Resumen de Integrating into shipboard life, while safeguarding the own identity
When we analyze sociologically the merchant ship from the perspective of the Total Institution, one aspect to consider is the special situation of the "newcomer" that needs to be integrated into the life on board and at the same time needs to preserve the own identityThe newcomer will have to approach the new group with the final intention to become part of it. He or she will try to adopt the rules and traditions, and by doing so she or he will often let in second term the safeguard of her or his own identity. On the other hand we all learn to perform a specific role according to the models we had. These models teach us how to play the role to be played on board and will be very important in the integrations’ process. What happens when the newcomer is a woman, considering the merchant ship a sociological field, traditionally dominated by men? This woman will face the challenge of making its own place among colleagues in a group of men. To achieve it she will need strategies that help her to show that she can be just one more among men, while being a woman. This paper will analyze the special situation of a woman in a male dominated environment, looking to be fully integrated as equals while preserving her feminine identity.
