Teachers’ Experiences of Pumping at Work: Centering Outlaw Emotions

• In Event: Radical Acts of Care in Teaching

Abstract

This paper is based on the first study in the U.S. focused on the embodied experiences of teachers lactating at work. In current research and discourse, expressing milk is discussed in mechanical terms. Yet positive, calm feelings are integral to successful pumping.This paper fills a gap in existing research by focusing on the emotional needs of lactating teachers. Based on a study of the experiences of 20 lactating teachers in the U.S., this paper illustrates how loneliness and stress impact lactating teachers. By engaging lactating teachers about their negative, or outlaw, emotional experiences, more can be learned about what needs to be changed to make school spaces inclusive.

Author

• Elise Toedt, University of Minnesota