The emerging occupations of end-of-life doula and death midwife are part of a growing sector of personal service jobs. Designed to support, educate, and empower dying people and their loved ones, these new roles entail both the commodification of women’s unpaid labor and a repositioning of the paid work typically done by marginalized women. This study examines the identity talk of 19 occupational pioneers and focuses on the relationship between gender, class, race, and efforts to secure occupational legitimacy. Findings suggest that, in an effort to mitigate tensions stemming from the professionalization of feminized work, these pioneers strategically embrace a feminine occupational identity in ways that code their labor as White and middle class.

临终导乐和死亡助产士等新兴职业是不断增长的个人服务工作部门的一部分。这些新角色旨在支持、教育和赋予临终者及其亲人权力，它们既需要将女性的无偿劳动商品化，也需要重新定位通常由边缘化女性完成的有偿工作。本研究考察了 19 位职业先驱的身份谈话，重点关注性别、阶级、种族与确保职业合法性的努力之间的关系。调查结果表明，为了缓解因女性化工作的专业化而产生的紧张局势，这些先驱战略性地采用了女性职业身份，将他们的劳动编码为白人和中产阶级。