The More Things Change,the More They Stay the Same

Abstract

Recent feminist theorising suggests that we view gender as a “stylised repetition of acts” (Butler, 1990, p. 140) and challenges. In an ongoing research project, we have been following and participating in the career development of a group of women graduates for nine years. In this paper we look at the shifting discourses around the notion of career and women's aspirations and the way in which those discourses reconstitute gender in everyday talk. In particular we examine the ways in which the women create and enact meaning for terms such as “career”, “balance”, “success” and “flexibility”. We take a critical look at changing interpretations in the light of current opportunities for women in Aotearoa/ New Zealand.