Parrenas- Response

Parrenas' essay added an element to the readings about the social reproduction of labor, emotion.  Because of Parrenas' focus on race it can closely be linked to Glenn's essay about how gender and race are interlocking.  Glenn does make some comments about the difficulties that maids faced, for example being away from her home for up to two weeks at a time.  Although Parrenas focuses on Filipina migrant domestic workers primarily a lot of the same aspects can be applied to the domestic workers that live and work in the United States.  Both are often faced with the difficult task of taking care of their boss' children while they must leave their own children at home in the care of someone else.  Parrenas hits on the emotions that are brought forward in the Filipina women.  They either channel their desire to care for their own children into caring for someone else's child or they have to bare the distressed feelings every time they have to do a motherly act.  I think that this inclusion helps the reader to relate more to the domestic worker because you want to feel sympathy for them.  The other essays also had pats where I would feel bad for the those hired to do the housework but none of them made me see the real struggles that they went through.

I think that Parrenas and Glenn's essays work nicely together to show why a women might be more willing to get hired as a domestic server.  They each have interviews from women expressing their devotion to their families.  This devotion is what causes them to wake up every morning and clean up after someone else's family.  If what they are doing today can help their daughters and sons be in a better position in the future then that is a sacrifice they are willing to make.  For me information talking about family and emotions are something that makes me more interested what may really be going on, rather than just getting a bunch of facts.