'You can't bend down, can't breathe': Trousers, Gendered Embodiment and the Cultural Politics of Police Uniforms.

This article contributes to the growing literature on gendered challenges in policing by examining how uniform design—specifically standard-issue police trousers—impacts the embodied experiences of women officers and staff. Drawing on qualitative data from 88 participants across five police forces i...

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Publicado en:British Journal of Criminology Vol. 66; no. 5; pp. 1070 - 1092
Autor principal: Camargo, Camilla R De
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Sep2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: 'You can't bend down, can't breathe': Trousers, Gendered Embodiment and the Cultural Politics of Police Uniforms.
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        au: Camargo, Camilla R De
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        Policewomen
        Social processes
        Politics & culture
        Well-being
        Psychological distress
        Uniforms
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          Social processes
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          Other Apparel Knitting Mills
          Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors
          Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing
          Women's and girls' cut and sew clothing manufacturing
          Clothing and clothing accessories merchant wholesalers
          Other Specialized Design Services
          Uniforms
          Fashion design
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        copyrightHolder:Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)
        copyrightYear:2026
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        emotional labour and well-being
        gender and policing
        inLanguage:en
        occupational health
        publisher:Oxford University Press
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        trousers
        uniform design
        copyrightHolder:Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)
        copyrightYear:2026
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        emotional labour and well-being
        gender and policing
        inLanguage:en
        occupational health
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaf065
        trousers
        uniform design
      ab: This article contributes to the growing literature on gendered challenges in policing by examining how uniform design—specifically standard-issue police trousers—impacts the embodied experiences of women officers and staff. Drawing on qualitative data from 88 participants across five police forces in England and Wales (2023–24), the study highlights a range of physical and psychosocial harms that participants attributed to poorly fitting trousers. While the police uniform is often regarded as a cohesive and neutral symbol of authority, this article deconstructs its material and gendered dimensions, examining how women who voice discomfort or health concerns are often met with institutional silencing—especially when their bodily needs diverge from the normative ideal of the disembodied 'ideal police worker'. In doing so, this article offers a unique contribution to criminological debates on embodiment, well-being and the cultural politics in a uniformed organization.
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      src: R
    language: English
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