Description
Book SynopsisAn ethnographic study of the relationship between Filipina and Indonesian women who work as domestics in Taiwan and their Taiwanese employers
Trade Review“This path-breaking study illustrates how boundaries—of race, class, gender, and citizenship—are imposed on migrant domestic workers. Pei-Chia Lan’s use of boundary-making as the lens through which to analyze the integration of migrant domestic workers is a very important contribution to the burgeoning field of the feminization of migration. This is a brilliant book.”—Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, author of
Children of Global Migration: Transnational Families and Gendered Woes
“We might imagine that the more contact we have with others across the globe the closer our social bonds. But, as Pei-Chia Lan so ably shows, we would be sadly wrong about that. In some ways the madams of Taiwan are ‘close’ to their maids from the Philippines, but in other ways they are very distant from them. Indeed, in some cases the closer we are, the more distant. Just how this works out is the subject of this clearly written, trenchantly argued, hugely important, must-read book.”—Arlie Russell Hochschild, coeditor of
Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy“[T]he book is a major contribution to contemporary research in the relevant areas, including globalization. Its feminist outlook is radical, yet pays attention to the incredible difficulty for involved parties that are willing to undo the inequalities unfolding in the space of the private home. It may be used to compare other proliferating ‘maid economies’ in places like Hong
Kong, Singapore, and the Gulf region.” -- Ann Vogel * Sociology *
“[The book] makes fruitful and intelligent use of what broadly might be described as transnational feminist frameworks. . . . [It] provides us with a rich portrait of the constraints and possibilities of a particular space and moment of contemporary existence.” -- Leslie Salzinger * Gender & Society *
“This is a fine and challenging ethnographic project . . . . The book is a theoretically informed, sophisticated analysis of employment relationships in the era of transnational migration. Scholars in women’s studies, and international migration and globalization will find this book insightful and informative. It is clearly written, rich in ethnographic insights, and accessible to both undergraduate and graduate students in social sciences and Asian studies.” -- Ping-Chun Hsiung * Labour/Le Travail *
Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables ix
Preface xi
A Note on Style xv
Introduction 1
A Bounded Global Market 29
Disdained Aliens, Stratified Others 59
Jealous Madams and Anxious Mothers 94
Crossing Borders and Gender Divides 125
Cinderella with a Mobile Phone 160
Eat, Drink, Masters and Servants 199
Conclusion 237
Appendices 251
Notes 259
References 277
Index 297
