Pumping at Work: Lactating Teachers Navigate Institutional Constraints

• In Event: Teacher Care: Working Toward Humanization for Others and the Self

Abstract

Teachers’ experiences of breastfeeding in the workplace are a relevant but understudied topic. In this study, I analyzed 36 comments about milk expression that were posed on the popular parenting websites “What to Expect” and “Babycenter.” I asked: What are common discourses concerning time and space that situate the lactating body in schools? What might these discourses reveal about institutional values? I engaged in a qualitative analysis of data (Jackson and Mazzei, 2012). To interpret my findings, I used Michel Foucault’s (1977) theorization concerning how institutions produce docile bodies. I conclude by arguing that the public complaints of lactating teachers function as a form of politicized action. I share implications in terms of teachers’ agency to change current systems.

Author

• Elise Toedt, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities