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PhD Dissertation.Lynn M. Horan.pdf (4.02 MB)

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Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, and the Disappearance of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women

Horan, Lynn M.
http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6600-9525
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1726063102781829

Abstract Details

2024, Ph.D., Antioch University, Leadership and Change.
In today’s mainline Protestant churches, young women clergy navigate a precarious leadership space. While women’s ordination is well-established in American Protestantism (Burnett, 2017), Gen-X/Millennial clergy women find themselves at the crosshairs of conflicting gender narratives and unsustainable expectations of what it means to be both a woman and an ordained pastoral leader. Through the use of feminist constructivist grounded theory methodology, this study explored the lived experiences of Gen-X/Millennial clergy women who have left active ministry or a specific pastoral position due to concerns over their own interpersonal boundaries and psychological safety. Through dimensional analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 clergy women representing eight mainline Protestant denominations, this study identified the co-core dimensions of experiencing feminized servanthood as dehumanizing and experiencing feminized servanthood as abusive. The social processes within these co-core dimensions severely compromised the clergy women’s physical and psychological safety and informed their decisions to leave their respective ministry contexts. Extending from these co-core dimensions were five primary dimensions: 1) developing a sense of call; 2) differentiating self from system; 3) exposing vs. protecting toxic leaders and harmful systems; 4) nail in the coffin; and 5) reconstituting self. As a result of these findings, this study presents five theoretical propositions that address 1) the shadow side of servant leadership in the context of feminized servanthood; 2) reclaiming Gen-X/Millennial women’s leadership strengths; 3) perceptions of self-differentiated women leaders as a “dissident daughter” and an “emasculating disruptor”; 4) gendered scapegoating and the disappearance of Gen-X/Millennial clergy women; and 5) reconstituting self beyond “reckoning” and “resilience.” This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).
Harriet Schwartz, PhD (Committee Chair)
Lemuel Watson, EdD (Committee Member)
Martha Reineke, PhD (Committee Member)
365 p.
Gender; Gender Studies; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Psychology; Religion; Religious Congregations; Religious History; Social Psychology; Social Research; Sociology; Spirituality; Theology; Womens Studies
feminist constructivist grounded theory; women and leadership; women clergy; psychological safety; executive derailment; mimetic theory; scapegoating; boundaries; intergenerational trauma; mother-daughter wound; toxic masculinity; servant-leadership

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Horan, L. M. (2024). Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, and the Disappearance of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1726063102781829

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Horan, Lynn. Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, and the Disappearance of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women. 2024. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1726063102781829.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Horan, Lynn. "Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, and the Disappearance of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1726063102781829

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1726063102781829
43
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.