Gender dramatically shapes how individuals respond to, experience, and recover from disasters. Past gender and disaster research has examined gendered roles, volunteerism, and mental health; however, little research has focused on the intersection of these topics. Drawing on data from ethnographic research with eight distinct civilian volunteer search and rescue (SAR) organizations, this research examined the mental and emotional health experiences of volunteers and how they discussed those experiences. Findings revealed that experiences were dictated by a gendered division of labor that positioned men in roles as boaters and women as back-end volunteers taking on roles as dispatchers and social media administrators. Boaters understood their experience through traditional masculine norms, minimizing and compartmentalizing their experiences while being framed as “the rescuer.” Back-end volunteers described mental health experiences differently due to their position as the “first point of contact” and expending additional emotional labor because of that position. The insights gained from this research provide evidence that gender is a critical structural element in how volunteers experience and discuss mental health in disaster settings. • Conducted a four-year ethnographic study with civilian volunteer search-and-rescue groups. • Focus on the intersection of gender, disaster, volunteerism, mental and emotional health and labor. • Findings indicated masculinity shaped boater’s perceptions and discussions of mental health. • Gendered division of labor created unique mental health experiences for back-end volunteers • Back-end volunteers experienced increased emotional labor due to their position.
Breen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.