"How can you do it?": Dirty work and the challenge of constructing a positive identity

The identity literature suggests that the stigma of "dirty work" threatens the ability of occupational members to construct an esteem-enhancing social identity. However, research indicates much the opposite, creating a puzzle we attempt to answer. We argue that the stigma of dirty work fosters devel opment of a strong occupational or workgroup culture, which fosters (1) ide ological reframing, recalibrating, and refocusing and (2) selective social comparisons and differential weighting of outsiders' views. These defense m echanisms transform the meaning of "dirt" and moderate the impact of social perceptions of dirtiness.