Gendering Truck Driving Songs: The Cultural Masculinization of an Occupation

Abstract

Our analysis of more than a thousand songs about truck driving uncovers how cultural discourse defines an occupation as inherently for men. First, trucker songs essentialize the work as most suited for men by depicting male truckers as born to drive, and whose innate need to drive big rigs often resembles an addiction. Second, the songs imbue the occupation with masculine valor by glorifying instances of male truckers as overcoming the dangers of the road or falling prey to tragic martyrdom. In contrast, songs construct women truckers as mis-nurtured gender deviants whose ability to operate tractor-trailers is surprising given their sex category. Our analysis contributes to understanding the importance of culture in reinforcing occupational sex segregation and how cultural representations create and anchor gendered meanings to occupations.