Poli Readings: On Housework

Sav and K. talk about the 13th chapter of Angela Davis's Women, Race & Class, "The Approaching Obsolescence of Housework: A Working-class Perspective" in addition to Gabrielle Meagher's article, "Is it Wrong to Pay for Housework?" These readings helped round out our prior discussions of housework as women's work and how that has impacted the work conditions of house cleaners. In the market, housework is still predominantly done by women, especially of the lower class and women of color. Often, this sector of the economy is not regulated in the same ways as work that takes place in the public sphere; additionally, many people who clean houses do not receive benefits, as their employer may not be a central agency but divided across multiple households. Thus, gender and class are foci for our conversation. The tension between freedom for some women (from childcare, housework, the home) at the expense of others who do that work for them remains a major theme in this discussion -- as it was in Audre Lorde's "Master's Tools." We always ask "which women?" when progress for women has supposedly been made. However, Meagher's article ultimately advocates for paying for housework, while addressing major arguments feminists have made to the contrary. Davis' piece asks us to consider the possibility of mechanized house cleaning (Roomba) that would free the working class from that additional duty. K. suggests "clean up after yourself" as some moral or ethical principle; Sav talks about poop. And, as usual, we digress to absurd considerations, such as our essence as worms and whether we like having bodies. Enjoy! Meagher's article: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3810750?seq=1