Gemma Hartley is an American author and journalist best known for a viral article in Harper's Bazaar on emotional labor and her subsequent book Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward (HarperCollins, 2018).[1][2][3][4][5]

Work

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In 2017, Hartley wrote an article for Harper's Bazaar entitled "Women Aren't Nags—We're Just Fed Up," about the struggles women in heterosexual relationships face in trying to divide household labor equitably, including both the visible labor and the invisible labor that women end up doing much more of.[6] The article went viral, earning millions of views and social media shares, bringing forward the subject of emotional labor that women disproportionally bear, and sparking a national conversation on gender inequality.[7][8][9] The attention the article gained created interest from book publishers, and Hartley got book deal to expand the concept.[10] In 2018, HarperCollins published Hartley's book, Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward.[11][12] In Fed Up, Hartley highlights the many ways women carry unequal labor burdens within the household, both seen and unseen, and offers solutions on having productive conversations to equalize that labor.[13]

Hartley describes emotional labor as a cultural problem that's taught to all of us at a young age and deeply ingrained, and it must therefore be addressed that way, as a cultural problem we must unlearn.[14] Fed Up offers solutions for avoiding gender inequality and undue emotional labor for women in the workplace.[15][16]

Fed Up has been compared to Soraya Chemaly's book Rage Becomes Her, Rebecca Traister's Good and Mad, and other books focused on women's anger over various aspects of gender inequality.[17][18]

Aside from emotional labor, Hartley also writes extensively about feminism, the challenges of motherhood, and work culture.[19][20][21][22][23]

Criticism

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Hartley has been criticized for misusing the term "emotional labor", which was originated by in 1983 by sociologist Arlie Hochschild in the book The Managed Heart.[24][25][26][27][28][29] Hochschild argues that emotional labor refers only to the emotional work required in some paid professions, such as flight attendants needing to smile and look pleasant, and not to unpaid labor in the home, as Hartley defines it.[30] Others have argued that language evolves and Hartley's expanded definition resonates with many women.[31]

Hartley has responded that she does not think "emotional labor" is the best term for her topic, and that she prefers to talk about "invisible labor." But because emotional labor was the term people knew it as, her publisher asked her to stick with that term for the book.[32]

Personal

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Hartley is married, has three children, and lives in Reno, Nevada.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Hartley, Gemma (2017-09-27). "Women Aren't Nags—We're Just Fed Up". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  2. ^ "Fed Up". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  3. ^ "'What do women want?': A company that lets women hire attractive male servants says it has the answer". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  4. ^ "20 Relationship Books That Will Help You Be a Better Partner and Friend". SELF. 2020-09-09. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  5. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward by Gemma Hartley. HarperOne, $26.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-06-285598-5". PublishersWeekly.com. November 2018. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  6. ^ Hartley, Gemma (2017-09-27). "Women Aren't Nags—We're Just Fed Up". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  7. ^ Hartley, Gemma (2017-10-05). "Men Everywhere Finally Understand Emotional Labor". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  8. ^ "A House Divided". www.bookforum.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  9. ^ LMSW, Melody Wilding. "How Emotional Labor Affects Women's Careers". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  10. ^ Bussel, Rachel Kramer. "How To Turn A Viral Article Into A Published Book". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  11. ^ "Fed Up". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  12. ^ Bielski, Zosia (2018-11-19). "Delegating the unseen, endless list of emotional labour". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  13. ^ Horton, Anisa Purbasari (2018-11-19). "Men, emotional labor is your problem, too". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  14. ^ Times, The New York (2018-05-05). "Listen to 'Dear Sugars': The Invisible Work (Most) Women Do — With Gemma Hartley". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  15. ^ Burch, Kelly. "These moms say low pay, illnesses, and feelings of failing their own kids are why they left jobs in childcare". Insider. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  16. ^ Hartley, Gemma (2019-08-28). "How to talk to your boss about emotional labor". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  17. ^ "Women's Rage Is the Most Powerful Engine of 2018". Time. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  18. ^ Rodriguez, Victoria (2018-10-06). "9 books to read if you're mad as hell at the patriarchy". Mashable. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  19. ^ "Perspective | Why couldn't I make minimalism work? Because I wasn't the one making the mess". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  20. ^ Hartley, Gemma (2020-04-01). "Learning to rock climb changed my approach to problem-solving at work". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  21. ^ "Holiday Magic Is Made By Women. And It's Killing Us". HuffPost. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  22. ^ "What white women are getting wrong about the abortion debate". The Week. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  23. ^ "I Got Pregnant In College So I Wouldn't Have To Face Real Life". YourTango. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  24. ^ "'Emotional Labor' Is Not What You Think it Is". Vogue. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  25. ^ Hochschild, Arlie Russell (March 2012). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, Updated with a New Preface (3 ed.). ISBN 978-0-520-27294-1.
  26. ^ "No One Knows What 'Emotional Labor' Means Anymore". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  27. ^ Ward, Mary (2019-02-23). "How 'emotional labour' became feminism's new favourite term". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  28. ^ Keating, Shannon. "Let's Talk About The Ending Of "The White Lotus"". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  29. ^ Bosch, Kim. "In Gemma Hartley's Fed Up, Emotional Labor Is Everything and Nothing". Jezebel. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  30. ^ Beck, Julie (2018-11-26). "The Concept Creep of 'Emotional Labor'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  31. ^ Griffin, Annaliese. "The definition of "emotional labor" has changed. Don't fight it". Quartz. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  32. ^ Ward, Mary (2019-02-23). "How 'emotional labour' became feminism's new favourite term". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  33. ^ Ward, Mary (2019-02-23). "How 'emotional labour' became feminism's new favourite term". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-11.