Emotional Labor
02/14/23 • 59 min
2 Listeners
Is the emotional opacity of men a social justice issue? In episode 71, Ellie and David break down the concepts of emotional and hermeneutic labor. The notion of emotional labor was originally created to shed light on gendered workplace interactions, but it has since been applied to romantic and other kinds of relationships. Is this expanded use of the term justified? Ellie’s research suggests that the concept of hermeneutic labor may better explain asymmetries of power in romantic relationships between men and women. Hermeneutic labor imbalances are produced by men’s inability to name and interpret their feelings and by the societal expectation that women manage their own emotions and those of their male partners simultaneously. How does Ellie’s research on hermeneutic labor shift our perspective on the issue of gender in emotional work?
Works Discussed
Ellie Anderson, “Hermeneutic Labor: The Gendered Burden of Interpretation in Intimate Relationships Between Women and Men”
Arlie Russell Hochschild, The Managed Heart
bell hooks, The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
Judith Farr Tormey, "Exploitation, Oppression and Self-Sacrifice"
Ronald Levant, “Desperately seeking language: Understanding, assessing, and treating normative male alexithymia”
Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, “Stoicism (as Emotional Compression) Is Emotional Labor”
Kathi Weeks, "Hours for What We Will: Work, Family, and the Movement for Shorter Hours”
Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | [email protected]
YouTube | Overthink podcast
Is the emotional opacity of men a social justice issue? In episode 71, Ellie and David break down the concepts of emotional and hermeneutic labor. The notion of emotional labor was originally created to shed light on gendered workplace interactions, but it has since been applied to romantic and other kinds of relationships. Is this expanded use of the term justified? Ellie’s research suggests that the concept of hermeneutic labor may better explain asymmetries of power in romantic relationships between men and women. Hermeneutic labor imbalances are produced by men’s inability to name and interpret their feelings and by the societal expectation that women manage their own emotions and those of their male partners simultaneously. How does Ellie’s research on hermeneutic labor shift our perspective on the issue of gender in emotional work?
Works Discussed
Ellie Anderson, “Hermeneutic Labor: The Gendered Burden of Interpretation in Intimate Relationships Between Women and Men”
Arlie Russell Hochschild, The Managed Heart
bell hooks, The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
Judith Farr Tormey, "Exploitation, Oppression and Self-Sacrifice"
Ronald Levant, “Desperately seeking language: Understanding, assessing, and treating normative male alexithymia”
Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, “Stoicism (as Emotional Compression) Is Emotional Labor”
Kathi Weeks, "Hours for What We Will: Work, Family, and the Movement for Shorter Hours”
Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | [email protected]
YouTube | Overthink podcast
Previous Episode
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
In the next hour, I might miss out on the greatest thing that could happen to me. Or maybe that’s just the FOMO talking. FOMO, the fear of missing out, has infiltrated the zeitgeist in the past decade. What does the obsession with FOMO tell us about our desire to connect with others in an age of consumer capitalism and social media? In episode 70, Ellie and David consider the fear of missing out in light of Nietzsche’s ressentiment, Freud’s psychoanalysis of Little Hans, and how FOMO has changed due to COVID. They consider whether the movement toward JOMO, or the joy of missing out, provides a viable solution to the fear.
Svend Brinkmann, The Joy of Missing Out: The Art of Self-Restraint in an Age of Excess Paperback
Sigmund Freud, Obsessions and Phobias
Sigmund Freud, “Analysis of a Phobia in a Five-Year-Old Boy”
Mayank Gupta and Aditya Sharma, “Fear of missing out: A brief overview of origin, theoretical underpinnings and relationship with mental health”
Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street”
Mark Morford, “Oh My God You are So Missing Out”
Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals
Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing
James A. Roberts and Meredith E. David, “The Social Media Party: Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Social Media Intensity, Connection, and Well-Being”
Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | [email protected]
YouTube | Overthink podcast
Next Episode
Why Live? with Céline Leboeuf
To be or not to be? That is the question. At the center of Hamlet’s soliloquy is the issue of whether life is worth living. In episode 72 of Overthink, Ellie and David consider this issue with philosopher and existentialism expert Céline Leboeuf. How can we find meaning in our lives when the world seems random and indifferent to our interests? Leboeuf talks about how her personal experience with an existential crisis and her philosophical search for a way out of it led her to consider religious, atheist, and spiritual answers to the question "Why Live?" Ellie and David also consider Camus’ notion of the absurd, and whether life is just a series of blips of suffering with no higher purpose.
Works Discussed
Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
William James, “Is Life Worth Living”
Céline Leboeuf, "Why Live? The Three Authors Who Saved Me During an Existential Crisis"
John Jay McDermott “Why Bother: Is Life Worth Living?”
Samuel Scheffer, Death and the Afterlife
Leo Tolstoy, A Confession
Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | [email protected]
YouTube | Overthink podcast
Overthink - Emotional Labor
Transcript
Hello and welcome to Overthink.
DavidThe podcast where two philosophy professors talk about exciting topics of relevance to you and us.
EllieI'm your co-host, Dr. Ellie Anderson.
DavidAnd I am Dr. David Peña-Guzmán.
EllieAnd today we are going to be talking about somethin
Emotional Labor Top Questions Answered
What is emotional labor in relationships?
Emotional labor in relationships refers to the effort and work involved in managing and expressing emotions to create a positive emotional environment. It often involves tasks such as listening, empathizing, supporting, and managing conflict.
How do power dynamics and reciprocity impact emotional labor?
Power dynamics and reciprocity play a role in determining whether emotional labor is seen as empowering or exploitative. When there is equality and mutual support in a relationship, emotional labor can be shared and appreciated. However, if power imbalances exist, emotional labor can become burdensome and disempowering for one party.
Why is open communication important in emotional labor?
Open communication is crucial in emotional labor because it allows individuals to express their needs, boundaries, and emotions effectively. It helps foster understanding, empathy, and mutual support in relationships.
What is the origin of the concept of emotional labor?
The concept of emotional labor was originally developed by sociologist Arlie Hochschild. It was initially focused on the workplace, specifically relating to the display of emotions required in certain jobs.
How does emotional labor differ from emotional work?
Emotional labor involves managing and expressing emotions to create a publicly observable display, often associated with certain jobs or relationships. Emotional work refers to the internal processing and management of emotions within oneself.
In what contexts does emotional labor often occur?
Emotional labor can be present in various contexts, including romantic relationships, friendships, family dynamics, and certain professions that require displaying specific emotions to the public.
How does gender influence the division of emotional labor?
Gender plays a significant role in the division of emotional labor. Women are often socialized to perform emotional labor from childhood, while men are encouraged to suppress their emotions. This gendered division places a disproportionate burden on women to attend to emotional needs in relationships.
What is hermeneutic labor in the context of emotional labor?
Hermeneutic labor refers to the labor of interpretation and understanding emotions in intimate relationships. It involves interpreting emotions, clearly conveying them, and finding solutions. Women, in particular, engage in hermeneutic labor in relationships.
How does the demand-withdraw communication pattern affect emotional labor?
The demand-withdraw pattern is a common communication mode, especially in heterosexual relationships, where women present issues and men withdraw. This pattern can create imbalances in emotional labor, as women often bear the burden of addressing and resolving emotional concerns.
What are the consequences of the gendered division of emotional labor?
The gendered division of emotional labor can lead to unequal power dynamics, emotional exhaustion for women, and the devaluation of emotional labor generally. It can perpetuate societal expectations and reinforce the idea that emotional labor is primarily women's responsibility.
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