Woman in the ivory tower

Abstract

Purpose: To challenge dualistic concepts of masculinity and femininity via a case for understanding gender as a verb.Design/methodology/approach: Using Deleuzian and feminist frameworks, the paper appraises six plateaus of desire and intensity through which gendered identities are assembled and re‐assembled in binary terms. The case study approach highlights the positioning and repositioning of a woman whose leadership of a leading academic institution involves breaking new ground in a male‐defined occupation, at a time when higher education is undergoing radical restructure.Findings: The paper shows how masculinised and feminised identity positions are effected through attempts to affix certainty to indistinct and multiple dimensions of being and becoming.Originality/value: Suggests that if we wish to understand gender in non‐dualistic terms we should think through the body to see both corporeality and identity as ambiguous and always unfinished assemblage