‘No rest from the mess’: an intersectional analysis of young women’s pandemic lives in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACTThis paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the everyday lives of young women living in Aotearoa New Zealand. Engaging a feminist intersectional and youth studies approach and drawing upon interviews and focus groups with 45 young women (16–25 years) from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, we reveal how culture, ethnicity, socio-economic and living conditions impacted the gendered and emotional labor expected of young women (i.e. caring for younger siblings, vulnerable family members, various chores, part-time work), and how the practices of care for others impacted young women’s capacity for their own educational, social and career development. Ultimately, this paper highlights the remarkable agency of young women during the pandemic, their compassion and empathy for others, their learnings and reflections, and how this period of radical social disruption impacted their future imaginings for themselves. In so doing, our analysis raises important questions for youth-focused pandemic educational, social and employment policies, calling for more intersectional approaches that consider how COVID-19 is continuing to significantly and unevenly shape the identity development and life trajectories of young women.KEYWORDS: Intersectionalityyoung womenpandemichomeworkeducationfutures AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to our participants for sharing their pandemic experiences with us, and to those who kindly supported our connections with these young women (i.e., teachers). The authors also wish to thank the reviewers for their highly constructive feedback on an earlier version of this article.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingProfessor Thorpe acknowledges the support of a Royal Society James Cook Fellowship (JCF-UOW2101).Notes on contributorsHolly ThorpeHolly Thorpe is a Professor of Gender and Sport in Te Huataki Waiora School of Health at the University of Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a feminist sociologist with a focus on the entanglements of bodies, movement, culture, power, theory and method.Nida AhmadNida Ahmad is an independent researcher based in Colorado, USA. Her doctoral research focused on the digital lives of Muslim sportswomen and how they use social media to represent aspects of their identities.Mihi NemaniMihi Nemani is a Senior Lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology and the University of Waikato. Her Indigenous Feminist perspectives as a Samoan-Māori woman provide nuanced insider views in practice as a researcher and within Pasifika and Māori communities in Aotearoa-New Zealand.Grace O'LearyGrace O'Leary is a feminist geographer and sociologist. Her research interests include social theory, deviance, gender, subjectivities, and bodies within sport and leisure spaces.