Power and exploitation within the cosmetics industry
This ongoing project explores themes of power and exploitation within the cosmetics industry. It draws upon ethnographic research undertaken by Dr David Hollis in a UK cosmetics company.
Project overview
The project explores how routines, norms and discourses that centre around 鈥榖eauty鈥 exploit workers whose labour is typically undervalued and underpaid. Access to makeup artists鈥 daily work allows for insights into how seemingly mundane and innocuous practices, such as 鈥榤aking up鈥 the face and makeup techniques, can extract surplus value from workers鈥 bodies, subjectivities, and pay.
Key research outputs
Hollis, D., Wright, A., Smolovi膰 Jones, O. & Smolovi膰 Jones, N (2021) 鈥楩rom 鈥榩retty鈥 to 鈥榩retty powerful鈥: The communicatively constituted power of facial beauty鈥檚 performativity鈥. Organization Studies, 42(12): 1885-1907.
Key research activity
Hollis, D., Wright, A., Smolovi膰 Jones, O. & Smolovi膰 Jones, N (2021). 鈥楩rom 鈥減retty to pretty powerful:鈥 Facial beauty鈥檚 performative power鈥. Nominated for Responsible Research Award at The Academy of Management Annual Meeting (Organization and Management Theory division)
Hollis, D (2022). 鈥楳ethodological and Theoretical Learnings about how Identities Materialize鈥. Invited presentation at University of Twente.
