed
as florists (OFS, 2012c). Ten years later, there are only 527 women florists
aged between 35 and 39 years, suggesting that approximately 1000 women had left the profession over that period. One potential explanation for
this discontinuous pattern of female employment lies in the pay levels of
florists, reflecting the low remuneration of shop work more generally11.
The high cost of childcare and the unfavourable fiscal provisions for dual
earner couples are well documented in the Swiss context (Bütler/Ruesch,
2009) and these conditions would seem to explain the difference in patterns of male and female investment in this particular occupation over the
life-course.
55−59
50−54
45−49
Age Group
40−44
35−39
30−34
25−29
20−24
15−19
0
20
40
60
80
100
(%)
Men
Women
Table 1. Florists by Sex and Age Categories, Switzerland, 2000.
Source : Office fédéral de la statistique, 2012c.
III. Theoretical Framework :
Atypical Careers from a Gender Perspective
The existing literature is rather ambivalent as to the implications of
men’s presence in highly feminized occupations ; not least because the
focus of attention varies quite considerably from one study to another. On
______________________________
11
There is no legal minimum wage in Switzerland, but the florist’s professional association recommends a full-time salary scale of 3’800 – 4’040 Swiss Francs a month for qualified workers (Swiss Professional Florist Association, 2012). This puts salaries in the lowest quartile of the Swiss wage range
(OFS, 2008). Unfortunately, no precise data is available about the income of self-employed florists. Although the relative profitability of a florist shop obviously depends on number of factors (location, type
of clientele, etc.) and is subject to seasonal variation, our respondents unanimously suggest that selfemployment is financially advantageous compared to salaried work. Our self-employed respondents
estimated that their own income was twice as high as that of their salaried employees.
26
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
the one hand, some authors have analyzed the implications of minority
status for male and female career paths and promotion opportunities, often
stressing the asymmetrical consequences of minority status for men and
women (Bourdieu, 1998 ; Fortino, 2003). On the other hand, some authors
have been more concerned with the implications of such atypical career
choices for the gender order (Connell, 1987) or specific gender regimes
(Fusulier et al., 2009 ; Lapeyre, 2006). The main focus has been to analyze atypical12 career choices from the perspective of weakening or consolidating gender boundaries more generally (Gianettoni et al., 2010 ; Le
Feuvre/Laufer, 2008).
Men
55−59
55−59
50−54
50−54
45−49
45−49
40−44
40−44
Age Group
Age Group
Women
35−39
35−39
30−34
30−34
25−29
25−29
20−24
20−24
15−19
15−19
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
(%)
40
60
80
100
(%)
Part Time
Full Time
Table 2. Working-time Patterns of Florists, by Sex and Age Categories,
Switzerland, 2000. Source : Office fédéral de la statistique, 2012c.
In this section, we will rapidly summarize the state of the art on these
two themes, before going on to explore the analytical potential of a third
corpus of literature, less often focussed on atypical gender configurations,
but potentially useful for thinking about the ways in which men and women in non-traditional occupations “do gender” on a daily basis and about
the multiples ways in which “gender accountability” (West/Zimmerman,
1987, 2009) may prevail in such contexts.
A. The “Bonus” of Being a Man in a Highly Feminized Occupation
Whilst the notion of “glass ceiling” has become commonplace in the
analysis of women’s experiences within “male bastions” (Buscatto/Marry,
2009), the term “glass escalator” (Williams, 1989, 1993) has also been
coined to describe the advantages that accrue to the small number of men
who enter occupations that have been historically dominated by women.
______________________________
12
i.e. statistically limited.
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
27
Although such men usually have fewer economic and cultural resources
than their female counterparts in highly masculinized occupations, several
studies have shown that being a man in a highly feminized occupation can
be a bonus (Charrier, 2007 ; Le Feuvre, 2007). Men in atypical occupations more easily attain positions of power and influence, because those
qualities associated with masculinity still tend to be more highly regarded
than those associated with femininity, and because the shared idea of what
constitutes professional success and performance : «privileges those characteristics that culture associates primarily with men» (Schein, 2001 :683).
In other words, even in occupations statistically dominated by women,
“masculinity” (or simply maleness) is strongly associated with professional performance and leadership potential (Ibid. :683). In some cases, it
would seem that men are also able to create a “masculine” niche within
the occupational structure that is often associated with particular symbolic
or material advantages (Tain, 2007).
B. The Consequences of Atypical Career Choices
for the “Gender Order”
A second corpus of research takes atypical career choices as an opportunity to reflect less on the experiences and career paths of individual men
and women, but more on the internal mechanisms of the “gender order” at
the macro-social level or for occupational level “gender regimes” (Connell, 1987, 1995, 2005 ; Lapeyre, 2006 ; Williams, 1993, 1995). The main
issue here is to determine the significance of the apparent inversion of traditional sex roles (e.g. men doing what is generally seen as “women’s
work”) from a more global perspective. The central question addressed in
such studies concerns the meaning of atypical career choices in relation to
existing gender norms. Some of the research conducted under this heading
reaches similar conclusions to that presented in the previous sub-section :
despite certain signs of “gender mobility” (e.g. men moving into highly
feminized occupations, or vice versa), the founding principals of the gender order remain unchallenged and, ultimately unchanged by these individual “transgressions”. Thus, there is no weakening of the “similarity taboo” (Mathieu, 1971 ; Rubin, 2006), which makes it normal for men and
women to occupy different jobs ; nor is there any reduction in the “differential value” placed on each of the sexes (Héritier, 1996, 2002) ; precisely
because men’s career paths in feminized occupations generally do not resemble those of their female counterparts (Le Feuvre/Laufer, 2008).
However, within this second perspective, a few authors reach somewhat
different conclusions, suggesting that the mere presence of men in female
dominated occupations leads to a partial blurring of gendered boundaries
within the workplace, making it harder to maintain the normative belief
that men and women are better suited to particular kinds of work or that
they necessarily mobilize gender differentiated abilities (Guichard-Claudic
et al., 2008). Authors who defend this position do not necessarily deny the
fact that men generally reap a bonus from their minority position. They
28
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
simply argue that any partial transgression of the gender norms that preside over the sexual division of labour has the potential to erode the takenfor-granted nature of gender hierarchies and to open the way for a more
transformative process of the gender order as a whole (Murcier, 2008).
Although they are often based on detailed empirical studies of the professional practices of men and women in atypical occupations, most of the
research carried out under these two perspectives focuses on the consequences of such gender “transgressions”, either in terms of individual career paths, or in terms of gender norms and occupational segregation. Little attention is paid to the ways in which individuals relate to sex categories and mobilise, neutralise or challenge these in the course of their daily
activities. This is the focus of a third corpus of literature.
C. Men “Doing Gender” in Atypical Occupations
This final corpus of literature builds on the “doing gender” approach,
initiated by Goffman (1976, 1977) and developed by Garfinkel (1967),
West & Zimmerman (1987) and West & Fenstermaker (1995). According
to this perspective, gender is not a fixed characteristic of individuals, but
rather something «they must constantly accomplish in interaction» (Hollander, 2013 :5), notably by putting their beliefs into practice (Martin,
2001). In other words, individuals do not necessarily “do gender” by conscious choice, but rather due to the accountability pressures that prevail
within a given social setting (Martin, 2003). West and Zimmerman suggest that, in the mundane activities of daily life, individuals of both sexes
are : «held accountable for performance of that activity as a woman or a
man» (1987 :136). Thus :
To be successful, marking or displaying gender must be finely fitted
to situations and modified or transformed as the occasion demands.
Doing gender consists of managing such occasions so that the outcome is seen as gender-appropriate or, as the case may be, genderinappropriate, that is, accountable (Ibid. :135).
However, as Hollander (2013) has suggested, there is some ambivalence about exactly how West and Zimmerman define the notion of “accountability”, leading to confusion in studies that claim to have been inspired by their approach. One of the main ambiguities in this notion lies in
the role attributed to accountability in the reproduction of binary sex categories and gender norms. According to Hollander :
[…] people are occasionally called on to account for their behaviour
as women or men, and they are always subject to the explicit and implicit consequences of others’ assessments. These consequences, and
the assessments that underlie them, are what maintain the urgency of
the individual’s orientation to sex category. The interactional manifestations of accountability […] are an integral part of the social processes that follow from and reinforce orientation to sex category
(Hollander, 2013 :10).
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
29
She therefore proposes to think of gender accountability as a three-part
interactional process :
The foundation of the system is people’s orientation to sex category
[…] Next, is assessment, or the production of accounts that evaluate
people’s behaviour in relation to expectations for their presumed sex
category […] These assessments form the basis for the final element
of the system, enforcement. Here is where the everyday use of the
term accountability enters : People hold each other – and themselves
– responsible for their accomplishment of gender by implementing
interactional consequences for conformity or nonconformity
(Ibid. :10).
In relation to the literature reviewed in the previous sub-sections, this is
an important point, since it suggests that the concept of gender accountability could provide a useful framework for analyzing situations that apparently do not correspond to normative gender accomplishment. This threefold conception of accountability enables us to better apprehend the practices of the male florists we have studied, by hypothesizing that individuals
are not necessarily held accountable to sex categories in the same way at
all times and that some social contexts may even offer the opportunity for
individuals to neutralize sex category membership and gender norms to a
certain extent.
To summaries the existing literature in order to provide an interpretive
framework for our own data, we can stress three main points. Firstly, it is
important to trace the potential bonuses men reap from their minority position within a highly feminized occupation. Secondly, it is important to
analyze the discursive and interactional strategies that serve to legitimize
the potential advantages of being a man in such an atypical position.
Thirdly, in order to understand the extent to which “gender” becomes salient to individuals it is important to establish the mechanisms through
which men are held accountable for their atypical career choices, in terms
of orientation to sex categories, assessment and enforcement (Hollander,
2013).
IV. Research Methods
Our research findings are based on interview data and field notes collected in 2012, in various occupational settings, but with a main focus on
two florists’ shops (one located in the city centre of a medium-sized city
in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, the other in a small town in
the French-speaking part of the country). Besides the two male shop owner-managers, we also came into regular contact with five part or full-time
employees, three apprentices and a person in charge of delivering flowers
to clients.
We conducted six formal interviews with female (1) and male (5) florists, which each lasted for about two hours. Two of our interview contacts
had been established through personal networks ; both of these florists
gave us the names of other possible contacts (“snowball method”). In a
30
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
third case we just entered a florist shop and asked to interview the owner,
who turned out to be a man. It was in this same shop that we also did part
of our participant observations.
Despite having completed only a relatively small number of formal interviews to date, a large amount of additional data has been collected
through informal discussions during several periods of participant observation. These were organized over a three-month period, starting with one
whole week on the premises, followed by shorter periods (2-3 consecutive
days), once every three weeks or so. In all cases, the researcher acted as an
intern, with hands on involvement in the daily activities of the shop. Only
overt observations (Gold, 2003) have been carried out, in so far as all the
people within the workplace settings knew who we were and why we were
there (for a sociological study of florists). Given the importance of apprenticeships in florist shops (see supra), we thus embraced a fairly familiar
role ; our presence did not appear incongruous to the florists, since it followed the standard processes of integrating trainees into the occupation. We
were thus able to observe in a more “natural” setting how male and female
florists engage in constructing a situated gender order. We were particularly concerned about the possible influence of social desirability on the
participants. We thus avoided direct reference to gender categories in the
course of our interactions (although this theme was taken up during the
formal interviews).
In addition to the formal interviews and periods of participant observation, we have also analyzed a number of professional publications and
have studied the curricula for the different training programmes available
to would-be florists in the Swiss context.
V. The Gender Accountability of Male Florists
Our main interest now lies in investigating when gender becomes salient for individuals and in better understanding exactly how they mobilize,
neutralize or challenge gender norms in the course of their daily activities.
Our results partially contradict the rather monolithic accounts of how individuals “do” or potentially “undo” gender (Deutsch, 2007 ; Lorber, 2000 ;
Risman, 2009) in particular occupational settings. We have identified significant differences in the salience the male florists we have studied attribute to sex categories and gender norms in different dimensions of their
professional experiences.
A. Making Gender Meaningful : Orientation to Sex Categories
Our study of male florists shows that sex membership categories are
mobilized and seen as relevant to professional practices on at least two
levels. On the one hand, they provide a ready-made justification for the
gendered distribution of individuals within the occupation and particularly
for the over-representation of men amongst self-employed florists and
within professional representative organizations. On the other hand, gender categories and stereotypical beliefs about the floral preferences of men
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
31
and women serve as a vital resource for florists in the course of their interactions with clients.
1. Gendered Accounts of Vertical Segregation
In order to understand how the florists mobilize and relate to sex category membership, we focus here on the reasons that male and female florists offer to explain the vertical segregation of their occupation by sex.
Firstly, florists frequently refer to institutional “gender arrangements”
(Pfau-Effinger, 2004) with regard to the sexual division of paid employment and unpaid domestic labour. Societal-level gender norms, particularly in the form of the “(modified) male breadwinner/female carer” model
(Crompton, 1999), seem to underlie the florists’ discursive accounts of the
over-representation of men in the best paid and most rewarding segments
of the occupational hierarchy. In other words, the fact that women are unanimously presumed to experience difficulties in working full-time is taken
for granted and this belief serves to legitimize the fact that they are relatively less likely to reach the upper echelons of the professional hierarchy.
All the florists we have met insisted on the fact that women rarely work
full-time, a “fact” that, as we have seen, is not congruent with the available statistics on their actual working-time patterns (see Table 1). However,
female florists do adopt discontinuous activity patterns in the Swiss context and this is taken as synonymous with a “reduced” level of commitment to the profession. Thus, male florists tend to rationalise the relatively
low levels of self-employment for women, or their lack of presence in the
most highly visible occupational functions, in relation to patterns of women’s labour market participation in Switzerland more generally (Giraud/Lucas, 2009).
When asked why the profession was so attractive to women (rather than
men), Mathieu13 replied :
Yes, it’s feminized ; perhaps it attracts fewer men ; it’s an occupation
where salaries aren’t necessarily very interesting for a family
(Mathieu, self-employed, single, childless, aged 38).
In other words, according to this respondent, men are few and far between in this occupation because it is difficult to achieve “main/male
breadwinner” status by working as a florist. This vision of the vertical segregation within the occupation is reflected in the experiences of Stéphane
(self-employed, married, two children, aged 37). Having worked for several years in partnership with his wife, the couple decided that she should
leave the labour market once their children were born. Although Stéphane
frequently states that : «we are looking after our children», he actually
works a 65 hour-week, including Saturdays and late evenings. He thus
seems to take for granted that it is a man’s duty to provide financially for
his family, whilst women (must or should) leave the labour market in order to take care of their children.
______________________________
13
All names have been modified, to respect the anonymity of respondents.
32
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
Furthermore, these societal-level gender norms are also used to explain
why men are generally more successful as florists than their female counterparts14. According to our respondents, it is precisely because becoming
a florist represents such an exceptional choice for a man that their career
paths are more upwardly mobile :
As a man, becoming a florist proves that you really want to be a florist, because for a man it is less obvious, it is very unusual. And by
really wanting to become a florist, you have to try harder than anyone else and then it is much easier to have your own business and to
be self-employed (Dominik, self-employed, in a long-term relationship, aged 31).
Thus, Dominik considers male florists to have a clear advantage over
women in terms of determination and perseverance. Not only do they have
to “transgress” the prevailing gender norms that make the occupation a
typical career choice for women ; they also have to do so in a way that
makes it possible for them to continue to be seen as accountable to the
“male breadwinner” and career success dimensions of normative masculinity.
This double constraint serves to justify the allocation of additional material and symbolic resources to men within the profession. For instance,
when interviewed, Dominik had recently opened another shop for which
he needed a manager. He had experienced difficultly in filling this position and explained this by the fact that most of his female colleagues either didn’t want to or couldn’t work full-time (a condition for the position
he wanted to fill). He finally hired a young man who had only just finished his apprenticeship. Clearly, simply being a man (maleness) was read
as a sign of two important criteria for recruiting a florist shop manager :
availability for full-time work and high levels of motivation. Sex membership is, thus, framed as the reason for men’s commitment to their occupation and this commitment is then rewarded in various, material and symbolic, ways.
From this perspective, our male florists clearly demonstrate a high level
of orientation to sex categories, which not only shape their own career
paths, but also the expectations they have of other florists. They adhere to
a strong and consensual belief about men’s distinct availability for employment in general and about their motivations for this particular job.
2. The Gender Assessment of Clients
Likewise, the florists we met clearly see sex category membership as a
vital indicator of clients’ preferences and service requirements. The modes
of interaction with clients are based on a clear binary distinction, which
enables the florists to limit uncertainty and achieve recognition for their
work. As in other service occupations (Jeantet, 2003 ; Weller, 2012), florists engage in an active and systematic categorization of their clients. As
______________________________
14
Self-employment is one important sign of “professional success” for our respondents.
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
33
soon as a person enters the shop, or phones in an order, they attempt to
identify their “meaningful traits” (Zinn, 2013), in order to adapt their behaviour to their presumed preferences and, in so doing, to increase the
chances of concluding a sale. These meaningful traits include socio-economic status, as expressed by physical appearance, dress style or oral expression, but essentially focus on sex category membership. This gender
categorisation follows
methodical procedures, based on a limitation of effort and a maximisation of coherence and on choices about the pertinence and consequences of adopting one category rather than another (Mondada,
2011 :121)15.
The objectives (and advantages) of this systematic mobilization of sex
category membership would appear to be twofold. On the one hand, florists believe that men and women relate differently to flowers and, therefore, that their sales techniques should be adapted to this fundamental difference, in order to increase the profitability of their activity. Sex category
membership is thus seen as a vital resource for achieving commercial success. On the other hand, sex category membership is also important for the
professional status of the florists themselves. Since women are expected to
know exactly what kind of flowers they want to buy and to have predetermined ideas about how they should be arranged, the ability for florists to
demonstrate their professional know-how is expected to be more challenging in interactions with female clients16. In such cases, florists tend to
adopt various “face saving” strategies, involving a less interventionist
mode of interaction and leaving more room for negotiation around the appearance of the finished product. In the case of male clients, the florists
take fewer precautions, and are less likely to take the clients’ stated preferences into account. The risks of subordination (Jeantet, 2003) are seen as
limited in the case of interactions with male clients, but the potential for
recognition of their professional prowess is also more limited than with
female clients.
The importance of sex category membership for determining sales
techniques and status enhancement are clearly expressed by Nicolas, who
teaches on a CFC training course :
In the way of working, it’s really [laugh], it’s really, umm […] obvious, it’s really obvious. So, when I’m teaching sales techniques to
students, I always start by explaining that they’re not going to behave
in the same way with a man or a women ; really in the way of guid-
______________________________
15
Our translation, see also SACKS H., 1972.
In this sense, commercial interactions with male clients offer florists more frequent opportunities to
demonstrate their professional skills and know-how. When asked to describe their “ideal client”, the
florists speak about someone who doesn’t have any pre-conceived idea of the flowers they want to buy,
who simply defines a price-range and leaves the florist to decide which flowers and what kind of composition are most suitable. This is clearly an image that is congruent with their expectations of male
clients. However, the recognition of their professional skills that florists expect to receive from male
clients is also rather limited, since they are perceived as inherently “easier to please” than their female
counterparts.
16
34
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
ing the client […] (Nicolas, floral teacher, married, two children,
aged 44).
This is why he suggests distinct selling techniques according to the gender assessment of clients :
When a woman comes into the shop, you’re going to leave her to
have a look around ; so we’re talking about a passive sale here : a
passive approach in the way you interact, whereas with a man,
you’re going to be directly active […].
Gender assessment doesn’t only influence the sales techniques of the
florists, but also determines the types of flowers they recommend : to male
clients (or to women who want to buy flowers for men)17, the florist will
suggest flowers that are «easy to handle», «simple», that «do not need a
lot of care», and that are «not too fancy». In general, the florists try to sell
brightly coloured flowers to men, and more pastel shades to women. Our
fieldwork observations provide clear evidence of the sex category mobilization strategies used by florists (and clients).
Field Notes : “Gender Assessment as a Sales Strategy and Status
Enhancer”18
In a city-centre florist shop, a young man arrives just before the shop
closes and wants to buy some red roses19. When Michael (salaried
florist, aged 26), starts to talk to him, it transpires that this young
man had phoned earlier, to check whether the shop was still open
and, more importantly, whether they had any red roses for sale. The
client chooses three red roses and Michael asks whether he would
like him to add any decorative leaves. Following a positive response,
Michael gets the leaves from the store room and comes back to the
counter with the bouquet to which he has added a couple of red coloured oak leaves. This composition obviously does not please the
client ; he looks very surprised and makes a disapproving face and
timidly asks : «do you often assemble different reds with very distinct textures like that ? ». Michael then explains that the two go very
well together and confirms that this is a frequent practice. The young
man seems relieved and reassured, makes no further objection and
buys the bouquet as Michael had composed it.
**
A middle-aged man enters the shop and begins looking around hesitantly. François (salaried florist, aged 28) comes up to him to ask
whether he could be of any assistance. The man gladly accepts and
explains that the father of a friend of his has suddenly died and that
______________________________
17
It is interesting to note that the clients almost always make explicit the sex of the person they are buying flowers for, suggesting that sex category membership is a shared criterion for judging the appropriate appearance of the purchase.
18
All the situations related here took place in the same shop.
19
According to our respondents, men buy the vast majority of red roses, supposedly for their “girlfriends, wives or lovers”.
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
35
the funeral is about to take place, nearby. He apologizes for just
dropping in and asking for a specific arrangement at such short notice : «I have no idea what kind of flowers or type of arrangement
would fit the occasion, could you please give me advice on that ? ».
François explains that a colourful bouquet would be appropriate and
quickly assembles a mixed bouquet, including sunflowers. The client
seems very happy with this choice and relieved at having found a
way to appropriately offer his condolences.
**
It is afternoon and the florists are preparing various incoming orders ; some of them sent by E-Mail. The local orchestra, a regular
client, as Peter explains, orders three bouquets «for their soloists». I
glance at the order and see that the orchestras’ secretary has taken the
precaution of specifying that the soloists were all women, suggesting
that this information would be relevant to the florist.
**
A female client enters the shop. François (salaried florist, aged 28) is
behind the counter ; he says hello, but does not immediately approach her. The client looks around and examines various flowers
more closely. After a while, François asks whether she needs more
time or whether he could be of assistance. She tells him that she has
decided what flowers she would like to buy and shows them to him.
François assembles the bouquet in front of her and then suggests
some decorative leaves, explaining in detail how they would improve
the appearance of the bouquet. The client is not convinced and asks
François to try out several different compositions, before finally
choosing the one she likes best.
In this sense, gender seems to be accomplished, sustained and reproduced by individuals and continues to act as a normative constraint, which
defines how men and women are expected to behave in a given social context. Florists clearly hold clients accountable for their sex category membership, assess the specific behaviour that is likely to result from this, and
adapt their own practices to these expectations.
However, when it comes to beliefs about the professional abilities of
male and female florists and to the practical organization of everyday activities, we found little evidence of orientation to sex categories, of gender
assessment or enforcement. Because florists do not believe that sex membership determines professional skills in any way, they see no reason to
allocate colleagues or employees to specific tasks on this basis. In other
words, we observed no signs of gender enforcement in the concrete organization of work, where the inter-changeability (Le Feuvre, 2008) of male
and female florists appears to be the rule.
36
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
B. The Irrelevance of Gender : Neutralising Sex Category Membership
1. Challenging the Gender of Professional Skills
The tasks florists undertake are associated with specific skills that are
considered to be important for the occupation : social and business acumen, imagination and creativity, an artistic flair and manual abilities. The
most successful florists are thus presumed to be those with an “artistic
flair” and with the social skills required to achieve recognition for this
from their clients, in the form of sales and customer loyalty.
Most of these skills tend to be routinely associated with femininity.
However, florists consider the skills they unanimously define as being important to their professional success to be gender-neutral. All of them
agree that men and women are potentially equally suited for this job.
When we asked Stéphane to discuss his vision of this occupation, he replied :
[As a man], when you start training as a florist, you just have to accept it, grin and bear it […] People automatically think it’s a women’s job, being a florist. But, no, no, it’s not at all a women’s job really, there are men who are just as creative and who know how to
work creatively (Stéphane, self-employed, married, two children,
aged 37).
Later on in the conversation, the question of creativity came up again.
Stéphane stressed that there are men and women who have no creative
inklings, thus implying that, just like their male counterparts, women are
not necessarily particularly suited to this job. Thus, although creativity is
seen as a given, rather than an acquired skill : «Either you have it or you
don’t» (Stéphane), it is not seen as something that is associated with sex
category membership. When asked to explain exactly how the flowers for
a bouquet should be arranged, Peter (self-employed, aged 41) shared a
similar gender-neutral vision of creativity. He claimed that although anyone could, in theory, learn precise flower arranging techniques20, the creative flair that makes for a good florist could not be taught : «either you
have the ability and the creativity, or you don’t… and never will», he said.
Clearly, despite the fact that these male florists overwhelmingly believe
that men and women necessarily have a different relationship to the labour
market and that women cannot achieve the same levels of time-commitment to the job as their male counterparts (see supra), they simultaneously
believe that there is no causal relationship between sex category membership and professional talent. As Mathieu states : «Sex doesn’t matter at all,
as long as the quality is there, the rest is not important» (Mathieu, selfemployed, single, childless, aged 38). Indeed, they claim that the most
valued professional skill is not gendered, thereby presenting men and
______________________________
20
These techniques are of course taught during the apprenticeship and tend to establish a certain common sense of how a bouquet should look (correct positioning of the flowers, dimension and relation between different accessories, complimentary colours, etc.).
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
37
women as potentially equally “florally creative”21. As men, these florists
do not see themselves as any more skilled than their female counterparts ;
they simply claim the same right of access to the characteristic that distinguishes professional mediocrity (having learnt the techniques required to
assemble a bouquet) from professional flair (achieving a “creative” result).
Of course, this simultaneous naturalization (“you either have it or you
don’t”) and gender neutralizing of creativity (“men are just as likely as
women to have it”) makes it rather difficult for our male respondents to
explain exactly why it is that there are, in practice, so few of these potentially creative men working as florists in the Swiss context. As we have
seen, one (rhetorical) way out of this conundrum, and that doesn’t require
making floral skills gender-specific in any way, is to insist on the societallevel “gender arrangement” effect. More creatively endowed men would
undoubtedly enter the occupation, if only they could be certain of receiving a “family wage” in return for this potential career choice.
Another way of dealing with the inability of the gender neutral definition of professional skills to account for the minority presence of men
within in the occupation consists in presenting the profession as more
highly masculinized than it really is. For instance, one of the self-employed male florists we interviewed explained that the statistical overrepresentation of women was not reflected in his personal experiences.
When asked about his contacts with male or female colleagues, he said :
It’s quite a mixed profession, very much so […], but whenever I
have a General Assembly or a meeting, or something similar, there
aren’t many women at all (Stéphane, self-employed, married, 2 children, aged 37).
In other words, in spite of an overwhelming majority of female florists
in the occupation Stéphane experiences his work context as largely “male
dominated”. This stunted vision of the gender composition of the occupation enables him to reject his affiliation to a statistical minority and to
simultaneously maintain a gender-neutral definition of professional skills.
The “otherness” which he statistically incorporates is thus rendered socially insignificant.
Men’s accounts of coming into contact with other men is undoubtedly a
very real consequence of the homo-sociability that results from the vertical segregation within the occupation ; but they also act as a discursive
strategy that enables male florists to maintain a “gender neutral” account
of creativity and skill. In this sense, it could be said that they are actively
engaged in challenging dominant gender norms (both men and women can
excel at creativity). However, the over-estimation of men’s presence within the occupation could nevertheless reflect an overriding preoccupation
______________________________
21
However, homosexual male florists are often presented as being “particularly creative”, suggesting
that “gender norm violation” often leads to the “homosexualization of disruptive men” (NIELSON J. et
al., 2000). This belief partly contradicts the gender-neutral account of skills to which the male florists
adhere in general and is a point that obviously requires further investigation.
38
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
with gender accountability : these men seem to need to account for the
fact that they are florists, but nevertheless still “real” men. In this sense, it
is possible that insisting on the gender-neutral character of skills and particularly of creativity could also serve as a strategy to legitimise their choice
of occupation and the fact that they remain in the job.
2. Neutralising Gender Enforcement in the Division of Tasks
The distance the male florists we met adopt towards gender norms in
relation to professional skills is also in evidence when it comes to the concrete organization of their everyday activities, which does not seem to depend on the active enforcement of gender accountability. Indeed, we
found little sign of sex category membership being mobilized to determine
the allocation of tasks in the workplace. Other factors seem to be more
prevalent. Firstly, seniority, including amongst trainees, would seem to be
a central criterion for task allocation : the complexity of the tasks increases according to length of training and/or service, but largely irrespective of
sex category membership. Incoming orders are dispatched according to
the availability and perceived ability of the staff present. Seniority is not
only used as a proxy for skill, but also as a social resource : the longer a
florist has been working in a shop, the more likely s/he is to be familiar
with the tastes of regular clients. Secondly, some apprenticeships provide
more opportunity to learn certain techniques than others. Thus, tasks are
also allocated on the basis of the florist’s past work history, in order to
maximize client satisfaction. Thirdly, the most important factor in task
allocation is a simple question of timing. We observed a relatively pragmatic handling of incoming orders and on-going tasks : the person who
has nothing else to do or is able to put his or her order on hold will often
deal with the next incoming order. In one of the shops, we observed the
handling of phone orders : frequently, the client describes the desired order in detail (colour, composition, size, etc.). The florist who answers the
phone will take detailed notes during this exchange, which theoretically
means that any other colleague could prepare the bouquet. However, this
is rarely the case. In fact, the florists claim that when the client is describing the bouquet over the phone they immediately have a precise picture of
the finished product in their mind and this is why it is easier for the person
who answered the phone to make the bouquet in question.
In fact, all the florists told us that it is very difficult to plan task allocation in advance, as phone orders can arrive at any time and clients can, of
course, come and go as they like. Some of the more time consuming orders (e.g. wedding flowers), generally come in a couple of weeks or
months in advance and could, therefore, be forward planned. But, even in
this case, the florists often decide who is going to prepare the order at the
last minute and, again, this depends more on seniority, work-history and
immediate availability than on sex category membership. For example,
even when a male florist was around, we never observed a distinct pattern
of tasks allocation to them.
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
39
Thus the unpredictable timing of tasks, along with the very minority
presence of men within the occupation, is obviously not conducive to a
strict horizontal division of labour. Neither does it enable the functional
specialization of male florists. It would be practically impossible to attribute carrying heavy equipment or producing particular types of bouquets
to men, simply due to the statistical over-representation of women in the
occupation.
VI. Conclusion
The aim of this article was to investigate the accountability of men in
“feminine” jobs to sex category membership and gender norms. We have
brought to light the complexity of male florists’ relationship to normative
gender categories ; they clearly tend to account for some aspects of their
professional experiences in stereotypical ways, whilst neutralising22 or
challenging gender norms on other levels. The minority status of being a
man in a highly feminized occupation is thus associated with somewhat
ambivalent forms of gender accountability (Hollander, 2013).
The male florists we studied mobilize stereotypical beliefs about women’s lack of commitment to the labour market in order to explain and justify their over-representation in the most rewarding sectors of the occupation. In so doing, they express a strong identification with the “(modified)
male breadwinner/female carer” model of gender relations and suggest
that the relatively low wage levels that Swiss florists can command are the
main reason so few men decide to enter this occupation. This reflects a
clear binary vision of what is “normal” for men and women ; selfemployment being framed as the only possible way for men to be suitably
accountable to the “family provider” normative figure of masculinity. At
the same time, this strong orientation to sex category membership is accompanied by a gender-neutral vision of the skill-base and professional
know-how of male and female florists. Although men are expected to be
more committed than women to their careers, they are not seen as any
more “creative” than their female counterparts. In terms of skills, therefore, male florists demonstrate very weak gender accountability.
When it comes to their interactions with clients, sex category membership clearly acts as a resource for male and female florists alike. Gender
assessment is a clear component of the florists’ commercial strategies. It
also plays a central role in determining the recognition they receive. On
the one hand, women clients are expected to be more knowledgeable
about flowers, more directive in their orders and more appreciative of exceptional performances by their florists. On the other hand, the rather
floundering male clients enable florists to express their professional expertise more freely, but their expected inability to appreciate the final floral
______________________________
22
Here, we use the term “neutralize” to describe a subjective process of de-activating or defusing sex
category membership, in the sense of considering such categories as largely irrelevant to the situation at
hand.
40
R S & A, 2013/2 – Ambivalent Gender Accountability…
products at their full value makes them less rewarding clients to serve.
However, despite the strong gender assessment of clients, these very same
florists tend to neutralize sex category membership completely when it
comes to allocating tasks amongst themselves. The unpredictable timing
of their work activities makes the enforcement of a gendered division of
tasks objectively complicated to achieve. There is therefore no clear gender-based specialization of male and female florists, who are perceived as
largely “interchangeable” in the workplace (Le Feuvre, 1999).
Although these preliminary findings undoubtedly require further refinement, they clearly stress the interest of investigating under what circumstances sex affiliation becomes salient or not to individuals (Emerson et
al., 1995 :130-140). One of the principal implications of this study is to
confirm that not everything which is done or said at work can be taken as
a sign of gender accountability (Martin, 2003). In this sense, we can conclude that sex category membership is mobilized, neutralized or challenged with varying levels of intensity on the different scenes of professional
florists. Thus, when analyzing how men in feminine jobs “do” or potentially “undo” gender in their daily work lives, it is important to recognize
that gender is not systematically accomplished in the same way by all individuals at all times, despite the fact that it is clearly rendered salient in
certain circumstances.
However, it would be exaggerated to conclude that the neutralization of
gender norms that we have observed amongst the male florists we have
studied necessarily represents a challenge to the “gender order” more generally. Gender is in fact not really being “undone” here ; it is simply considered irrelevant to some aspects of work, whereas the very same male florists undeniably : «remain cognizant of the possibility of gender assessment» (Walzer, 2008 :6) in many other aspects of their daily activities.
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Structured Summary
This article investigates exactly how male florists relate to sex categories and existing
gender stereotypes in the course of their daily activities. Our main interest lies in the
idea that individuals invest gender norms with varying levels of salience in specific
social contexts. We therefore focus on the ways in which male florists account for their
professional activities in normative gendered ways, whilst also stressing the opportunities for challenging gender norms that are associated with the minority status of being
a man in a highly feminised occupation. We are particularly interested in looking at the
way men mobilise, neutralise or challenge sex category membership to explain their
own professional practices and career paths.
The existing literature is rather ambivalent as to the implications of men’s presence in
highly feminised occupations. On the one hand, some authors have analysed the implications of minority status for male and female career paths and promotion opportunities. On the other hand, some authors have been more concerned with the implications
of such atypical career choices for the gender order as a whole. In this paper, we will
mainly explore the analytical potential of a third corpus of literature, less often focussed on atypical gender configurations, but potentially useful for thinking about the
ways in which men and women in non-traditional occupations “do gender” on a daily
basis and about the multiple ways in which gender “accountability” may prevail in
such contexts.
Our ethnographic and interview data, based on field notes taken during several periods
of participant observation in different occupational settings, suggest that the concept of
“accountability”, which combines orientation to sex category, gender assessment and
enforcement (Hollander, 2013), provides a useful framework for analysing situations
that apparently do not correspond to gender accomplishment in the normative sense of
the term. We argue that individuals are not necessarily held accountable to sex categories in the same way at all times and that some social contexts may even offer the op-
N. Le Feuvre, I. Zinn
45
portunity for individuals to neutralise or challenge (i.e. “undo“) gender to a certain
extent.
In conclusion, we show that the accountability of male florists to sex categories and
gender norms varies considerably, according to the particular dimension of their experiences studied. They clearly relate very strongly to sex categories when explaining
their personal trajectories, and more generally men’s position within the profession.
Likewise, they systematically mobilise gender norms in the assessment of clients. Interactions with male and female clients are based on stereotypical beliefs about their
requirements and needs and sex categories largely determine the forms of professional
recognition that florists expect from their clients. In fact, gender assessment is a clear
component of the florists’ commercial strategies. However, sex category membership
is seen as largely irrelevant to the division of tasks between florists in the course of
their daily activities.
In this sense, sex category membership is activated, neutralised or challenged with
varying levels of intensity on the different scenes of professional florists. We therefore
conclude that, although gender is not systematically accomplished by all florists at all
times, it is clearly rendered salient in certain circumstances. Although we argue that
male florists simultaneously mobilise, neutralise and contest normative gender assumptions in the course of their daily lives, it would be exaggerated to conclude that
these practices necessarily represent a threat to the gender order as a whole. The male
florists we studied do not really “undo” gender ; they simply consider sex categories
and some gender norms as “irrelevant” to certain aspects of their daily activities,
whereas these are considered to have considerable bearing on other dimensions of their
work.