From bread-maker to bomb-builder

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the construction of gender identity in the Canadian television series Bomb Girls (2012-2013), which depicted the lives of women working at a munitions factory during the Second World War.Design/methodology/approachThis research is guided by a postmodern feminist and historiographic approach to organization studies. The study involved a qualitative content analysis of the series to explore the construction of gender identity among female factory workers, given traditional social constructions of gender prominent in wartime.FindingsIn its (re)construction and (re)negotiation of gender identity, Bomb Girls told a story about women’s working lives during the Second World War that reflected themes of independence, resilience and transformation.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contends that Bomb Girls is a revisionist work of postmodern feminist history that subverts gender norms and retrospectively offers a nuanced and progressive narrative about the lives of Canadian women who entered the workforce during the Second World War.Originality/valueThis research contributes to historiographical approaches to management and organization studies by bringing a postmodern feminist historical lens to the study of women’s work in a popular culture representation. In doing so, this research responds to long-standing and widespread calls for an “historic turn” in the field as well as for research that addresses gender as a central analytical category.