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Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities

Abstract

This article explores how labor practices perpetuate narratives, or stereotypes, which produce various forms of anti-Asian violence. By looking at labor trends of Chinese immigrants in America, specifically on the current increase of Chinese immigrant women home care workers, the author argues that labor trends are guided by narratives surrounding certain demographics while simultaneously reinforcing these narratives. For Chinese immigrant women, the stereotype of the hardworking and subservient worker, paired with their hypersexualization and association with sex work, combine to justify their increased presence in the domestic work or home care industry. These harmful narratives create violence both within and beyond the workplace. Use of collective organizing practices by workers not only leads to better working conditions, but also counters narratives of Chinese immigrant women as submissive and silent. Labor organizing has the immense power to transform stereotypes which guide labor practices and perpetuate violence. Despite its deprioritization in mainstream Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) political organizing spaces, labor organizing should be seen as an essential site for the future of AAPI organizing.

Author Biography

Sophie Mark-Ng (she/her) is a graduating senior at Macalester College with a major in American Studies and a minor in Studio Art. She is from Cambridge, Massachusetts and grounds her academic work in the labor and community organizing she is a part of in the greater Boston area. She would like to thank all those who contributed both directly and indirectly to this project, especially the many community and labor organizers who continue to inspire her.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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