'Ass-kicking' women: Doing and undoing gender in a US livestock auction

Abstract

Using in-depth interviews with farm operators and participant observation at a livestock auction, this article explores how women in conventional agriculture in the USA 'do gender' in a male-dominated world. In particular the ways that space, both public and private, alters the performance of gender are analysed. Given that agriculture in the USA has traditionally been tied to masculinity and that more and more women are entering the field, the article examines the strategies women employ to negotiate the tension between being women and being farmers. The findings suggest that in general women's success is intricately tied to their ability to reproduce the masculinity that spells success for their male counterparts. These women dress in masculine clothing, swear and are 'tough as nails'. Furthermore, women's mere presence as farm operators does not necessarily subvert the relationship between masculinity and agriculture. In many ways this notion is reinforced by the presence of these women and so the performance of gender ultimately reinforces rather than subverts the ties between hegemonic masculinity and agriculture. © 2007 The Author(s); Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.