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Aesthetic Labour
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Aesthetic Labour

First Edition


October 2020 | 216 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
This accessible and exciting new text looks at the implications of aesthetic labour for work and employment by contextualizing debates and offering a critical approach. The origins of aesthetic labour are explored, as well as the relevant theories from business and management, and sociology. Coverage includes key topics such as: corporate strategy; recruitment and selection practices; and discrimination.

Key features include:

- a range of case studies from across different types of organizations and popular culture

- the exploration of topics such as branding, 'lookism', 'dressing for success' and cosmetic surgery

- suggestions for further reading.


 
Chapter 1 Appearances Matters
 
Chapter 2 The Aestheticization of the Economy and Society
 
Chapter 3 If You Look the Part, You’ll Get the Job
 
Chapter 4 Ready to Workwear
 
Chapter 5 Body Talk: ‘signalling with more than looks’
 
Chapter 6 Irritable Vowel Syndrome
 
Chapter 7 Beauty and the Beast: The ‘Dark Side’ of Aesthetic Labour
 
Chapter 8 The Future of Aesthetic Labour

A remarkable contribution by two outstanding researchers.  This is an important topic which, in their words, was born in the sociological imagination and developed through rigorous empirical research.  The book is well-written and very accessible.  I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the realities of the world of work.

Professor Irena Grugulis
Leeds University Business School, UK

In this monograph-textbook hybrid, Warhurst and Nickson deliver smooth prose, theoretical complexity, and a clarion call to confront appearance-based discrimination. [...] The authors produced an accessible text without diluting their intellectual contributions. Witty chapter titles and section headings reflect both the book’s approachability and the importance of popular culture to aesthetic labor. Warhurst and Nickson take care in explaining key concepts and using examples to help enforce reader comprehension.

Kyla Walters
Sonoma State University, USA
Teaching Sociology

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ISBN: 9781529702026

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ISBN: 9781847870841
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ISBN: 9781847870858
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This title is also available on SAGE Knowledge, the ultimate social sciences online library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.