Post by karlhempel on Jul 31, 2011 22:18:47 GMT -5
Servitude is a concept which has been in society since the dawn of Homo sapiens. One man has constantly attempted to make himself perceived as a more powerful individual than another man for all of mankind’s history. Yet, as our society developed, class distinctions became more and more prominent. Thus, the more distinct concept of servitude came about. In today’s society, servitude may not be seen to the same extreme as it was seen a thousand years ago, but small hints of servitude can even be seen in the United States. Servitude can be found in the form of maids; one paying someone to perform tasks which are less suitable for the employer. In order to validate that maids are a form of servitude, the occupation will be analyzed, Barbara Ehrenreich’s experience will be studied and the perspective of the employer will be considered.
As Barbara described in her book, Nickel and Dimed, being a maid is basically servitude simply because of the lowly tasks which maids must perform. Whether a maid has to get on his or her knees and scrub the floor or scrub the toilets clean, cleaning is not perceived as a high-end job. When someone is a maid, they are much of the time stereotyped immediately. Barbara mentioned this with the statement: “Maybe, it occurs to me, I’m getting a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be black.” Just from being a maid, one is assumed to be of a lowly status simply because typically the wealthy do not clean themselves the majority of the time. Maids are picking up and being responsible for the mess of other people, which makes them lose some of their identity and almost become part of another person’s property. As Barbara put it, "See, I am the vacuum cleaner." Yet, this is a negative outlook towards the profession of maids and the profession is perceived in other ways.
Barbara’s experience as a maid was one of the most shocking parts of the entire book. From her co-workers attempting to work with a broken foot or even while pregnant, to not being able to straggle up a few cents for cleaning supplies or all the way to being forced to work on her knees by her employer, Barbara’s experience was a bit terrifying. Though working for a cleaning company rather than being self-employed may have encouraged worse conditions, Barbara’s experience was still horrifying to read about. Barbara discussed the terrible conditions of working for a large company: “The chance to identify with a powerful and wealthy entity—the company or the boss—is only the carrot. There is also a stick.” The few pages where Barbara discussed the extremely disgusting realities of cleaning up after someone in there area of privacy, the bathroom, epitomized some of the worst typical situations a maid has to endure.
Lastly, to consider being a maid servitude, the other perspective must be analyzed. Therefore, looking through the eyes of an employer, is being employed as a maid truly servitude? Well, the answer varies. Yet, the maid does have a choice whether or not to be a maid, so henceforth, being a maid cannot be considered servitude- at least on the level of slaves in early America.
Yet, as of many issues, ethics is the main concern on one’s mind. Is it truly ethical to hire a maid to clean up after oneself? The answer of course varies from person to person and therefore I will have no say in this final question. Yet, Barbara made one final quote which stuck in my mind, "What you don't necessarily realize when you start selling your time by the hour is that what you're really selling is your life." With that in mind, are you truly selling your life away and can therefore consider any job servitude?
As Barbara described in her book, Nickel and Dimed, being a maid is basically servitude simply because of the lowly tasks which maids must perform. Whether a maid has to get on his or her knees and scrub the floor or scrub the toilets clean, cleaning is not perceived as a high-end job. When someone is a maid, they are much of the time stereotyped immediately. Barbara mentioned this with the statement: “Maybe, it occurs to me, I’m getting a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be black.” Just from being a maid, one is assumed to be of a lowly status simply because typically the wealthy do not clean themselves the majority of the time. Maids are picking up and being responsible for the mess of other people, which makes them lose some of their identity and almost become part of another person’s property. As Barbara put it, "See, I am the vacuum cleaner." Yet, this is a negative outlook towards the profession of maids and the profession is perceived in other ways.
Barbara’s experience as a maid was one of the most shocking parts of the entire book. From her co-workers attempting to work with a broken foot or even while pregnant, to not being able to straggle up a few cents for cleaning supplies or all the way to being forced to work on her knees by her employer, Barbara’s experience was a bit terrifying. Though working for a cleaning company rather than being self-employed may have encouraged worse conditions, Barbara’s experience was still horrifying to read about. Barbara discussed the terrible conditions of working for a large company: “The chance to identify with a powerful and wealthy entity—the company or the boss—is only the carrot. There is also a stick.” The few pages where Barbara discussed the extremely disgusting realities of cleaning up after someone in there area of privacy, the bathroom, epitomized some of the worst typical situations a maid has to endure.
Lastly, to consider being a maid servitude, the other perspective must be analyzed. Therefore, looking through the eyes of an employer, is being employed as a maid truly servitude? Well, the answer varies. Yet, the maid does have a choice whether or not to be a maid, so henceforth, being a maid cannot be considered servitude- at least on the level of slaves in early America.
Yet, as of many issues, ethics is the main concern on one’s mind. Is it truly ethical to hire a maid to clean up after oneself? The answer of course varies from person to person and therefore I will have no say in this final question. Yet, Barbara made one final quote which stuck in my mind, "What you don't necessarily realize when you start selling your time by the hour is that what you're really selling is your life." With that in mind, are you truly selling your life away and can therefore consider any job servitude?