The Commodification of Domestic Labor written by Bridget Anderson addresses an issue that effects a large number of people; immigrant domestic workers. I used to have housekeepers come to my house once a week. They were both from Russia. Both professionals back at home. My first housekeeper was an engineer but couldn't transfer work to the states so, on the side she also taught piano lessons. Eventually she got so busy that she referred her friend to me to work. The new housekeeper was a teacher back home but said she could never teach American children because they are so misbehaved and disrespectful.
These women were close to our family because they came once a week for 6 hours. They did dishes, laundry, cleaned bathrooms, washed the floors, washed windows and dusted. I kept in touch with them until they moved away. I'm not wealthy by any means but they were charging so little it seemed crazy not to have them helping out.
I feel like this is no longer a luxury but a necessity because our life as it is now, with women and men working and women mainly responsible for all the domestic duties in addition to working outside the home, housekeeping can suffer and who wants to live in a dirty house?
What is so sad in this story is how people treat some domestic workers poorly. I was shocked by the large numbers of women being regularly abused. I just can't understand why some people think they are better than other simply because they have more money.
No comments:
Post a Comment