Base community life depends on unpaid spouse labor under subtle coercion

Evidence

Military spouses are also on call to perform significant work outside the home. Mayberry-like feelings of community on bases don’t magically appear from nowhere. They develop in no small part because of the work spouses do to build community, especially at overseas locations. While there are no formal requirements for spouses to participate in base activities or directly support a service member’s job, subtle pressures suggest that not participating might affect their partner’s performance reviews. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 458

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the classic critique of corporate ‘trailing spouse’ labor and sociologist Arlie Hochschild’s work on unpaid emotional labor.