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Journal article

Stereotypes and Ambivalence: the construction of domestic workers in Vancouver, British Columbia

Date

1997

Authors

G. Pratt

Abstract

This article examines stereotypes of Filipina and British nannies presented by nanny agents in Vancouver, Canada in a serie s of interviews conducted in 1994, and then considers the influence of these stereotypes in structuring the work conditions of each group of domestic worker. Working with B hab ha’ s concept of ambivalence and Kaplan’ s ideas about the `impossibility ’ of the concept, `mother’, the agent interviews are then reread for signs of inconsistency and ambivalence. The British nanny is portrayed as both superior in terms of training and temperament, but cold and controlling. The Filipina nanny is both uncivilised and poorly motivated, and well-educated. These ambivalences are read in terms of anxieties about maternal substitution, colonial pasts, racial difference, and working mothers. Some implications of the inconsistency in agents’ portrayals of Filipina nannies for political practice are briefly outlined.

Journal title

Gender, Place and Culture

Volume

4

Issue

2

Page numbers

159-177

File Attachments

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Economic sectors

Occupations in services - Domestic work

Target groups

(Im)migrants workers, Employers, agencies and their representatives, Researchers, and NGOs/community groups/solidarity networks

Regulation domains

Recrutement / placement agencies and Right to equality (national origin)

Geographical focuses

British Columbia, Philippines, United Kingdom, and Vietnam

Spheres of activity

Cultural and ethnic studies, Geography, Psychology, and Sociology

Languages

English