Bodies and work: A Study of Employment in the Service and Cultural Sectors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/eps.8.2.6962Keywords:
Economic exploitation, cultural exploitation, workplace injuries, service sector, cultural sector, occupational healthAbstract
Professions linked to cultural production and those associated with the service sector share certain characteristics that are not easily identifiable if we limit ourselves to considering the tasks formally assigned and recognised as belonging to those who work in these fields. However, by focusing on the negative effects experienced by those engaged in such work, it is possible to assess some common harms. Through a series of interviews, this study aims to detect physical damage, emotional exhaustion, and the presence of aesthetic pressure in a set of activities connected with the service sector and with artistic and intellectual production. Physical strain and associated harm are taken as indicators of what we call economic exploitation. On the other hand, we present the emergence of aesthetic demands, as well as emotional exhaustion, as form of cultural exploitation. Finally, we analyse situations that illustrate what we might describe as a realisable utopia. In these, the necessary work of reproducing bodies is only
conditioned by the demands of activities that are both defined and meaningful.
References
Alonso Benito, L. E. (2007). La crisis de la ciudadanía laboral. Anthropos.
Bernard, S. (2020). Le nouvel esprit du salariat. Rémunérations, autonomie, inégalités. Presses Universitaires de France.
Elias, N. (2016 [1939]). El proceso de la civilización. Investigaciones sociogenéticas y psicogenéticas. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Entwistle, J. (2002 [2000]). El cuerpo y la moda. Una visión sociológica. Paidós.
Ferreras, I. (2007). Critique politique du travail. Travailler à l’heure de la société des services. Presses de Sciences Po.
Heinich, N. (1998). Le triple jeu de l'art contemporain. Les Éditions de Minuit.
Manne, K. (2024). Unshrinking: How to Fight Fatphobia. Penguin Books. Edición inglesa de Kindle.
Moreno Pestaña, J. L. (2016). La cara oscura del capital erótico. Capitalización del cuerpo y trastornos alimentarios. Akal.
Moreno Pestaña, J. L. (2020). Cuerpo, capital erótico, explotación. En L. E. Alonso, C. J. Fernández Rodríguez y R. Ibáñez Rojo (Eds.), Estudios sociales sobre el consumo. CIS.
Moreno Pestaña, J. L. (en prensa). Los dos cuerpos del trabajo. Un ensayo sobre explotación económica y explotación cultural. Akal.
Poliak, C. (2006). Pratiques et univers de consolation. Les écrivains amateurs. En G. Mauger (Ed.), Droits d’entrée. Modalités et Conditions d’accès aux univers artistiques (215-250). Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme.
Thornton, S. (2008). Seven days in the art world. W.W. Norton and Company.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nuria Peist Rojzman, Francisco Manuel Carballo Rodríguez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
