(no subject)

[blue_lotus13]

After reading the section in Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed" on maids, I will never hire a cleaning service. The whole thing just disgusted me.

Who else has read that book?

****

I am crabby and nauseated today, for no real reason. I wish I could curl up in bed with my dog, and some books.

Comments

[blood-water.livejournal.com]

I haven't, but I am looking into part-time maid work to carry me through when sales are slow... is there anything I should know?

[alaskadanielle.livejournal.com]

I read that book; I was more disappointed with the idea that this upper-class woman would feign to know what it was to be destitute after spending a mere three months working.

Re:

[blue-lotus.livejournal.com]

I don't think she really claims to know what it's like. She makes several mentions during the book about this.

However, I may be biased- I'm trained as a journalist and am fascinated by undercover reporting. I loved Steinem's essay about being a bunny, and one of my favourite profs at journalism school went undercover in a stocking factory to see what immigrant workers went through.

Re:

[alaskadanielle.livejournal.com]

You are correct; she does make mentions of her not knowing what it's really like to be destitute. I guess what I'm referring to is the idea that for those of us who have actually eaten mayonaisse sandwiches, some of her revelations were a bit anti-climactic. (grin)

And I love undercover journalism too! What was your journalism professor able to suss out of his stint at the stocking factory?

Re:

[blue-lotus.livejournal.com]

She basically just found out lots of ways that immigrants were exploited. She did this during the 1970s, in Montreal. I think the research won some awards. She was interested in a lot of things that I'm interested in like immigrants, and ethnic relations.

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I understand people's problem with the book, but I have a soft spot for Ehrenreich - her work on women and medicine is amazing.

In many ways the book was like one big "duh" about how it is impossible to get out of poverty in America, unfortunately not many people realize this. They still ascribe to the ridiculous "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" ideology.

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

The things that impressed me the most, even though I already knew about them, were the homeless waitstaff and the whole idea of hiring a cleaning service. Actually, hiring a chain corporate cleaning service. I would never hire a service at all, but if I did I'd go for a small independent. But the whole power-over dynamic does bother me.

[jessypie.livejournal.com]

I read the book awhile ago. I agree with brdgt that in many ways the book is like one big "duh" - although I learned a lot by reading it too. One of the most shocking parts for me was the idea of people living in hotel rooms, paying more in a few days than they would pay in a whole month's rent, stuck in a cycle they can't get out of.

Have you seen the column (http://slate.msn.com/id/2095545/) on Slate this week called "Am I Exploiting My Nanny?" Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the three participants in a dialogue that's mostly about nannies but also about maids and other underpaid and often-exploited people in our society.

I'm not sure if the link I posted will go to the beginning of the article or to the most recent entry, so make sure you start with Tuesday's entries.

Re:

[hot-soup.livejournal.com]

The discussion is really interesting. It's nominally based on Caitlin Flanagan's recent _Atlantic_ article titled 'How Serfdom Saved The Women's Movement':

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/03/flanagan.htm

There's also a good short story this month by Mona Simpson with a related theme, called "Dependents":

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/03/simpson.htm

---

I'm taking a German class at SFU. One of my classmates, a management consultant, recently got a contract with an American company. They required him to take a urine test for drugs before hiring him!

[resurgam.livejournal.com]

thanks for reminding me! i wanted to read this book.

[starfishchick]

We read it for ChickLit book club a while ago - there was a fair bit of discussion, IIRC.

Yeah, not so much with the cleaning services. I'd rather hire an individual, if I ever have the need.

Feel better soon!!

[charlotterusse.livejournal.com]

i just can't get over the idea that there's a walmart corporate loyalty chant. eep.

[blue-lotus.livejournal.com]

I had actually heard about that before when we got our first Walmarts in the 1990s. (Really)

The idea of drug testing is completely bizarre to me- we don't have ANYTHING like that in Canada.

[astronautical.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I didn't get upset at the privileged look she took at being poor. I think most of her audience is pretty privileged too, and they might connect better with that point of view.

[closethipster.livejournal.com]

i read it but it didn't really do anything for me. well, but i have my own experiences with Wal*Mart and McDonald's and i have friends who were chambermaids in this awful, AWFUL local motel (which has thankfully been torn down) so i suppose i've heard similar stories before.

if you're interested, look around for a book called Fast Food, Fast Talk by Robin Leidner. a really good look at how.. well, let me grab a paragraph from the cover: ..uncovers the methods and consequences of employers' efforts to standardize service work by regulating their workers' words, looks, moods, attitudes, ideas and demeanor. Drawing on fieldwork at both McDonald's and Combined, Robin Leidner shows that the routinization of service work has complex and often unexpected results. -- it's the book that inspired my thesis. not the same topic as Nickel and Dimed, but my favorite book about the sociology of work.

or if you want to borrow it, just let me know and i'll send it to you. i think i can also dig up some really good articles i've photocopied over the years.