As middle-class Chinese women have entered the Hong Kong work force in unprecedented numbers over the past two decades, the demand for foreign domestic workers has soared. Approximately 150,000 individuals now serve on two-year contracts, and the vast majority are women from the Philippines. Nicole Constable tells their story. Interweaving her analysis with anecdotal evidence collected in interviews with individual domestic workers, she shows how power is expressed in the day-to-day lives of Filipina domestic workers. Filipina guest workers flooding into Hong Kong are implicitly compared to Chinese domestic workers and found wanting. Local, cultural, and historical factors influence their treatment, as do preconceptions about gender, ethnicity, and class. Constable explains how domestic workers are controlled and disciplined by employment agencies, by employers themselves, and by state policies such as the rule against working for more than one employer. The forms of discipline range from physical abuse to intrusive regulations including restrictions on hair length and the prohibition of lipstick. Filipina workers resist oppression through legal action and political protests, through their use of household or public space, and through less confrontational means such as jokes and pranks. Some find real satisfaction in their work, Constable says, and she warns against any simplistic characterization of domestic workers as either empowered or oppressed, class-conscious or unaware.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Informative,
This review is from: Maid to Order in Hong Kong: An Ethnography of Filipina Workers (Paperback)
Quite informative and historical but written like a thesis so it is quite disjointed and is not a fun or casual read. I was glad to have the historical information just the same.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Maids' Lives Unveiled,
By "jasmyth" (Asia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Maid to Order in Hong Kong: Stories of Filipina Workers (Hardcover)
A fascinating window into the lives of Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong. Details the many facets of exploitation, abuse and discrimination experienced by these maids. A fine balance between portraying maids as victims as well as agents in their own right, adopting a rather Foucauldian theme of discipline or oppression begetting resistance. Constable's work shuns naive generalizations of maids as passive victims (as many other works have), although I felt that domestic workers' acts of resistance and agency could be interrogated in greater scope and detail. Also provides a well-rounded picture by examining the geopolitics that give rise to demand and supply of domestic workers in Asia and Hong Kong in particular. A thorough and well-researched book synthesizing themes of race, class and gender!
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-Opening,
By A Customer
This review is from: Maid to Order in Hong Kong: An Ethnography of Filipina Workers (Paperback)
A devastating critique of the capitalist world system, an anthropological study drawn from first-hand case studies, statistics, and the theoretical works of Gramsci, Bourdieu, and Foucault among others. Absolutely compelling reading.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Sundays in Central District are a spectacular sight. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sworn spinsters, forced remittance, baby amah, foreign domestic workers, foreign domestic helpers, one domestic worker, many domestic workers, woman employer, household workers, illegal work, docile workers, women employers, deferential behavior Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hong Kong, Labour Department, Statue Square, United States, Immigration Department, Tinig Filipino, Labour Tribunal, Central District, Chater Road, Chater Garden, Hongkong Land, High Court, Disciplined Migrants, New Territories, Asian Migrant Centre, Catholic Centre, District Court, Government House, Philippine Consulate, United Filipinos, Ali Ching, Kai Tak, Mommie Jingco, South China Morning Post, Worldwide Plaza New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Sundays in Central District are a spectacular sight. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sworn spinsters, forced remittance, baby amah, foreign domestic workers, foreign domestic helpers, one domestic worker, many domestic workers, woman employer, household workers, illegal work, docile workers, women employers, deferential behavior Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hong Kong, Labour Department, Statue Square, United States, Immigration Department, Tinig Filipino, Labour Tribunal, Central District, Chater Road, Chater Garden, Hongkong Land, High Court, Disciplined Migrants, New Territories, Asian Migrant Centre, Catholic Centre, District Court, Government House, Philippine Consulate, United Filipinos, Ali Ching, Kai Tak, Mommie Jingco, South China Morning Post, Worldwide Plaza New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 50
books:
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58
books
cite this book:
See all 58 books citing this book
- Contesting Power: Resistance and Everyday Social Relations in South Asia by Douglas E. Haynes in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Superior Servants: The Legendary Cantonese Amahs of the Far East by Kenneth Gaw on page 49, and Back Matter
- Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by Pierre Bourdieu in Back Matter
- Economic Trends December 2003 (No. 601) by Office for National Statistics in Back Matter
- Old Madam Yin: A Memoir of Peking Life by Ida Pruitt in Back Matter
See all 50 books this book cites
- Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and "Mail Order" Marriages by Nicole Constable in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy by Barbara Ehrenreich in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Pinay Power: Peminist Critical Theory by Melinda L. de Jesús on page 114, page 115, and page 116
- Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy by Barbara Ehrenreich on page 282, page 305, and page 312
- From Marriage to the Market: The Transformation of Women's Lives and Work by Susan Thistle in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 58 books citing this book
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