tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349632196064141356.post4145216735093543458..comments2023-10-29T23:01:38.581+08:00Comments on The Asia File: The de-humanisation of domestic workers in SingaporeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349632196064141356.post-66911300541998145022010-05-16T14:29:06.000+08:002010-05-16T14:29:06.000+08:00Well simply the suggestion that there is a direct ...Well simply the suggestion that there is a direct causal relationship between a patriarchal society/womens' frustrations at finding themselves in such a society and the abusive treatment meted out to maids. Or the suggestion that such a relationship is universal.This waters down the issue of maid abuse by bringing another party, Singaporean women, into the article as co-victims. <br /><br /> There are many parallels between the treatment of maids and the treatment of male construction workers in singapore, so i dont think such issues are gender specific. I think the issue is deeper and shouldnt necessary be cut down to fit neatly into a feminist theoretical toolkit, just because the individuals involved in this instance are women. <br /><br />Pehaps it would have been more useful to examine policies and the reasons for the lack of institutional safeguards in place to protect unskilled transient foreign workers. Perhaps also this dehumanisation has to do with the way economic relations are shaped through policies, strengthening class boundaries and a singaporean mindset about Singapore's place in relation to other nations in the region.<br /><br />Some of article's sentences also seem circuitous and do not really make much sense to me, for example the following.....<br /><br />"but the prevalence of foreign domestic workers staves off, to some degree, arguments about the role of Singaporean women in private and public spheres, by replacing the grossly undervalued labour Singaporean women would have been expected to do with grossly undervalued labour that foreign women are made to do." <br /><br />It could just as easily be argued that "the argument" about the Singaporean women's role in private and public spheres has been implicitly settled by the introduction of maids. The practice of hiring maids shows that increasingly, Singaporean women are not expected to give up a professional career or shoulder an assymetrical burden in the household. <br /><br />-johnAnonymous@11.46http://theasiafile.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349632196064141356.post-90527848722604431132010-05-15T11:46:12.000+08:002010-05-15T11:46:12.000+08:00a promising title, but unfortunately instead of an...a promising title, but unfortunately instead of any real substance the article descends into abstractionist academic feminist drivel about half way through. that said I'm glad you are at least raising the issue.Anonymoushttp://theasiafile.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349632196064141356.post-20241458803216557622010-05-14T15:40:58.000+08:002010-05-14T15:40:58.000+08:00Ben, I understand you have an axe to grind with Si...Ben, I understand you have an axe to grind with Singapore over your previous visa problems with it and all, but that shouldn't impair your objectivity or logic on this issue. The 'de-humanisation,' as you describe it, of domestic workers happen in every country where they are employed, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, China (where I live) and even in Indonesia where you are based. Not just in Singapore. It's definitely a problem that begs correction, but to relate what are deficiencies in employment laws to a 'sexual element' or the colonialism mentality of Singaporean women who fear 'dark-skinned' temptresses is amusing, if it were not far-fetched. Worse, it prevents a deeper reflection of a complex issue that range from unfair labour laws to poverty.Anonymoushttp://theasiafile.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com