Abstract
The aim of the study was to explore how bodywork that is done by beauty
therapists has an effect on their own bodies. The study used Hochschild’s (1983)
emotional labour concept and Gimlin’s (2007) theory of bodywork as a theoretical
framework. In defining bodywork, Gimlin (2007), stated that it is a practice that is
undertaken on one’s own body or on another person’s body and this is done by a
professional bodyworker. Most literature has discussed emotional labour in
organisational studies where scholars have tried to understand the use of
emotional labour in organisations focusing more on employers and employees. An
attempt to depart from the organisational application of bodywork concepts
towards a sociological understanding of emotional labour and its connection to
bodyworkers has been made in various societies. These empirical studies on
emotional labour have shown that bodywork has both emotional and physical
effect on therapists. However, much of the academic literature does not adequately
cover the social and emotional effect of work undertaken by therapists on their own
bodies and those of their clients, yet the rise of the beauty industry has seen
emotional body labour rising among beauty therapists whose work revolves around
bodywork. Thus, the empirical gap is worrisome due to the negative influence that
the use of bodywork and emotions has on these professionals. As a result of the
scholarly gap, this study focused on how beauty therapists in South Africa engage
in bodywork and the effects of bodywork on their bodies. The study employed a
qualitative approach to explore the effects of bodywork on hairdressers, make-up
artists and massage therapists located in Melville, Johannesburg. Purposive
sampling was used to select 15 participants and semi-structured interviews were
conducted to collect data from the selected participants. The findings of this study
showed that beauty therapists perform different forms of bodywork on their bodies
such as hairdressing and makeup with a goal to look beautiful and in keeping with
their role as therapists. However, performing bodywork such as emotional labour
has a negative impact on their bodies such as various forms of physical and
emotional strain. The study confirmed that gender and race play a role in the use
of bodywork since women place a lot of value on beauty and do more in terms of
bodywork to attain and maintain beauty as the society expects. On the other hand,
black therapists sometimes deal with racial stereotypes which may see them failing
to get opportunities like those availed to their white counterparts as they have to
do more to convince white clients that they are good at their work. The findings
also showed that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on the beauty industry
financially and has changed how beauty therapists perform bodywork at their
workplace. The salon and parlours closed because the close proximity and
demand for body contact between the client and the bodyworker left a high risk of
Covid-19 transmission. This study concluded that the emergence of Covid-19 has
shifted the way beauty therapists perform bodywork on their clients and some
conducted house calls or took their business online to maintain social distance and
remain in business. The study recommends that the Government of South Africa
should provide beauty therapists with financial and emotional support through
counselling services to cushion them from loss of income and emotional strain.
Keywords: Bodywork, Emotional Labour, Beauty Industry Covid -19, South Africa.