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Doing Gender as Resistance

Waitresses and Servers in Contemporary Table Service

University of Texas-Austin, chauntelle{at}mail.utexas.edu

This article examines the different ways in which "waitresses" in a traditional restaurant setting and "servers" in a routinized and standardized corporate restaurant setting "do gender" in the workplace. Whereas waitresses are permitted interpretative use of gender in the workplace, the goals and ideologies of the corporate restaurant limit servers' use of gender in the workplace. My findings suggest that normatively accepted versions of gender can be done as a method of resistance, rather than conformity, in standardized and routinized workplace settings. These conclusions are informed by ethnographic research conducted over twenty-two months in two different Los Angeles area restaurants.

Key Words: gender • work • resistance

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Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 36, No. 6, 731-751 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0891241607303508


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Tibbals, C. A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?