Proper Conjugation of Bodies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Ruth Gamburd
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Moral Panic ◽  
National Level ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Frail Elders ◽  
Female Migration ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis

Physical and symbolic aspects of bodies limit the migration trajectories of female domestic workers from a Buddhist community in coastal Sri Lanka. Government regulations and family decisions regarding women’s overseas labour draw upon and in turn influence discourses about gender, sexuality, age, health, and class. This ethnographic analysis illustrates that local norms task women with nurturing the brains of babies, preserving the chastity of teenage daughters, caring for frail elders, and preventing their working-class husbands from overindulging in liquor or having sex with other women. Successful social reproduction depends on the proper conjunctions of bodies in the extended family. Corporeal and symbolic dangers imagined to arise from women’s absence fuel a national-level moral panic about female migration.

Like Any Other Job?

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-121
Author(s):  
Erynn Masi de Casanova
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Domestic Work ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Class Relations ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Domestic Worker ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Political Effectiveness

This chapter explores some of the challenges that organizers of domestic workers in Ecuador face. Its discussion of domestic worker organizing touches on the three major themes of this book: social reproduction, informal arrangements that render domestic work invisible, and class relations that degrade and dehumanize workers. Workers' engagement in long hours of paid and unpaid social reproduction makes them difficult to reach and organize. Informal arrangements, and lack of political will and political effectiveness to change these arrangements, combine to make the enforcement of existing laws difficult. Moreover, relationships with the left-leaning state, embedded in traditional assumptions about who constitutes the working class—assumptions that leave out women and informal workers—have been fraught. The chapter then shows how domestic workers and their advocates have been organizing, what strategies they have used to demand the rights of these workers, and what the implications of these strategies are for political action and change.

Dust and Dignity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erynn Masi de Casanova ◽  
Maximina Salazar
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
National Level ◽  
Domestic Work ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Class Relations ◽  
Informal Work ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
The Common ◽  
Work Histories

What makes domestic work a bad job, even after efforts to formalize and improve working conditions? This book examines three reasons for persistent exploitation. First, the tasks of social reproduction are devalued. Second, informal work arrangements escape regulation. And third, unequal class relations are built into this type of employment. The book provides both theoretical discussions about domestic work and concrete ideas for improving women's lives. Drawing on workers' stories of lucha, trabajo, and sacrificio—struggle, work, and sacrifice—the book offers a new take on an old occupation. From the intimate experience of being a body out of place in an employer's home, to the common work histories of Ecuadorian women in different cities, to the possibilities for radical collective action at the national level, the book shows how and why women do this stigmatized and precarious work and how they resist exploitation in the search for dignified employment. From these searing stories of workers' lives, the book identifies patterns in domestic workers' experiences that will be helpful in understanding the situation of workers elsewhere and offers possible solutions for promoting and ensuring workers' rights that have relevance far beyond Ecuador.

Gender, International Migration and Social Reproduction: Implications for Theory, Policy, Research and Networking

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh-Dam Truong
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Reproductive Labor ◽  
Female Migration ◽  
Female Migrants ◽  
Economic Constraints ◽  
Cross National

This paper aims to contribute to the development of an analytical framework that provides the space for the understanding of female migrants as reproductive workers in a cross-national transfer of labor. It will first provide some hypothetical guidelines for the explanation of female migration in the context of reproductive labor. Based on accessible data, a discussion on the case of Japan will be presented to highlight the main issues and problems concerning female migrants as reproductive workers. Finally, implications on policy-making and networking at the international and national level will be analyzed and discussed, taking into account the specific ideological, political and socio-economic constraints.

scholarly journals Deflecting Privilege: Class Identity and the Intergenerational Self

Sociology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003803852098222
Author(s):  
Sam Friedman ◽  
Dave O’Brien ◽  
Ian McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Origin Stories ◽  
Class Privilege ◽  
Privileged Class

Why do people from privileged class backgrounds often misidentify their origins as working class? We address this question by drawing on 175 interviews with those working in professional and managerial occupations, 36 of whom are from middle-class backgrounds but identify as working class or long-range upwardly mobile. Our findings indicate that this misidentification is rooted in a self-understanding built on particular ‘origin stories’ which act to downplay interviewees’ own, fairly privileged, upbringings and instead forge affinities to working-class extended family histories. Yet while this ‘intergenerational self’ partially reflects the lived experience of multigenerational upward mobility, it also acts – we argue – as a means of deflecting and obscuring class privilege. By positioning themselves as ascending from humble origins, we show how these interviewees are able to tell an upward story of career success ‘against the odds’ that simultaneously casts their progression as unusually meritocratically legitimate while erasing the structural privileges that have shaped key moments in their trajectory.

Impact of Covid-19 on Informal Sector: A Study of Women Domestic Workers in India

2021 ◽  
pp. 001946622110238
Author(s):  
B. S. Sumalatha ◽  
Lekha D. Bhat ◽  
K. P. Chitra
Keyword(s):  
Informal Sector ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
National Level ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
State Support ◽  
Household Dynamics ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Jel Code ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
At Home

The COVID-19 pandemic has left severe impact on livelihood, security and health of informal sector workers, especially domestic workers, majority of whom are women. Being least organised and lacking institutional support, domestic workers are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and human rights violations, and the pandemic has aggravated the situation. Telephonic interviews were conducted with 260 domestic workers from three cities, namely Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi with focus on working conditions, livelihood and household dynamics, health scenario and state support during the pandemic. The data was substantiated with qualitative inputs from in-depth interviews conducted with 12 domestic workers across the cities. In the results, widespread job loss is reported among domestic workers during March–June 2020 along with drastically reduced income and increased workload. About 57% domestic workers reported stigma and discrimination at workplace, and 40% worked without any safety measures. Incidence of domestic violence at home, increased work burden at home, issues in access to health care, etc., were reported. The study findings point out the urgent need to have a national-level policy and state support specifically targeting women domestic workers, without which the situation of poverty, health hazards and social exclusion will continue to exist. JEL Code: J4, J46

How do public companies respond to national challenges through sustainability reporting? – The case of Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinithi Dissanayake ◽  
Carol A. Tilt ◽  
Wei Qian
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Development ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrative Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Reporting Practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting is shaped by the global influences and particular national context where businesses operate. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses both content analysis of published sustainability information and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers to explore how sustainability reporting is used to address unique social and environmental challenges in a developing country – Sri Lanka. The use of integrative social contracts theory in investigating sustainability reporting offers novel insights into understanding the drivers for sustainability reporting practices in this particular country. Findings The findings reveal that managers’ perceptions about usefulness of sustainability reporting, local contextual challenges and global norms influence the extent to which companies engage in sustainability reporting and the nature of sustainability information reported. In particular, Sri Lankan company managers strive to undertake sustainability projects that are beneficial not only to their companies but also to the development of the country. However, while company managers in Sri Lanka are keen to undertake sustainability reporting, they face different tensions/expectations between global expectations and local contextual factors when undertaking sustainability projects and reporting. This is also showcased in what is ultimately reported in company annual reports, where some aspects of sustainability, e.g. social, tend to focus more on addressing local concerns whereas other disclosures are on issues that may be relevant across many contexts. Research limitations/implications Important insights for government and other regulatory authorities can be drawn from the findings of this study. By capitalising on the strong sense of moral duty felt by company managers, policymakers can involve the business sector more to mitigate the social and environmental issues prevalent in Sri Lanka. The findings can also be used by other developing countries to enable pathways to engage with the corporate sector to contribute to national development agendas through their sustainability initiatives and projects. Originality/value While the usual understanding of developing country’s company managers is that they try to follow global trends, in Sri Lanka, this research shows how managers are trying to align their responsibilities at a national level with global principles regarding sustainability reporting. Therefore, this paper highlights how both hypernorms and microsocial rules can interact to define how company managers undertake sustainability reporting in a developing country.

Social class, intensive parenting norms and parental values for children

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212110485
Author(s):  
Trevor Tsz-lok Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Competing Values ◽  
Parental Values ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Value Choices ◽  
Intensive Parenting

As the global trend towards both middle- and working-class families raising their children intensively increases, social class differences in parenting beliefs and choices for their children have become more subtle. In light of the proliferation of intensive parenting norms, however, few studies have explored particular mechanisms underlying the subtle class differences linked to parental values. Drawing on in-depth interviews of 51 Hong Kong Chinese parents, this study investigated how parents contended with competing values in socialization, which in turn shaped their parenting choices. Three common values emerged from the interviews – academic excellence, hard work and happiness – showing that the middle and working classes managed their values for children in two different ways, termed here as ‘values coupling’ and ‘values juggling’, respectively. Middle-class parents were able to make their value choices cohesive through a ‘twist’ to reconcile between competing values. However, working-class parents were inclined to ‘drift’ their value choices in the face of unreconciled value tensions as well as structural constraints. Subtle differences in parental values were found to be tied to class position, and contributed to maintaining class inequality and social reproduction.

Linking Moralisation and Class Identity: The Role of Ressentiment and Respectability in the Social Reaction to ‘Chavs’

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias Le Grand
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Moral Panic ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Moral Self ◽  
Social Reaction ◽  
The Social ◽  
Dialectical Process ◽  
White Working Class

This paper aims to link two fields of research which have come to form separate lines of inquiry: the sociology of moralisation and studies on class identity. Expanding on recent papers by Young (2009 , 2011 ) and others, the paper argues that the concepts of ressentiment and respectability can be used to connect moralisation processes and the formation of class identities. This is explored through a case study of the social reaction in Britain to white working-class youths labelled ‘chavs’. It is demonstrated that chavs are constructed through moralising discourses and practices, which have some elements of a moral panic. Moreover, moralisation is performative in constructing class identities: chavs have been cast as a ‘non-respectable’ white working-class ‘folk devil’ against whom ‘respectable’ middle-class and working-class people distinguish and identify themselves as morally righteous. Moralising social reactions are here to an important extent triggered by feelings of ressentiment. This is a dialectical process where respectability and ressentiment are tied, not only to the social control of certain non-respectable working-class others, but also to the moral self-governance of the moralisers.

scholarly journals Cataract among elderly in Sri Lanka

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.A. Nilanga Nishad ◽  
S.A. Hewage ◽  
K. Arulmoly ◽  
M.S. Amaratunge ◽  
J de Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Screening Programme ◽  
National Level ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Younger Age

AbstractOut of 39 billion people who are blind around the world, 20 billion (51.3%) is due to cataract, which is preventable. This study intended to assess the prevalence and factors associated with cataract among elderly in a divisional secretariat area in Sri Lanka. This community based cross sectional study assessed randomly selected470 adults over 60 years of age. Diagnosis of cataract was made by a slit lamp examination by medical officers, and classified according to Oxford Lens Opacity Classification system (LOCS III). Majority was between 60-69 age groups and 71% was females. The prevalence of cataract was estimated to be 80.6% including operated eye and 73.6% excluding the operated eye, with a female preponderance in lower age categories. Commonest type of cataract was the nuclear type (n=422; 44.9%), with a majority in grade 2 (218; 23.2%). The prevalence of cataract surgery in the diseased population was as low as 7%. Cataract leading to blindness is very prevalent among adults over 60 years of age in the studied area. Females tend to develop the disease at an early age than males. These findings warrant screening programme for elderly at community level, targeting females at a younger age than males. Future studies are recommended to assess the coverage and barriers for cataract surgeries at national level, which would be immensely useful in planning and improving health services.

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