Page 186 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 186
plex Gateways
tabloid press, which does not provide an objective picture of the manifold
activities and skills. Such differentiated statements manifest the cultur-
al capital of the interviewees.
Although many locate themselves in the habitual tradition of the
dock worker in regard to values and attitude, they also distance them-
selves from the outdated image of the unskilled worker. However, Bernt
Kamin-Seggewies, former head of human resources at the GHB, explains
in our interview that certain imageries of masculinity and associations
based primarily on outside appearance not only continue to shape images
of the dock workers to this day, but are also taken up and passed on by the
actors themselves. He relates the following characterizations in the con-
text of the GHB workers and colleagues: ‘Some of them run around with
tattooed arms, come along on the Harley and tend to puff up. (…) The
habitus is still dragged along by some, although the work has changed.
It is very interesting to note that the reputation of the dock worker,
both among individuals and in the public’s perception, is still that of the
drunken day labourer of yesteryear, which has nothing to do with reality
anymore’ (Bernt Kamin-Seggewies, 1960). He expresses some employees’
need to carry the acquired economic capital to the outside world through
status symbols such as motorcycles or cars. In this example, he vividly il-
lustrates the use of the imaginaries ascribed to their occupational pro-
file in a situational way. They stage habitual attributions to express their
masculinity that no longer correspond to current practices. In contrast,
in several interviews with actors who belong to a different age cohort,
they characterized themselves as social climbers through their abilities
and qualifications. Their acquired cultural capital becomes visible as they
tightly link their professional biographies to structural developments.
Gustav Paulsen depicted the social advancement using the imag-
es circulating about the work and the financial opportunities that arose
over the years. He explained that during his time in the port, he had ex-
perienced three generations of dockers, mirroring the processes: those
after the war had nothing, those afterwards had a bicycle, and those af-
terwards had a car and moved away from port areas. The development
described not only reflects economic and spatial changes, but also influ-
enced social relations.
186
tabloid press, which does not provide an objective picture of the manifold
activities and skills. Such differentiated statements manifest the cultur-
al capital of the interviewees.
Although many locate themselves in the habitual tradition of the
dock worker in regard to values and attitude, they also distance them-
selves from the outdated image of the unskilled worker. However, Bernt
Kamin-Seggewies, former head of human resources at the GHB, explains
in our interview that certain imageries of masculinity and associations
based primarily on outside appearance not only continue to shape images
of the dock workers to this day, but are also taken up and passed on by the
actors themselves. He relates the following characterizations in the con-
text of the GHB workers and colleagues: ‘Some of them run around with
tattooed arms, come along on the Harley and tend to puff up. (…) The
habitus is still dragged along by some, although the work has changed.
It is very interesting to note that the reputation of the dock worker,
both among individuals and in the public’s perception, is still that of the
drunken day labourer of yesteryear, which has nothing to do with reality
anymore’ (Bernt Kamin-Seggewies, 1960). He expresses some employees’
need to carry the acquired economic capital to the outside world through
status symbols such as motorcycles or cars. In this example, he vividly il-
lustrates the use of the imaginaries ascribed to their occupational pro-
file in a situational way. They stage habitual attributions to express their
masculinity that no longer correspond to current practices. In contrast,
in several interviews with actors who belong to a different age cohort,
they characterized themselves as social climbers through their abilities
and qualifications. Their acquired cultural capital becomes visible as they
tightly link their professional biographies to structural developments.
Gustav Paulsen depicted the social advancement using the imag-
es circulating about the work and the financial opportunities that arose
over the years. He explained that during his time in the port, he had ex-
perienced three generations of dockers, mirroring the processes: those
after the war had nothing, those afterwards had a bicycle, and those af-
terwards had a car and moved away from port areas. The development
described not only reflects economic and spatial changes, but also influ-
enced social relations.
186
