Race, Gender and the Body in British Immigration Control

Abstract

"Au pairs have traditionally been thought of as middle-class young women from Northern Europe, who are having a fun gap year in a foreign country. This collection, the first dedicated to examining the lives of au pairs, reveals that this is far from the whole story. Au pairing is now a global phenomenon and au pairs are just as likely to come from Asia and Latin America as from Sweden or France. They are an increasingly important form of very low waged, often unregulated, childcare and domestic labour enabling tens of thousands of families to meet the demands of both work and home life. Despite the importance of the work that they do, au pairs are not recognized as workers and are often excluded from even the most basic protections, such as a minimum wage. As young migrants living inside their employers' homes they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse"-- 1 Introduction / Rosie Cox Cox, Rosie 1 -- Part I An Pairs in the UK -- 2 'Pink Slave' or the 'Modern Young Woman'? A History of the Au Pair in Britain / Eleni Liarou Liarou, Eleni 19 -- 3 'Good Families' and the Shadows of Servitude: Au Pair Gossip and Norms of Au Pair Employment / Zuzana Sekeráková Búriková Búriková, Zuzana Sekeráková 36 -- 4 When Work Doesn't Pay: Outcomes of a Deregulated Childcare Market and Au Pair Policy Vacuum in the UK / Nicole Busch Busch, Nicole 53 -- 5 Migrant Domestic Workers, the National Minimum Wage and the 'Family Worker' Concept / Jenny Moss Moss, Jenny 70 -- Part II Au Pairs in the Nordic Countries -- 6 In a Minefield of Transnational Social Relations: Filipino Au Pairs between Moral Obligations and Personal Ambitions / Mariya Bikova Bikova, Mariya 87 -- 7 Bane and Boon; Gains and Pains; Dos and Don'ts... Moral Economy and Female Bodies in Au Pair Migration / Helle Scheme Scheme, Helle 104 -- 8 'It's Not Much': Affective (Boundary) Work in the Au Pair Scheme / Elisabeth Stubberud Stubberud, Elisabeth 121 -- 9 Au Pairs in Norway: Experiences from an Outreach Project / Lene Løvdal Løvdal, Lene 136 -- Part III The Au Pair Experience in the Rest of Europe -- 10 Ethnicity and the Au Pair Experience: Latin American Au Pairs in Marseille, France / Severine Durin Durin, Severine 155 -- 11 Part of the Family? Experiences of Au Pairs in Ireland / Aoife Smith Smith, Aoife 170 -- Part IV Au Pairs in the New World -- 12 Hiding in Plain Sight -- Au Pairs in Australia / Laurie Berg Berg, Laurie 187 -- 13 The Cosmopolitau Dilemma: Fantasy, Work and the Experiences of Mexican Au Pairs in the USA / Mirza Aguilar Perez Perez, Mirza Aguilar 203 -- 14 'She Doesn't Think It Will Work Out': Why Au Pairs in the USA Leave Their Host Family Early / Christine Geserick Geserick, Christine 219 -- 15 Conclusion: When is a Worker Not a Worker? Tackling the Contradictions of Au Pairing / Rosie Cox Cox, Rosie 235.