Feminist CMS Writing as Difficult Joy: Via Bitches and Birds

Abstract

This chapter explores how writing ‘with animals’ can contribute to the development of feminist and queer approaches in Critical Management Studies (CMS). The chapter is theoretically framed with previous work in organisational studies and CMS on gendered writing and introduces the queer practice of ‘dog-writing’ used by feminists in human-animal studies like Donna Haraway and Susan McHugh. Cixous’ essay on ‘On birds, women and writing’ is used to introduce the idea of writing as a ‘difficult joy’. The author then uses writing from her personal journals to ‘write with animals’, especially birds, to show how thought can start. Writing with animals means to be-in-the-world with animals and recognise the ways they are foundational to not only organisational life, but thought itself. By drawing on developments by queer and feminist writers in human-animal studies CMS writers can engage with contemporary creative resistance practices and offer affirmative alternatives.

Citation

Sayers, J. (2017), "Feminist CMS Writing as Difficult Joy: Via Bitches and Birds", Feminists and Queer Theorists Debate the Future of Critical Management Studies (Dialogues in Critical Management Studies, Vol. 3), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 155-169. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2046-607220160000003013