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Precarious bodies: occupational risk assemblages in Bolivia and Trinidad
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 08:46 authored by Rebecca PrenticeRebecca Prentice, Mei TruebaMei TruebaThis article develops a concept of “precarious bodies” to theorise the lived experience of labour precariousness in the 21st century and its implications for workers’ health, wellbeing and household reproduction. Drawing on ethnographic research with Bolivian miners and Trinidadian garment workers, we explore the relationship between workers’ exposure to global market forces and their everyday experiences of work, health and risk in these industries. “Precarious bodies” is a heuristic that takes into a single frame the macro-level economic and regulatory processes that create risks for workers, and the various ways in which workers negotiate these risks through their work practices and livelihood choices. We show precarious bodies to be both vulnerable and strategic. Positioned in situations of exploitation and risk, their choices to protect their livelihoods can harm their health and reinforce—rather than counteract—the precarious circumstances of their households.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Global Labour JournalISSN
1918-6711Publisher
McMaster UniversityExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
9Page range
41-56Department affiliated with
- Global Health and Infection Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes