Christopher Hood, Henry Rothstein, and Robert Baldwin
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199243631
- eISBN:
- 9780191599507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199243638.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Explores how far variety amongst risk regulation regimes can be explained by ‘market failure’ explanations of risk regulation. A ‘market failure’ approach assumes that state activity will consist of ...
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Explores how far variety amongst risk regulation regimes can be explained by ‘market failure’ explanations of risk regulation. A ‘market failure’ approach assumes that state activity will consist of the minimal level of intervention needed to correct for specific failures in market or tort‐law processes created by risks—i.e. where the costs of individuals informing themselves about risks or opting out of risks through market or civil law methods are very high. This chapter analyses the market failure characteristics of the nine case‐study risks and then compares theoretical expectations with what is observed in practice. Analysis suggests that ‘market failure’ explanations can go some way in explaining observed regime variety, and certainly take us beyond superficial ideas of the ‘nanny state’ or its converse, but cannot predict a substantial proportion of observed features and paradoxes.Less
Explores how far variety amongst risk regulation regimes can be explained by ‘market failure’ explanations of risk regulation. A ‘market failure’ approach assumes that state activity will consist of the minimal level of intervention needed to correct for specific failures in market or tort‐law processes created by risks—i.e. where the costs of individuals informing themselves about risks or opting out of risks through market or civil law methods are very high. This chapter analyses the market failure characteristics of the nine case‐study risks and then compares theoretical expectations with what is observed in practice. Analysis suggests that ‘market failure’ explanations can go some way in explaining observed regime variety, and certainly take us beyond superficial ideas of the ‘nanny state’ or its converse, but cannot predict a substantial proportion of observed features and paradoxes.
Julian Le Grand and BILL New
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164373
- eISBN:
- 9781400866298
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164373.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
Should governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or ...
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Should governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or taking marijuana—or does this create a nanny state, leading to infantilization, demotivation, and breaches in individual autonomy? Looking at examples from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, this book examines the justifications for, and the prevalence of, government paternalism and considers when intervention might or might not be acceptable. Building on developments in philosophy, behavioral economics, and psychology, the book explores the roles, boundaries, and responsibilities of the government and its citizens. It investigates specific policy areas, including smoking, saving for pensions, and assisted suicide. It then discusses legal restrictions on risky behavior, taxation of harmful activities, and subsidies for beneficial activities. The book pays particular attention to “nudge” or libertarian paternalist proposals that try to change the context in which individuals make decisions so that they make the right ones. It argues that individuals often display “reasoning failure”: an inability to achieve the ends that they set themselves. Such instances are ideal for paternalistic interventions—for though such interventions might impinge on autonomy, the impact can be outweighed by an improvement in well-being. Finally, the book rigorously considers whether the state should guide citizen decision making in positive ways and if so, how this should be achieved.Less
Should governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or taking marijuana—or does this create a nanny state, leading to infantilization, demotivation, and breaches in individual autonomy? Looking at examples from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, this book examines the justifications for, and the prevalence of, government paternalism and considers when intervention might or might not be acceptable. Building on developments in philosophy, behavioral economics, and psychology, the book explores the roles, boundaries, and responsibilities of the government and its citizens. It investigates specific policy areas, including smoking, saving for pensions, and assisted suicide. It then discusses legal restrictions on risky behavior, taxation of harmful activities, and subsidies for beneficial activities. The book pays particular attention to “nudge” or libertarian paternalist proposals that try to change the context in which individuals make decisions so that they make the right ones. It argues that individuals often display “reasoning failure”: an inability to achieve the ends that they set themselves. Such instances are ideal for paternalistic interventions—for though such interventions might impinge on autonomy, the impact can be outweighed by an improvement in well-being. Finally, the book rigorously considers whether the state should guide citizen decision making in positive ways and if so, how this should be achieved.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This book shines new light on an aspect of contemporary motherhood often hidden from view: the need for paid childcare by women returning to the workforce, and the complex bonds mothers forge with ...
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This book shines new light on an aspect of contemporary motherhood often hidden from view: the need for paid childcare by women returning to the workforce, and the complex bonds mothers forge with the “shadow mothers” they hire. This book illuminates both sides of an unequal and complicated relationship. Based on in-depth interviews with professional women and childcare providers—immigrant and American-born nannies as well as European au pairs—this book locates the roots of individual skirmishes between mothers and their childcare providers in broader cultural and social tensions. The book argues that these conflicts arise from unrealistic ideals about mothering and inflexible career paths and work schedules, as well as from the devaluation of paid care work.Less
This book shines new light on an aspect of contemporary motherhood often hidden from view: the need for paid childcare by women returning to the workforce, and the complex bonds mothers forge with the “shadow mothers” they hire. This book illuminates both sides of an unequal and complicated relationship. Based on in-depth interviews with professional women and childcare providers—immigrant and American-born nannies as well as European au pairs—this book locates the roots of individual skirmishes between mothers and their childcare providers in broader cultural and social tensions. The book argues that these conflicts arise from unrealistic ideals about mothering and inflexible career paths and work schedules, as well as from the devaluation of paid care work.
Julian Le Grand and Bill New
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164373
- eISBN:
- 9781400866298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164373.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This book explores one of the major social questions of the twenty-first century: whether the government should save people from themselves. More specifically, it considers whether there are ...
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This book explores one of the major social questions of the twenty-first century: whether the government should save people from themselves. More specifically, it considers whether there are circumstances when the state, or the government of the state, should intervene to protect individuals from the possibly damaging consequences of their own decisions, even if those decisions affect only themselves, and even if the individuals concerned made the decisions while in full possession of their faculties and of all the relevant information. In other words, whether government paternalism can be justified. The book asks whether allowing the government to be the agent of paternalism creates a “nanny state” that invades the autonomy of the individuals concerned and potentially infantilizing them. Finally, it examines what form a paternalistic intervention should take and to what extent the rationale or consequences of government policies may be regarded as wholly or partly paternalistic.Less
This book explores one of the major social questions of the twenty-first century: whether the government should save people from themselves. More specifically, it considers whether there are circumstances when the state, or the government of the state, should intervene to protect individuals from the possibly damaging consequences of their own decisions, even if those decisions affect only themselves, and even if the individuals concerned made the decisions while in full possession of their faculties and of all the relevant information. In other words, whether government paternalism can be justified. The book asks whether allowing the government to be the agent of paternalism creates a “nanny state” that invades the autonomy of the individuals concerned and potentially infantilizing them. Finally, it examines what form a paternalistic intervention should take and to what extent the rationale or consequences of government policies may be regarded as wholly or partly paternalistic.
Julian Le Grand and Bill New
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164373
- eISBN:
- 9781400866298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164373.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter examines the argument that government paternalism harms or inappropriately restricts individual autonomy. More specifically, it considers the criticism that the paternalist government is ...
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This chapter examines the argument that government paternalism harms or inappropriately restricts individual autonomy. More specifically, it considers the criticism that the paternalist government is actually a “nanny state”: the state is seen to treat its citizens as a nanny treats her charges, instead of as autonomous adults. After elaborating on the notion of autonomy, the chapter explores the relationship between paternalism, autonomy, and motivation. It then assesses the claim, associated with soft paternalism, that the individuals affected in fact have little autonomy to be violated. This position is based on the so-called autonomy failure—that is, the justification for paternalism depends in large part on a prior diminution of the individual's capacity for autonomous decision making, so that autonomy is therefore not offended by the intervention. The chapter describes the various circumstances in which this autonomy failure takes place and concludes by analyzing hard paternalism.Less
This chapter examines the argument that government paternalism harms or inappropriately restricts individual autonomy. More specifically, it considers the criticism that the paternalist government is actually a “nanny state”: the state is seen to treat its citizens as a nanny treats her charges, instead of as autonomous adults. After elaborating on the notion of autonomy, the chapter explores the relationship between paternalism, autonomy, and motivation. It then assesses the claim, associated with soft paternalism, that the individuals affected in fact have little autonomy to be violated. This position is based on the so-called autonomy failure—that is, the justification for paternalism depends in large part on a prior diminution of the individual's capacity for autonomous decision making, so that autonomy is therefore not offended by the intervention. The chapter describes the various circumstances in which this autonomy failure takes place and concludes by analyzing hard paternalism.
Julian Le Grand and Bill New
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691164373
- eISBN:
- 9781400866298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691164373.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter summarizes the book's arguments and uses them to address two central questions: whether a paternalistic government is necessarily a nanny state that infantilizes its citizens and ...
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This chapter summarizes the book's arguments and uses them to address two central questions: whether a paternalistic government is necessarily a nanny state that infantilizes its citizens and illegitimately erodes their autonomy, or whether it could be a helpful friend that promotes their well-being without undermining autonomy. The chapter suggests that the book's arguments provide a solid foundation for deciding on the appropriateness of government paternalism in general, of different forms of paternalism, and of the various types of paternalistic interventions. It argues that most of the definitions of paternalism common in the literature are unsatisfactory and proposes an alternative: to define paternalism in relation to reasoning failure. It concludes with the assertion that the state—as a helpful friend rather than a nanny state—can help its citizens achieve their own ends, and thereby promote their own well-being and that of the whole society.Less
This chapter summarizes the book's arguments and uses them to address two central questions: whether a paternalistic government is necessarily a nanny state that infantilizes its citizens and illegitimately erodes their autonomy, or whether it could be a helpful friend that promotes their well-being without undermining autonomy. The chapter suggests that the book's arguments provide a solid foundation for deciding on the appropriateness of government paternalism in general, of different forms of paternalism, and of the various types of paternalistic interventions. It argues that most of the definitions of paternalism common in the literature are unsatisfactory and proposes an alternative: to define paternalism in relation to reasoning failure. It concludes with the assertion that the state—as a helpful friend rather than a nanny state—can help its citizens achieve their own ends, and thereby promote their own well-being and that of the whole society.
Virginia Berridge
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199260300
- eISBN:
- 9780191717376
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199260300.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This book deals with changes in outlook of public health after the Second World War. Focussing on services, vaccination, and dealing with health issues at the local level, it can be seen that public ...
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This book deals with changes in outlook of public health after the Second World War. Focussing on services, vaccination, and dealing with health issues at the local level, it can be seen that public health developed a new discourse post war. Centring on chronic disease, it became concerned with the concept of ‘risk’ and targeted individual behaviour. The mass media and centralized campaigning directed at the whole population replaced local campaigns. Politicians' early worries about the ‘nanny state’ gave way to a desire to inculcate new norms of behaviour. How change was to be achieved became a matter of much debate. Identifying debates between those believing in ‘systematic gradualism’ and those who advocated a more coercive approach, this book uses smoking as a model. Such debates brought into play tensions over the relationships between public health and industrial interests. Health campaigning by new style pressure groups like ASH, which were part state funded, was an important motive force behind the change. In the 1980s and 1990s, public health changed again. Passive smoking and HIV/AIDS brought environmental concerns back into public health, which had disappeared after the 1950s. The ‘rise of addiction’ for smoking demonstrated the power of pharmaceutical interests to define a new ‘pharmaceutical public health’, in which treatment and ‘magic bullets’ were also tactics for prevention. In the early 21st century, public health was to play to complex tensions and conflicting impetuses. This book shows that those tensions were nothing new and outlines their development over the last half century.Less
This book deals with changes in outlook of public health after the Second World War. Focussing on services, vaccination, and dealing with health issues at the local level, it can be seen that public health developed a new discourse post war. Centring on chronic disease, it became concerned with the concept of ‘risk’ and targeted individual behaviour. The mass media and centralized campaigning directed at the whole population replaced local campaigns. Politicians' early worries about the ‘nanny state’ gave way to a desire to inculcate new norms of behaviour. How change was to be achieved became a matter of much debate. Identifying debates between those believing in ‘systematic gradualism’ and those who advocated a more coercive approach, this book uses smoking as a model. Such debates brought into play tensions over the relationships between public health and industrial interests. Health campaigning by new style pressure groups like ASH, which were part state funded, was an important motive force behind the change. In the 1980s and 1990s, public health changed again. Passive smoking and HIV/AIDS brought environmental concerns back into public health, which had disappeared after the 1950s. The ‘rise of addiction’ for smoking demonstrated the power of pharmaceutical interests to define a new ‘pharmaceutical public health’, in which treatment and ‘magic bullets’ were also tactics for prevention. In the early 21st century, public health was to play to complex tensions and conflicting impetuses. This book shows that those tensions were nothing new and outlines their development over the last half century.
Colin Palfrey
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781447341239
- eISBN:
- 9781447341277
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447341239.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Does health promotion have a lasting and positive effect on people? With mounting pressure to reduce costs to the NHS and increasing scepticism of the so-called nanny state, health promotion ...
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Does health promotion have a lasting and positive effect on people? With mounting pressure to reduce costs to the NHS and increasing scepticism of the so-called nanny state, health promotion initiatives are increasingly being criticised as costly and ineffective, with many arguing that health inequalities can only be reduced through radical political and economic change. This book examines the methods used to evaluate the value of health promotion projects and determines whether attempts to change people's lifestyles have proved successful. Taking into account the practical and ethical issues involved in deciding the appropriate approach to take in efforts to reduce health inequalities, the book assesses what might be the best path forward for health promotion.Less
Does health promotion have a lasting and positive effect on people? With mounting pressure to reduce costs to the NHS and increasing scepticism of the so-called nanny state, health promotion initiatives are increasingly being criticised as costly and ineffective, with many arguing that health inequalities can only be reduced through radical political and economic change. This book examines the methods used to evaluate the value of health promotion projects and determines whether attempts to change people's lifestyles have proved successful. Taking into account the practical and ethical issues involved in deciding the appropriate approach to take in efforts to reduce health inequalities, the book assesses what might be the best path forward for health promotion.
Elizabeth Adamson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781447330141
- eISBN:
- 9781447330165
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447330141.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Once considered the preserve of the wealthy, nanny care has grown in response to changes in the labour market, including the rising number of mothers with young children, and increases in ...
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Once considered the preserve of the wealthy, nanny care has grown in response to changes in the labour market, including the rising number of mothers with young children, and increases in non-standard work patterns. This book examines the place of in-home childcare, commonly referred to as care by nannies, in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada since the 1970s. In contrast to childminding or family day care provided in the home of the carer, in-home care takes place in the child’s home. The research extends beyond the early childhood education and care domain to consider how migration policy facilitates the provision of childcare in the private home.
New empirical research is presented about in-home childcare in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, three countries where governments are pursuing new ways to support the recruitment of in-home childcare workers through funding, regulation and migration. The compelling policy story that emerges illustrates the implications of different mechanisms for facilitating in-home childcare - for families and for care workers. It proposes that these differences are shaped by both structural and normative understandings about appropriate forms of care that cut across gender, class/socioeconomic status and race/migration. Overall, it argues that greater attention needs to be given to the way childcare work in the private home is situated across ECEC and migration policy.Less
Once considered the preserve of the wealthy, nanny care has grown in response to changes in the labour market, including the rising number of mothers with young children, and increases in non-standard work patterns. This book examines the place of in-home childcare, commonly referred to as care by nannies, in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada since the 1970s. In contrast to childminding or family day care provided in the home of the carer, in-home care takes place in the child’s home. The research extends beyond the early childhood education and care domain to consider how migration policy facilitates the provision of childcare in the private home.
New empirical research is presented about in-home childcare in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, three countries where governments are pursuing new ways to support the recruitment of in-home childcare workers through funding, regulation and migration. The compelling policy story that emerges illustrates the implications of different mechanisms for facilitating in-home childcare - for families and for care workers. It proposes that these differences are shaped by both structural and normative understandings about appropriate forms of care that cut across gender, class/socioeconomic status and race/migration. Overall, it argues that greater attention needs to be given to the way childcare work in the private home is situated across ECEC and migration policy.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book which is about the micropolitics of the so-called shadow mothers, nannies or au pairs. This book's close examination of commodified ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book which is about the micropolitics of the so-called shadow mothers, nannies or au pairs. This book's close examination of commodified mother-work challenges assumptions concerning the self-sufficiency of the nuclear family and the permeability of the public-private divide. It examines the delegation of mother-work such as conceiving, gestating and bearing children, the creation of family ties or the economic support of children and analyzes the cultural and structural constraints that shape the mother-nanny relationship. It proposes ways for resolving the ideal mother/ideal worker conflict and alternative models of the mother-nanny relationship and avenues for change.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book which is about the micropolitics of the so-called shadow mothers, nannies or au pairs. This book's close examination of commodified mother-work challenges assumptions concerning the self-sufficiency of the nuclear family and the permeability of the public-private divide. It examines the delegation of mother-work such as conceiving, gestating and bearing children, the creation of family ties or the economic support of children and analyzes the cultural and structural constraints that shape the mother-nanny relationship. It proposes ways for resolving the ideal mother/ideal worker conflict and alternative models of the mother-nanny relationship and avenues for change.
Lucy Delap
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199572946
- eISBN:
- 9780191728846
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572946.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores the advice literature and periodical press fascination with the changing nature of the twentieth-century home. It describes the ‘labour-saving movement’, and the associated ...
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This chapter explores the advice literature and periodical press fascination with the changing nature of the twentieth-century home. It describes the ‘labour-saving movement’, and the associated development of gas and electricity within the home. The persistence of domestic service within the changing context is highlighted, and many ‘labour-saving’ devices were understood as perpetuating domestic service, rather than making it redundant. The ‘servantless’ home was thus never very firmly established, and most middle-class households continued to expect domestic assistance. The chapter outlines attempts made to employ new categories of domestic workers (nannies, lady helps, mother's helps, au pairs) to avoid the opprobrium of being a ‘servant’. The servant-keeping practices of the late twentieth century are placed into a broader time span, and ‘doing for oneself’ is seen as a brief experiment, rather than a necessary feature of ‘modern’ living.Less
This chapter explores the advice literature and periodical press fascination with the changing nature of the twentieth-century home. It describes the ‘labour-saving movement’, and the associated development of gas and electricity within the home. The persistence of domestic service within the changing context is highlighted, and many ‘labour-saving’ devices were understood as perpetuating domestic service, rather than making it redundant. The ‘servantless’ home was thus never very firmly established, and most middle-class households continued to expect domestic assistance. The chapter outlines attempts made to employ new categories of domestic workers (nannies, lady helps, mother's helps, au pairs) to avoid the opprobrium of being a ‘servant’. The servant-keeping practices of the late twentieth century are placed into a broader time span, and ‘doing for oneself’ is seen as a brief experiment, rather than a necessary feature of ‘modern’ living.
Kent F. Schull
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780748641734
- eISBN:
- 9781474400886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748641734.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Chapter Two consists of a general survey of Ottoman prison reform from the 1850s until the end of the empire (circa 1919) from a state-centric perspective. It pays particular attention to the ...
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Chapter Two consists of a general survey of Ottoman prison reform from the 1850s until the end of the empire (circa 1919) from a state-centric perspective. It pays particular attention to the development of programmes and policies, where they originated, the foundations they built for successive reforms, and how these reforms exemplify particular regime ideologies and world views. Woven throughout the chapter are six broad themes associated with Ottoman prison reform that include transformation through continuity and change as opposed to rupture, a focus by reformers on prisoner rehabilitation, administrative centralisation and governmentality, order and discipline, the creation and expansion of an Ottoman ‘nanny state’ in which the government increasingly assumes greater amounts of responsibility for the welfare of its population, and finally, the juxtaposition of prison reform with the reality of prison life. This chapter, therefore lays out the major topics of investigation that constitute the book’s remaining chapters.Less
Chapter Two consists of a general survey of Ottoman prison reform from the 1850s until the end of the empire (circa 1919) from a state-centric perspective. It pays particular attention to the development of programmes and policies, where they originated, the foundations they built for successive reforms, and how these reforms exemplify particular regime ideologies and world views. Woven throughout the chapter are six broad themes associated with Ottoman prison reform that include transformation through continuity and change as opposed to rupture, a focus by reformers on prisoner rehabilitation, administrative centralisation and governmentality, order and discipline, the creation and expansion of an Ottoman ‘nanny state’ in which the government increasingly assumes greater amounts of responsibility for the welfare of its population, and finally, the juxtaposition of prison reform with the reality of prison life. This chapter, therefore lays out the major topics of investigation that constitute the book’s remaining chapters.
Richard Chu
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223400
- eISBN:
- 9780520924918
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223400.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Richard Chu was the only son of the seven children of ethnic Chinese parents living in the Philippines. He details why his grandparents relocated in the Philippines in 1938, and discusses the various ...
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Richard Chu was the only son of the seven children of ethnic Chinese parents living in the Philippines. He details why his grandparents relocated in the Philippines in 1938, and discusses the various reasons for, and the constraints experienced by, Chinese in obtaining Filipino citizenship. Richard was raised by a Filipino nanny, so he was more fluent in Tagalog. However, his parents wanted all of their children to speak Hokkien. Richard details how his mother perceives Filipinos. He studied in an exclusive Catholic boys' school with a great reputation for academic excellence among the Chinese. Although Richard got increasingly assimilated into Filipino culture, he did not completely forget or abandon his Chinese heritage. He visited his relatives and ancestral home in China, and then shared his discoveries and feelings. Richard explains that one's identity is capable of being constructed, invented, or manipulated.Less
Richard Chu was the only son of the seven children of ethnic Chinese parents living in the Philippines. He details why his grandparents relocated in the Philippines in 1938, and discusses the various reasons for, and the constraints experienced by, Chinese in obtaining Filipino citizenship. Richard was raised by a Filipino nanny, so he was more fluent in Tagalog. However, his parents wanted all of their children to speak Hokkien. Richard details how his mother perceives Filipinos. He studied in an exclusive Catholic boys' school with a great reputation for academic excellence among the Chinese. Although Richard got increasingly assimilated into Filipino culture, he did not completely forget or abandon his Chinese heritage. He visited his relatives and ancestral home in China, and then shared his discoveries and feelings. Richard explains that one's identity is capable of being constructed, invented, or manipulated.
Arlie Russell Hochschild
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520272279
- eISBN:
- 9780520956780
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520272279.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
In one kind of “lane,” service workers from the global south (for example, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mexico) travel to clients in the global north (for example, the United States, Canada, Hong ...
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In one kind of “lane,” service workers from the global south (for example, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mexico) travel to clients in the global north (for example, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong). In a second “lane,” clients of the global north (for example, medical tourists and retirees) fly to service workers who remain in the global south.Less
In one kind of “lane,” service workers from the global south (for example, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mexico) travel to clients in the global north (for example, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong). In a second “lane,” clients of the global north (for example, medical tourists and retirees) fly to service workers who remain in the global south.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter examines the contradictory forces shaping the lives of working mothers or employers of nannies. The findings suggest that working mothers experience what is called blanket accountability ...
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This chapter examines the contradictory forces shaping the lives of working mothers or employers of nannies. The findings suggest that working mothers experience what is called blanket accountability or the sense that they are responsible for everything that happens in their children's daily lives, regardless of who provides the actual care. The result also indicates that they are consequently torn between hiring an at-home mother to support them as they pursue their demanding careers and the desire to be at-home mother for their children, and this conflict feeds the mother-employers' deep ambivalence and guides their strategies for managing their child-care workers.Less
This chapter examines the contradictory forces shaping the lives of working mothers or employers of nannies. The findings suggest that working mothers experience what is called blanket accountability or the sense that they are responsible for everything that happens in their children's daily lives, regardless of who provides the actual care. The result also indicates that they are consequently torn between hiring an at-home mother to support them as they pursue their demanding careers and the desire to be at-home mother for their children, and this conflict feeds the mother-employers' deep ambivalence and guides their strategies for managing their child-care workers.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter introduces three types of nannies common in the Boston area in Massachusetts and describes their different routes to nanny work, as well as the problems they face in an occupation that ...
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This chapter introduces three types of nannies common in the Boston area in Massachusetts and describes their different routes to nanny work, as well as the problems they face in an occupation that is legally and socially defined as being part of the family rather than as doing skilled work. The interview with the caregivers reveals that they consider themselves more skilled than other domestic workers and they take pride in the quality of care they offer, especially as compared to care offered at daycare centers. The analysis also indicates that these caregivers entered the employment relationship constrained by specific cultural values and institutional barriers where their employers valued a professional-class version of intensive mothering that emphasized concerted cultivation.Less
This chapter introduces three types of nannies common in the Boston area in Massachusetts and describes their different routes to nanny work, as well as the problems they face in an occupation that is legally and socially defined as being part of the family rather than as doing skilled work. The interview with the caregivers reveals that they consider themselves more skilled than other domestic workers and they take pride in the quality of care they offer, especially as compared to care offered at daycare centers. The analysis also indicates that these caregivers entered the employment relationship constrained by specific cultural values and institutional barriers where their employers valued a professional-class version of intensive mothering that emphasized concerted cultivation.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter outlines the logics working mothers use to find and hire the employee who will provide the right care for their child and for their child's developmental stage. It suggests that the use ...
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This chapter outlines the logics working mothers use to find and hire the employee who will provide the right care for their child and for their child's developmental stage. It suggests that the use of ethnic logics leads mothers to reduce nannies to a few essentialized characteristics rooted in ethnicity, age, or national origin, rather than regarding these caregivers as complex or evolving individuals. It explains that objectifying their nannies allows mothers to retain control and that in tailoring their nannies' traits to their children's developmental stages the mothers are also able to fulfil the responsibilities assigned to them by the ideology of intensive mothering.Less
This chapter outlines the logics working mothers use to find and hire the employee who will provide the right care for their child and for their child's developmental stage. It suggests that the use of ethnic logics leads mothers to reduce nannies to a few essentialized characteristics rooted in ethnicity, age, or national origin, rather than regarding these caregivers as complex or evolving individuals. It explains that objectifying their nannies allows mothers to retain control and that in tailoring their nannies' traits to their children's developmental stages the mothers are also able to fulfil the responsibilities assigned to them by the ideology of intensive mothering.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter presents management and monitoring strategies put in place after the caregiver has been hired. These strategies that range from micromanagement to benign inattention that assumes the ...
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This chapter presents management and monitoring strategies put in place after the caregiver has been hired. These strategies that range from micromanagement to benign inattention that assumes the existence of an intuitive connection between employer and nanny and each of these treats the caregiver as an extension of the mother rather than as an individual with her own distinctive relationship to the children. The objective of these strategies is to orchestrate the daily lives of the nanny and children to mirror the employer's image of the care she imagines she would provide if she were an at-home mother herself.Less
This chapter presents management and monitoring strategies put in place after the caregiver has been hired. These strategies that range from micromanagement to benign inattention that assumes the existence of an intuitive connection between employer and nanny and each of these treats the caregiver as an extension of the mother rather than as an individual with her own distinctive relationship to the children. The objective of these strategies is to orchestrate the daily lives of the nanny and children to mirror the employer's image of the care she imagines she would provide if she were an at-home mother herself.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter discusses the creation of the so-called shadow mothers and describes a different kind of management strategy for nannies that involves managing both the image of the mother-nanny ...
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This chapter discusses the creation of the so-called shadow mothers and describes a different kind of management strategy for nannies that involves managing both the image of the mother-nanny division of labor and what that division of labor means. Most of the mothers interviewed strongly believed in the ideal of being in mother-appropriate places at mother-appropriate times and this leads them to devise a complex supervisory subtext that delineates what aspects of childcare the nanny is to engage in and what aspects are for the mother only. This chapter describes a particular portrayal of shared mothering that mother-employers and caregivers collaborate to establish and sustain and suggests that this co-care is created within the context of a dominant cultural ideology that values only intensive mothering performed by the biological or adoptive mother, not by a hired provider.Less
This chapter discusses the creation of the so-called shadow mothers and describes a different kind of management strategy for nannies that involves managing both the image of the mother-nanny division of labor and what that division of labor means. Most of the mothers interviewed strongly believed in the ideal of being in mother-appropriate places at mother-appropriate times and this leads them to devise a complex supervisory subtext that delineates what aspects of childcare the nanny is to engage in and what aspects are for the mother only. This chapter describes a particular portrayal of shared mothering that mother-employers and caregivers collaborate to establish and sustain and suggests that this co-care is created within the context of a dominant cultural ideology that values only intensive mothering performed by the biological or adoptive mother, not by a hired provider.
Cameron Lynne Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520222328
- eISBN:
- 9780520947818
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520222328.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter describes the working conditions, including employer attitudes and family atmosphere, that nannies report wanting most. The findings reveal that caregivers want to be recognized as adult ...
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This chapter describes the working conditions, including employer attitudes and family atmosphere, that nannies report wanting most. The findings reveal that caregivers want to be recognized as adult workers with basic rights and as important co-participants in the rearing of a specific set of children and that they also want to be seen as skilled workers and given the level of autonomy that they felt was on a par with the degree of responsibility their jobs entailed. These are components of the third-parent ideal that are equally essential to most caregivers.Less
This chapter describes the working conditions, including employer attitudes and family atmosphere, that nannies report wanting most. The findings reveal that caregivers want to be recognized as adult workers with basic rights and as important co-participants in the rearing of a specific set of children and that they also want to be seen as skilled workers and given the level of autonomy that they felt was on a par with the degree of responsibility their jobs entailed. These are components of the third-parent ideal that are equally essential to most caregivers.
