Domestica: Immigrant Workers Cleaning and Caring in the Shadows of Affluence, with a New Preface

by Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo

Book Overview

In this enlightening and timely work, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo highlights the voices, experiences, and views of Mexican and Central American women who care for other people's children and homes, as well as the outlooks of the women who employ them in Los Angeles. The new preface looks at the current issues facing immigrant domestic workers in a global context.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520251717
• ISBN13: 9780520251717
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Consumers, not employers.

Hodagneu-Sotelo's poignant look at the lives of Latina immigrants in Domestica: Immigrant Workers Cleaning and Caring in the Shadows of Affluence, can be a source of enlightenment as well as a sort of "how-to" manual for any employer or employee in the nanny/housekeeper and house cleaning fields. The author argues that the women in these types of work continually battle for basic employee rights: adequate pay and set hours free from discrimination, harassment, and substandard working conditions. She addresses issues of long hours, unreasonable demands, alienation, and the reasons that the workers stay in these situations; fear of retaliation from employers and deportation. Although a bit verbose, this book is packed with valuable information and resources that the reader is sure to use or be able to pass along to someone else. It is a meritable attempt at expressing the angst felt by Latina immigrants and the unresponsive attitude of the employer. It does tend to come across as a bit one-sided, due partly because not many employers or employees were willing to participate in her research efforts, but is still a great and easy read.

A hard read

First let me begin by saying that this is an interesting read. You basically learn about domestic workers (live in nannies, home cleaners). The author gives you alot of information, in fact I would say that she gives you a plethora of information. As such it took me over a month to finish this book, and the fact. Basically, the two problems I have with this book are 1. The author's monolithically leftist viewpoint (which seems to be common in books like this), 2. The hard time she has getting to the point. In particular comments like "Some feminist theorists, especially those influenced by Marxist thought, have used the term "social reproduction" or "reproductive labor"..." (Page 23) or "The United States has a long history of incorporating people of color through coercive systems of labor...slavery and contract labor systems...today, international labor migration and the job characteristics of paid domestic work" (Page 51) Again the biggest problem I have with this book/writer is the use of a marxist/conflict theory filter in regards to analyzing domestic worker (as in us [domestic workers and their allies] vs them [middle class homeowners who employ domestic workers]). When if you actually take a moment, breath and impartially assess the facts the relationship is more of a symbiotic/functionalist/"we need each other" type deal in which two autonomous human beings are simply trying to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement. Now what I do like... There is some great information presented in this book. 1. Domestic workers are entitled to minimum wage like normal employees and can sue for backwages. 2 Live-in housekeeper is a common first job of immigrants to the United States and as such is very important to economic integration of immigrants (legal and illegal alike). Basically, you learn all about domestic work in all it's most interesting facets. An example being spoiled children who are hell for their domestic workers, and the situation is compounded because consciquences for bad behavior are underminded by the parents. Or usage of prozac and ritalin by parents for behavior modification of children and the avoidance of direct confrontation between domestic workers and their employees and many other interesting facts concerning the profession. Because of how interesting this book is I'm giving it 4/5 stars (although I'm tempted to give it 3/5 because of the marxist rhetoric).

Domestic Labour: Research on the Haves and Have-Little.

In Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo's Doméstica: Immigrant Workers Cleaning and Caring in the Shadow of Affluence, readers explore, along with the researcher, an oft overlooked element of domestic labour in America. In examining this particular manifestation between the haves and have little, Hondagneu-Sotelo has provided a "scholarly" treatment where Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed fell short. This is by no means an indictment of Ehrenreich's work, quite the contrary. Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed is approachable by the many levels of readers that seek to understand the phenomenon of the working poor and their interaction with affluent Americans (here, I speak specifically of Ehrenreich's chapter two titled "Scrubbing in Maine"). However, in Doméstica, Hondagneu-Sotelo has opted to focus her research on immigrant domestic workers, specifically Mexican and Central American women in Los Angeles. In so doing, her research provides insight into the minds and worlds of both parties who engage in what can easily be termed a "love hate" relationship; one where, out of necessity, both the employer and employees are in need of one another. In addition, Doméstica serves to highlight some of the struggles of members of America's largest "minority" population (be they documented or otherwise). While Hondagneu-Sotelo relegates her analysis and interviews to women in the Los Angeles area, this reviewer is of the opinion that her research may well be duplicated in other cities with similar populations and yield like outcomes. Reading this work, I began pondering the future of work and workers and four questions came to mind: (1) As America becomes more diverse, will the question of immigrants holding less than desirable positions along the socio-economic margins become of increasing interest to researchers and politicians such that worker-friendly policies emerge? (2) If so, what forms will later policy manifestations assume? (3) What will such a shift mean for the future of economic relations between these two disparate groups? (4) Also, will America continue to marginalize employees that hold the critical job of caring for our young such that we ensure a future of troubled youth due to attachments to caregivers and the familial realities of economic and social stratification? History has shown if we ignore questions not unlike these, problems are sure to result. Historically, "love labor" had been performed, initially, by captive African American women and later those under strict laws (Jim Crow) of mobility, both physical and social. With the relative ascension of African Americans into the socio-economic sphere of marginal acceptance in America, certain forms of work are left to the cheaper, and sometimes unpaid, labor force of immigrant women. Increasingly, such workers are admitted into affluent homes in America through informal networks. For this brief iteration, we consider Hondagneu-Sotelo's Part Two titled "Finding Hard Work Isn't Easy." H

A window into a world largely invisible to most people

Dr. Hondagneu-Sotelo's beautifully written work takes the reader into the world of Latina nannies and housekeepers, showcasing the women's own voices and perspectives while maintaining an academic's sharp-eyed analysis. She chronicles the difficulties of domestic workers while still acknowledging their ability to impact their own work environments. One of the strengths of Hondagneu-Sotelo's book is the analysis of class inequality, particularly the ways that employers awkwardly handle their own discomfort with their priviledge. Her conclusions, rather than knee-jerk dismissals of domestic labor, suggest ways that domestic employment can be viewed as the job it is. The author's thoughts on her own position to her research subject in the preface is worth the price of the book. This book recently won five awards from different sociological organizations, and deservedly so.