The article analyzes the phenomenon of ?politicization of caring,? observed in studies of nurse
labor conflict, in the context of a small-scale episode of conflict at a Swedish hospital ward. Using
analytical concepts drawn from work on the role of images of gendered ideal workers in management
cultivation of consent, and the method of positioning analysis, it tries to identify the little
researched discursive practices involved in the politicization of caring. Analysis of interviews with
registered nurses, who took part in a conflict where some of them threatened to resign unless
wages were raised and working conditions improved, shows a range of such strategies: including
problematizing identities in nursing, expanding the context of caring work, using a discourse of professionalism,
and redefining the interpellated image of nursing. Findings indicate that politicization
thus has important effects on the gendering of nursing and the viability of neoliberal restructuring
of healthcare work.
Author Biography
Magnus Granberg, Department of Social Science, Mid Sweden University
