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Free keywords:
social and cultural construction of the body, governmentality, domestic work, subjectivation, qualification, migration, the Philippines
Abstract:
This article analyses ways of conceiving work according to the techniques of governmentality in the globalized economy of domestic work. Based on an ethnographic work conducted within the pre-migration training courses for Filipino migrant domestic workers before their departure, this article describes how these courses deploy various techniques of governmentality in order to construct subaltern bodies and meet the expectations of employers. This study thus underlines how subjectivities are related to an ethic of deference structured by norms of politeness, humility, docility, and respect. These forms of subjectivation at work in the care economy highlight how practical skills are strongly rooted in interpersonal skills.
