Exhibits for Conversation Essay

1. Women's Roles in the South Korean Labor Market

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3487187?seq=9

In their paper titled "South Korean Labor Market Discrimination Against Women: Estimating Its Cost," Elizabeth Monk-Turner and Charlie G. Turner examine the role of women in the South Korean labor market and the economic implications of a sexually segregated labor market. This exhibit adds to the Kessler-Harris essay by explaining how equality in the labor market could benefit the South Korean economy. The Turners explain that if women were to be treated as equals in the work force, the Korean economy could realize its full potential. Kessler-Harris never went into detail about the benefits come about in an equal labor force. The Turner's analysis could be used as an argument to convince a government to impose equality labor laws in the labor market.

2. Black Labor Market

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14231

One of the underlying assumptions that Kessler-Harris, Glenn, and Parrenas made in their essays was that the labor market in which women participated in operated under the definition of a "market economy." In other words, all exchanges between buyers and sellers are free from outside intervention. This exhibit reminds us that the labor market does not operate under a "market economy" since external forces shape the market economy. In this case, the external force is the black market. Thus, one is led to ask whether the black market follows the same types of stratification as outlined by the aforementioned essayists. Are women sexually segregated in the black labor market, and if so, do class, race, and globalization play a role in shaping these stratifications?

3. When Men Clean

http://newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=611

This article explains some of the benefits that men may incur if they take up more of their share of domestic labor, such as better behaved children and "wives who find them more sexually attractive." It would be interesting to further explore how the relationship between a husband and wife would change if the man took up more of the household chores than the wife. Ehrenreich only considers the typical case of females doing most of the housework. Even if men did more housework, would families still hire domestic workers to clean their houses?

3 Exhibits

1) "Father's Care" by Charles A. Smith: This article talks about the different "types" of fathers there are, from "The Wallet" dad who just makes money and takes little part in the rearing of the child to "The Caregiver" who is cooperative in both child rearing and homemaking. The article deals with the changing role of the father over time, why now more fathers are caregivers instead of just wallets. The two explanations explored in the article are the rising number of women working, and the rising divorce rate. 

2) "Family policies 'dad-proofed' to give fathers bigger role - but no extra paternity leave" by Polly Curtis. This article appeared in The Guardian on 21 Feb 2009. The article talks about the recent reforms made specifically in Whitehall, England, to involve the father in children's caregiving such as sending school reports to divorced fathers as well as home addresses, and allowing the father to stay overnight in the hospital with the mother after a baby is born. The article talks about how father's feel marginalized in a "mother-dominated" family policy. The article sites some statistics about how the hours that fathers spend with their children have gone up this century.

3) "Role of Father" from http://info.ag.vt.edu/vce/offices/newsletters/role_of_father.pdf This excerpt goes into detail about how father's face a new role in today's society because women are working rather than just being homemakers. It talks about the "second shift" for mothers, and also delves into the problems facing fathers today who are balancing being nurturing and at the same time remembering the more traditional roles their own fathers had in their lives. 

Exhibit

My first exhibit is an article by Patricia M. Greenfield titled "What happens when parents and nannies come from different cultures? Comparing the care giving belief systems of nannies and their employers" This extends to previous arguments of domestic labor of a nanny as opposed to a house cleaner. The example used in the article is Hispanic nanny's serving white households in America. Adding to earlier readings this article discusses the effect on the children which was nonexistent in the readings.



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W52-4SFY3VY-

1&_user=18704&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000002018&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=18704&md5=7f50441a3aa35f263d8d200e7ef2071f



My second exhibit comes from the Washington post and is written by Katherine Shaver and is titled "Stay-at-Home Dads Forge New Identities, Roles" This article is about the rise of the stay at home father and the fathers feel about the role reversal from the more traditional stay at home mother , which was discussed in previous reading. This adds to the other readings by taking the fathers view in the situation as opposed to discussing females taking care of the household.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061601289.html

My third exhibit is an article from associated content and is written by Steve Thomson and is titled the "Pros and Cons of hiring a male nanny". This article describes the positives and negatives of a male nanny but then later goes on to say that it is all based on gender stereotypes and is based on the individual. This exhibit extends previous readings by the gender roll reversal that is portrayed by male nannies.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/160807/pros_and_cons_of_hiring_a_male_nanny_pg2.html?cat=25

3 Exhibits

1. Stay at Home Dads

The essays we read looked mostly at women that take care of their children or women that they hire.  A new angle to look at would be men that decide to stay home with their children and tend to give up their careers.  In the DC area there is a group called DCMetroDads which provides opportunities for stay at home dads to get together.  It is part of a larger national group called Daddyshome inc..  I think it would be interesting to look into this and how it changes the family dynamic and the previously stricter gender roles.  There is another article I found interviewing a few stay at home dads that find they can plan their time better therefore allowing for more leisure time which most women they have seen lack.

2. "Mannies"

The new phenomenon is catching on around the world with families hiring male nannies instead of the conventional female ones.  There is a facet of security along with the idea of being able to take care of the peoples children.  One family talked about the comfort they felt with leaving their kids at home with their male nanny.  Not only does he help out around the house but he acts as an older brother to the kids providing them with something new.  There are many stereotypes that go a long with male childcare providers so to look at how that is different to the pervious gender roles would be interesting.

3. Latino Domestic workers hired by Latinos

In an article I found it talked about how Latinos have often found it more difficult to work under another Latino then a white family.  The workers talk about how it is difficult when they are yelled at by someone of their own race because they feel like it is even more condescending.  I think this relationship adds something to the other essays we have been reading because most of them have focused on the idea of different races working together.  Organizations such as Mujeres Unidas y Activas provide help to Latinos trying to find work.  Looking into people that they have helped and other statistics may provide more information to back up the argument.

Exhibits

My first exhibit comes from Jacueline Andall in an essay she wrote titled "Working Woman: The Global Effects on the Female Workforce and Their Families." After reading the progression of domestic workers there were still some gaps that were not mentioned or completely. One such question is how do the children of these domestic workers feel about their jobs and what is the side effect of it. Andall does a better job explaining that "social and behavioral development" has a negative effect towards these children. It might lead to aggression and depression, and sometimes some of these children take the route of taking their own lives. Andall explains more of the mental and emotional state of the child without really producing stats. She bases her article on several sources and studies. Her essay falls exactly on the likes of Glenn and Parenas on how woman of different ethnicity leave their homes to ironically take care of other families. The concern of "insecure attachment" between the child and the mother is what Andall explains and what the other authors fail to explain on a deeper level. Only Parenas really made an effort of acknowledging the other groups affected by this globalization of domestic work and refers it to "rearing children."

http://www.readourpapers.com/anthropology/working-woman-the-global-effects-on-the-female-workforce-and-their-families.phtml

My second exhibit consisits of an article posted on the BBC News website in 2001 explaining the affects of working mothers as a whole. It does not follow Parenas essay of globalization but it does fit into the topic of working mothers in the United States. The artilce refers to several sources and studies and one study by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation based on a 1200 person population found that children who had mothers who went to work to early "were less likely to achiece A-levels." This study extended that the children would suffer down the road into their adulthoods because it created psychological problems as time went on. The study also emphasized the disappearance of the mother stating that the working mother had a bigger negative impact on the children than the absence of the father. This article nicely ties in with discussion on wednesday in class because their has been studies of making sure the children do not get lost in this whole globalization and domestic productive labor concept.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/1218905.stm


My last exhibit comes from indianwomenshealth.com which explains the negative effects of the working mothers. This article lits benefits, "plagues" and reasons of being a working mother and what it does to the family. It is clear and concise and dry listing reasons but it does support Parennas and the idea of "rearing children." Some reasons are the stress put upon the mother because they are away from the children. Because of the distance between the relationship their is a lack of communication and health issues rise to the top.

http://www.indianwomenshealth.com/Being-a-Working-Mother-241.aspx

Exhibits for conversation essay

1) Mail Order Brides-

This exhibit can be related to all of the essays that we have read, but especially relates to the Parrenas essay. In the article that I found on mail order brides, it talks about the fact that a majority of the brides are from the Philippines and that they are looking for a better life in the United States. In 1990, nearly 3500 Filipino brides were shipped off to the United States. 

2) Trafficking of persons

Anther exhibit that I found involved the trafficking of persons (immigrants). Major forms of this trafficking involve forced labor and child labor, forced prostitution, child soldiers etc. The exhibit goes over these forms in more depth, and illustrates how female and child minorities/immigrants are exploited. 

3) Benefits of a stay-at-home parent vs. a Nanny

This exhibit relates to all four of the essays. This exhibit explains how children are like sponges in their early development, and that they learn nearly everything by observing how the people around them do things. In the Parrenas essay, it talks about how Filipino women leave their children with someone else while they go to the US to earn money. Also in the Maid to Order essay it talks about the absence of parents. This exhibit explains how different a child can turn out if it's learning from it's parents is limited. 

Exhibits for Conversation Essay

1. Mansura Espana Factory

The Mansura Espana factory incorporates all three arguments presented by Glenn, Kessler-Harris and Parrenas into a single exhibit. Located in Egypt and one of many factories in which the textile industry is outsourced, the Mansura Espana factory provides a physical manifestation, exemplifying the international division of reproductive labor. In addition, out of the 1,300 labor force, there are 750 female workers according to the Egyptian Workers and Trade Unions Watch, suggesting that this factory has an element of the sexual reproduction of labor as well as presented by Kessler-Harris. Finally, these are mainly Egyptian women and children being employed which ties in Glenn's argument about the racial division of labor. However, the exhibit of the Mansura Espana factory presents these women as being much more powerful and strong-willed than they appear in any of the essays, Glenn's, Kessler-Harris' or Parrenas'. According to an article written by Anne Alexander and Farah Kaubaissy in January 2008, "Women workers have emerged as rank and file trade union organisers and are playing a leading part in challenging the corrupt government-run trade union federation." These female workers are playing a crucial role in organizing a huge wave of industrial action, acting as a formidable force not presented in the realm of possibility in either the Kessler-Harris, Glenn or Parrenas essay.

2. Nail Salon Industry in the United States

In her essay, Glenn discusses how the "dominant group ideology in all these cases was that women of color...were particularly suited for service" (14). Another interesting exhibit that incorporates both Glenn's idea of the racial division of reproductive labor and Kessler-Harris' idea of the sexual division of reproductive labor is the attraction of Asian Pacific Islander women, specifically Vietnamese immigrant women, to the nail salon industry in the United States. According to an article published by the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, Asian Pacific Islander women dominated the nail salon industry, representing over 40% of all nail technicians worldwide. However, in this case instead of the work picking them, instead of being considered "suited for service," these Vietnamese women originally made the choice themselves to work in the nail salon industry. According to the article, Vietnamese immigrant women choose to enter the nail salon industry for three main reasons. The increase in the number of Vietnamese-owned shops and Vietnamese instructors in beauty schools attracts Vietnamese immigrant women to the profession; the training required to become a nail technician is relatively short and inexpensive; finally, the job does not require a higher-English proficiency level. 

3. "No Room for Father, Children at Durham Homeless Shelter"

According to the article "No Room for Father, Children at Durham Homeless Shelter," a father and his four children were turned away from Durham's Community Shelter for Hope because there are no places for single fathers and their families. The same question is raised after reading all of the essays, that by Ehrenreich, Kessler-Harris, Glenn and Parrenas. What about single fathers? Where does the exception of the single father fit in respect to the sexual, racial and international divisions of reproductive labor?