Gender and Legitimacy in Personal Service Occupations: The Case of End-of-Life Doulas and Death Midwives

Abstract

The emerging occupations of end-of-life doula and death midwife are part of a growing sector of personal service jobs. Designed to support, educate, and empower dying people and their loved ones, these new roles entail both the commodification of women’s unpaid labor and a repositioning of the paid work typically done by marginalized women. This study examines the identity talk of 19 occupational pioneers and focuses on the relationship between gender, class, race, and efforts to secure occupational legitimacy. Findings suggest that, in an effort to mitigate tensions stemming from the professionalization of feminized work, these pioneers strategically embrace a feminine occupational identity in ways that code their labor as White and middle class.