Even though I enjoyed reading Ehrenreich's "Maid to Order" the most, I still have trouble deciding how I really feel about what she says. On the one hand, I agree with what she says, everything that she says makes sense; on the other hand, I don't find myself actually believing what she says. It pains me that she seems to vilify women who "outsource the work of the home." 

In Hong Kong, it's almost unusual to hear of a family without a "domestic helper," or "ya-ya"s (Tagalog for 'nanny'); even my ya-ya who worked for my family has a ya-ya for her son. But even though having a ya-ya in Hong Kong is the norm, my family wouldn't employ a help if we didn't really need it, and, truthfully, we do; both my parents leave at 8 in the morning and often don't return until 11 at night and they go on business trips at least twice a month. No one is left to take care of the house or the dog, especially since my sister and I are away at school. 

So naturally, I find issue with Ehrenreich's claim that, "real work... tends to vanish." I couldn't even imagine how offended my parents would be if I ever told them that they weren't doing "real" work!

I also cannot bring myself to sympathize with Ehrenreich, especially when she makes very unfair, accusatory statements like, "a servant economy breeds callousness and solipsism."

So I guess my question is, what are working women supposed to do? What am I supposed to do, if, as the daughter, I should be "filling in" for my mother, but am, instead, away at school---which my mother must work to pay for?!! Also--and maybe I'm missing the entire point of Ehrenreich's article and missing the big picture--but what is so wrong with outsourcing domestic work, when it's not a matter of relegating dirty work, but a matter of not having enough hours in the day? Also, when can the pressure on women to do everything--job, take care of and raise baby, cook, clean--be lifted? It's no wonder why more and more women are hiring other women to do housework.