Book Description

書目簡介

目前全台灣共有超過三十萬名外籍勞工，其中有十四萬為外籍幫傭與監護工，她們漂洋過海、離開自己的家庭，來照顧台灣的老人與小孩。作者於1998-1999、2002-2004年間針對進行家務移工的遷移經驗與雇用關係進行田野研究，在天主教堂、台北火車站、清真寺，結識了近百名來自菲律賓和印尼的女性。作者同時也訪問了五十多位的台灣女雇主，她們透過雇用廉價的外籍勞動力，來外包家務、母職與孝道，試圖緩和工作與家庭、傳統與現代之間的緊張衝突。僱用家務移工的台灣家庭的日常生活，可說是「屋簷下的全球化」，成為探索當代台灣的族群關係與認同政治的重要研究場域。

本書用「跨國灰姑娘」的比喻，來描述女性移工的多重複雜處境。跨國遷移的旅程，對她們來說，既是解放，也是壓迫。她們或可藉此脫離母國的貧窮、不快樂的婚姻，追求經濟的獨立、探索未知的國度、與實踐現代性的想像，但她們在台灣往往面臨仲介剝削、種族歧視、高壓的勞雇關係、與台灣外勞政策所強化的弱勢位置。本書也探討她們的「跨國母職」與「愛的勞動」，一方面，她們透過匯款、禮物與手機簡訊，來維繫與家鄉子女的連帶。另一方面，她們扮演著台灣小孩的代理母親、台灣老人的虛擬親人，情感連帶固然帶來工作的意義感，以及遠離家人時的移情認同，但也可能面對小孩母親的妒忌、約滿時的分離痛苦，以及以愛為名、勞動權益的損失。

多數的台灣雇主先前並沒有雇用幫傭的經驗，也就是本書所謂的「新富雇主」。她們的經驗與認同，反映出當代台灣社會在階級形構、性別關係與家庭型態多方面的轉變。雇主與幫傭之間的關係，在地理上親近、在地位上疏遠。本書探討台灣雇主如何透過飲食、語言、空間、工作內容、互動方式來協商彼此的社會距離，作者也比較雇用說英文的菲傭，與雇用學歷較低的印傭，有怎樣不同的互動與待遇上的差異。此外，當另一個女人進駐私密的家庭生活後，女雇主與先生、小孩、婆婆之間的關係產生若干變化，本書也呈現女雇主如何透過重新界定妻職、母職、婆職的意義，來確保女主人與女傭之間、母親與保母之間的分工與地位區隔，她們在外包家務的同時，也持續在協商自我的性別認同，以及強化階級與族群的差異與權力關係。

Book Description

Migrant women are the primary source of paid domestic workers around the world. Since the 1980s, the newly prosperous countries of East Asia have recruited foreign household workers at a rapidly increasing rate. Many come from the Philippines and Indonesia. Pei-Chia Lan interviewed and spent time with dozens of Filipina and Indonesian domestics working in and around Taipei as well as many of their Taiwanese employers. Based on the vivid ethnographic detail she collected, Lan provides a nuanced look at how global inequalities are enacted in private households. She also sheds light on the fate of the workers, “global Cinderellas” who seek an escape from poverty at home only to find themselves treated as disposable labor abroad.

Lan demonstrates how economic disparities, immigration policies, race, ethnicity, and gender intersect in the relationship between the employees and their Taiwanese employers. The employers are eager to flex their newly acquired financial muscle; many are first-generation career women as well as first-generation employers. The domestics are recruited from abroad as contract and “guest” workers; restrictive immigration policies prohibit them from seeking permanent residence or transferring from one employer to another. They take care of Taiwanese families’ children, often having left their own behind. While many of the domestics, particularly the Filipinas, are well educated, they are expected to act deferentially at work. Throughout Global Cinderellas, Lan pays particular attention to how the women she studied identify themselves in relation to “others”—whether they be of different classes, nationalities, ethnicities, or education levels. In so doing, she offers a framework for thinking about how migrant workers and their employers understand themselves in the midst of dynamic transnational labor flows.