The Bane of Korean Women's Existence?

Recently the article making the rounds of the expat community here in Korea is this one. In the last year or so several blogs have popped up translating Korean articles about foreigners and I have to say that I, for one, rather wish they hadn't - I enjoyed not having to face that these attitudes existed in Korea. I liked my little Zen bubble. The group in question pops up all the time and claims to be defending the honour of Korean women.

“When I travel with my husband, we avoid buses and subways,” said Jung Hye-sil, 42, who married a Pakistani man in 1994. “They glance at me as if I have done something incredible. There is a tendency here to control women and who they can date or marry, in the name of the nation.”New York Times

Other articles have also been addressing issues of racism in Korea and you'll notice that the focus is on Korean women with foreigners and not vice versa. Granted, it's a lot less common to see Korean men with foreign women in the cities (as the articles state though, farmers are increasingly marrying SE Asian women.)

There are lots of things that Korean women could use some help with. I don't see the group looking at anything but foreigners, however.

Over the past few years, a group calling itself Anti-English Spectrum has stirred up expats living in Korea, leading many to label the group as perpetrators of hate speech and racist activities due to their Naver cafe content and offline stalking activities. Anti-English Spectrum is the product of a backlash in 2005 in response to a "sexy costume party" put on by a few native English teachers. On a site with the heading "English Spectrum," parties were advertised and pictures were posted. The male founder of Anti-English Spectrum felt that Korean women at the party were being degraded and decided to take action. Part of their statement of purpose reads:

"Until the degradation of Korean women by English Spectrum stirred an uproar, we were just common citizens of the Republic of Korea. ... One day, we witnessed the English Spectrum's arrogant and base statements degrading Korean women and we felt something beyond rage, a feeling of unendurable humiliation. And so, because of our burning consciences, our 'active consciences,' that we just could not ignore, we are gathered here together."

It continues saying that they are, "[w]aging a wearisome and very difficult fight against English Spectrum, a group that has debased the image of Korean women in such a dirty and humiliating way that is enough to have soiled the country's national brand, and also against illegal, low-quality English instructors who prevent proper English education from happening in this land!" The statement concludes with, "This is the Citizens' Movement for the Expulsion of Illegal Foreign Language Teachers."



Since its inception, the group has increasingly pursued the deportation of "illegal and problem teachers." As for who should be deported exactly, it looks for fake degree holders, drug users and HIV/AIDS-infected individuals. If those don't work, expats could be accused of "violating the Korean moral code."

Through its website, the group seems to be saying that crimes committed by native English teachers have reached socially dangerous levels.

But is native teacher crime in Korea even a problem?

National Assembly Representative Lee Gun-hyeon reported in September this year that there were 114 crimes committed by foreign English teachers in 2007 and 99 in 2008, translating into a foreign teacher crime rate of 0.64 and 0.5 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, according to the Korean Institute of Criminology, the Korean crime rate in 2007 was 3.5 percent. In other words, the native English teacher crime rate was more than five times lower than the Korean crime rate.

An issue many have with Anti-English Spectrum is its past use of racist language, such as referring to foreigners as "Black pigs," saying that foreigners engage in "sexual molestation," and that they "target children."

Another AES action that has gone further than your friendly neighborhood watch involves them engaging in types of vigilantism. The group's administrator admits to stalking foreigners. "Whenever I have to prepare a policy report or embark on the pursuit of an illegal foreign lecturer, then I end up working until dawn because I throw myself into it, braving fire and water. Then because I have to be at work in the morning, I don't get any sleep, and therefore am physically very tired." They have also stored information and photographs on their website of non-Koreans they have followed.



As for charges of racism, Anti-English Spectrum's host Naver.com, said they have received no complaints. The PR department for Korea's biggest portal stated that even though the cafe is rather large -- having 17,000 members -- prior to being contacted by The Korea Herald a representative said she was unaware of the group. When asked about the "black pig" comment, the representative stated that "in this case 'black pig' is definitely a racist comment."

"It is hard to detect all offensive comments. What's more important here is the measure we take against such actions ... If anyone reports to us about wrongdoings that are going on in this cafe, we will take measures and give sanctions to them."

Dubious statistics

Anti-English Spectrum also delved into the nation's AIDS discussion by disseminating rumors on its website that "infected (HIV) foreigners are indiscriminately spreading the virus." The manager of AES then implied that the spread of the virus in Korea could be the result of a foreign organization operating here. "It is not yet known whether a foreign AIDS-infected peoples' organization is responsible for inciting these people, or whether it is the infected foreigners within Korea just working amongst themselves. The only truth known from the rumor is that these people are spreading AIDS in order to make their existence known."

A foreigner in Korea has never been brought up on such charges. A Korean taxi driver was, however, accused by the police on March 13 for knowingly spreading HIV/AIDS to dozens of women in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.

Further involvement in the AIDS public opinion field was the group's successful influencing of foreign visa regulations using false statistics. Bill (3356), which is now at the National Assembly, is designed to allow AIDS testing for any foreigners coming into Korea on working visas. The bill contains a statistic which originates from Anti-English Spectrum, and has been quoted by the group's administrator in the media on numerous occasions. It states that in 2007 the Itaewon AIDS clinic performed 80 percent of its tests on foreign teachers and foreign white collar workers.

Korea AIDS/HIV Prevention & Support Center statistics for that year show that the 80 percent statistic is false. Furthermore, KHAP director Yu Sung-chal told Expat Living that the clinic "moved to Seongbuk-gu in 2006, so it makes no sense to say that the Itaewon clinic sent out these statistics."

When Assemblyman Lee Sang-jun, who is behind Bill (3356) was asked by the Herald about the false statistic, he stated that he got the stats from the Ministry of Justice, and that he does not remember who in the ministry he got them from. "I do go over statistics at times. But in this case, since they are not the vital issue here, but rather a reference, I didn't check the facts."

The same dubious statistic can be traced back even further. A petition from AES sent to the Ministry of Justice in 2006 bears the same 80 percent figure. Around this time, Anti-English Spectrum assisted in an online article that alleged the percentage was English teachers, leaving out the mention of white collar workers. The picture included with the article is of a white man giving a blood sample to a nurse -- presumably an English teacher, since the article is about EFL teachers -- with the caption once again mentioning the Itaewon AIDS tests.

As it turns out, the photo was a fake. The picture is of President George W. Bush's former U.S. Global AIDS coordinator being publicly tested for HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia in an effort to fight AIDS stigma. The same picture is on Wikipedia.

When reached for comment, the director of the AIDS Prevention Center in Daegu did not have nice things to say about Anti-English Spectrum. "I think they are highly nationalistic and they treat foreigners as our enemies ... I do believe in freedom of speech, however, what they are sending out is highly controversial and might send out the wrong perception," said Kim Ji-young.

Aside from propagating the use of false statistics and admitting to stalking foreigners, AES has made a name for itself with dozens of propagandistic posters. The main themes: Illegal teachers are drug takers, sex fiends, gamblers and are unqualified; some are pedophiles; they are the source of Korea's HIV/AIDS problem.

The main issues for most expats: This kind of propaganda incites hatred for all foreigners, since it's impossible to tell an illegal from a legal one.

Teachers speak up

On Nov. 13, the Association for Teachers of English in Korea issued a press release supporting the efforts of Andrea Vandom, a Ph.D. student in International Relations at the University of California, who has taken action against Anti-English Spectrum. In a letter dated Nov. 6, which was sent to Naver's parent company NHN Corporation, Vandom outlines that AES violates both Korean law and also Naver Cafe's operating principles.

"This group's highly defamatory statements violate Article Ga-4 (Defamatory Posts) of Naver Cafe's terms of service agreement and rise to the level of violation of the Korean Criminal Code."

She goes on to state, "Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination ... which the Republic of Korea has declared 'has the same authority of domestic law.' Says that '(promoting) racial hatred and discrimination in any form,' such as with the use of 'promotional posters,' is a prohibited act."

Referring to her letter, ATEK president Greg Dolezal stated, "The Anti-English Spectrum is attempting to sabotage multiculturalism in Korea with their xenophobic accusations that are aimed at foreign teachers who are innocent of the crimes the group describes.

"ATEK cannot accept such harmful material relating to foreign teachers ... Therefore we whole heartedly support these letters and urge the NHN Corporation to honor Naver's content policies and remove the offensive material from the group's page."

Towards the end of her letter, Vandom says that. "I have emphasized that Naver should protect its users' rights to speak freely in a robust and open environment where controversial ideas are expressed and even offensive language is used, but even free speech has its limits." She ends the letter with six example points "strongly suggesting" that Naver remove any material on AES' site that promotes "racism, xenophobia and the proliferation of hate speech."

Kyung Hee University international law professor Benjamin Wagner takes issue with the way AES has handled the sensitive issue of HIV/AIDS. "It is not free speech to try to stir a social panic by falsely claiming foreigners have AIDS and are conspiring to infect the Korean population. This is a criminal matter," said Wagner.

"Firstly, I'm appalled at their degradation of Korean women. Secondly, their willful refusal to abide by Korea's laws and moral principles is shameful and has marked the group as the true outsiders. Their tactics and ideology are completely alien to Korean democratic society. To give just two examples: their attempt to create rumors of foreigners plotting to infect Koreans with AIDS is a propaganda ploy right out of the Pyongyang playbook; and their spying -- tracking peoples movements, following them home, secretly photographing them -- is reminiscent of past military dictatorships' human rights violations, which this country successfully fought to eradicate."

AES' cafe manager initially agreed to an interview but subsequently disallowed the use of his answers in print. Anti-English Spectrum, to its credit, has removed some of the most offensive content. There are still ongoing discussions on their cafe on the subject of stalking foreigners.

By Adam Walsh

A note and a promise

Deadlines are looming.
Long hours barely sufficient
To manage my tasks.

Avast needs tending.
So many topics calling,
Yet posting must wait.

Oh No You Don't

On the weekend I attended a book club meeting run by a friend - as per usual we only discussed the book briefly and ended up talking about completely different things. Somehow the talk turned to health care and my friend tried to tell me that not only will Obama never pass the reforms, but that America doesn't need to change its health care policies and that it's a better system than Canada's.

But, no, I don't think that a middle class woman in her twenties gets to tell me that American health care doesn't change (especially when she suggests that if the working poor just stopped paying for cable they could easily afford insurance.)

When women are more likely to be uninsured, to e underinsured, to have difficulty accessing and paying for needed medical care and to forego needed medical care due to cost, you don't get to tell me that the American system is working.

When women tend to pay more for individual health-insurance policies, even if they don't include maternity care and the US is the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee paid maternity leave, you don't get to tell me that the American system is working.

When some insurers charge women as much as 50% more and employers pay more for their group health plans if their workforce is predominately women - which is called gender rating, you don't get to tell me that the American system is working.

When flexible hours are a barrier to qualifying for group insurance and when women's lesser salaries result in them being more likely to take flexible hours or part time work so that their partners can work full time to cover the family, you don't get to tell me that the American system is working.

When being a victim of domestic violence is a pre-existing condition, you don't get to tell me that the American system is working.

When half of women workers in the private sector don't have a single paid sick day and swine flu hits the US, you don't get to tell me that the American system is working.

Having lived in countries with more universal health care, I can tell you that while the Korean, Canadian and British systems aren't perfect, they do work. There is plenty of room for improvement in all of them, but they are cheaper than the American system and keep more people covered.

Let's hope Obama does manage to fix that system that is not working.

Feminism in Israel

When the idea for reviving Avast for NaBloPoMo came up, I thought it would be a great chance to write a post or two on feminism in Israel. My country tends to come up in conversations over lots of issues; feminism is not the first one to come to mind. I have spent the last few days trying to figure out what to write about.

In many ways women here are considered equal. From day one of the establishment of the state in 1948, women have been able to vote, we had a female prime minister in the 70’s, girls do a mandated military service same as boys, and we get the same education and health care. Still, there are so many ways that women here are not equal.

I could write about how the military has very few women in the upper ranks and serves as a network that women can’t get into.
I could write about how more girls that boys graduate high school and more women than men receive undergraduate and graduate degrees, yet the number of women who get tenured university positions is much lower and women make up only about a quarter of the faculty of universities and colleges.
I could write about how in 2008 women earned approximately 40% less then men.
I could write about the number of women who were murdered by their male partners or ex-partners.
I could write about the sex workers who are being brought here from other countries and held illegally, who can’t speak the language and can’t get help and when they are caught are sent back to where they come from with no help.
I could write about the former president who is now under trial for rape and sexual harassment.
I could tell you that it took six years to pass a law against sexual harassment.

Instead I am going to tell you about my colleague S.
S. has a master’s degree from a top university; she is bright and well read. She also thinks it ok that men make more than women; after all, they have a family to support. She thinks it’s ok that when she gets home from work, she looks after their child, cleans the apartment, cooks and does laundry. Her husband goes to the gym. If their child is sick, she will stay home even though she has used up her paid sick days at work.
She makes me sad and, unfortunately, I think she is a typical Israeli woman.


Most of the women I come in contact with, whether at work, at the gym, or through our kids, work outside their home, have careers, and are educated. Most of them would not call themselves feminists. I don’t know why they don’t identify with feminism. Maybe many of them do not realize that they lead the lives that they do because of feminists in the past. Maybe, because even though they have careers and are successful strong women, they are still usually the ones who do the majority of the housework and childcare and can’t fathom a world where that doesn’t happen?


*I have sources for my numbers but they are all in Hebrew.

by Yael - Ein Shem

All boy?

Before I became a parent, I thought few people in my educational and social cohort would have firm ideas about the inherent nature of boys and girls. After all, we’re generally progressive and at least moderately worldly. We’ve heard of the role of society upon our choices and lives, haven’t we? We know that cultures differ around the world and have changed over time, haven’t we? Sadly, I can add this to my list of illusions that have been shattered by the arrival of a child*.

It amazes me how many people I know confidently attribute any number of behaviours to a child’s gender. I’ve been told many times by friends, family and strangers that my son is “all boy”. Presumably this is because he’s a high energy kid who’s very active and loves trucks and cars. Classic boy, right? But…he’s also fascinated by babies and tries to comfort his preschool friends when they’re upset. Wait a minute…that doesn’t reduce his boy rating to 85%, does it? I trust our readers can guess which toys his relatives buy him.

I think there are two key components to this. The first is people’s tendency to see what they expect. Facts that contradict what they “know” to be true are frequently ignored or rationalized away. There is a classic experiment when a video of a crying infant (in gender-neutral clothing) was shown to volunteers. When identified as female, people described the infant as upset or scared. When the same infant was identified as male, people described its behaviour as angry. This feeds into the second component – people also behave differently towards boys and girls, right from day one.

Think about it. Even when you think that you’re treating baby boys and girls equally, the odds that you aren’t. People praise girls and boys for different types of behaviour from birth. You may argue that you’d give your daughter a truck or your son a doll … if that’s what they REALLY wanted. Sure, maybe you would. But did you set the bar that high before buying your child a gender-typical toy? Or did you buy it without being asked and encourage them to play with it.

Now, I have to do the typical bending over backwards to say that of course I’m not saying that boys and girls (or men and women) are exactly the same. My point is, in our culture, how would you possibly know?
*Illusion #37

Oops

Let's wait for tomorrow, shall we?

Geeks and Nerds

"Whatever you say about sci-fi fans, they have an acute sense of the monumental. A pretty good definition of sci-fi, in fact, is fiction that focuses exclusively on monumental events: plagues, comets, interspecies wars, the return of the dinosaurs." Nugent, American Nerd

In Benjamin Nugent's American Nerd, the subtitle reads "The Story of My People". Certainly it isn't the story of my people. Apparently, American nerds are pretty much all men. Nugent does touch lightly on the presence of racial and sexist stereotypes at work in the construction of the nerd. There is even a chapter examining Asperger's Syndrome (which affects males more regularly than females - to the tune of 90% according to the book) and arguing that the syndrome became a problem at the same time that being a nerd became a major obstacle to social acceptance. It was interesting to read about the historical, literary, and cinematic development of the nerd stereotype and a few things resonated with me, particularly the idea of adult-onset coolness and the idea of dignity through candor (as opposed to WASPy concealing of emotions and impolite activities) because I certainly do that.

While American Nerd was interesting, but not inspiring, an article in the Spring 2007 issue of Shameless by Erin Hoffman was much more resonant.

"Yet my mother's geekiness is not merely a lust for high-tech toys. It lies in a tireless pursuit for a better way to do things, a sense of eternally young idealism. Her love of gadgetry is a love for efficiency, of building tools that allow us to do more, experience more, and accomplish more in the brief time we each have on earth...

Thus, geekhood is not about technology alone. I like to think it has its roots in something truer, deeper, and more complex: the vision that we can make the world a better place, and the passion to pursue that vision with vigour and clarity of purpose...

In the great social taxonomy, geeks and hippies are common descendants, for they share a philosophical vision. And vision is what geekdom is all about."

If Erin Hoffman writes a book about Girl Geeks, it would certainly make it onto my to-buy list.

Shake It Down Low

So, the kids are involved in this homeschool theater troupe, and the ladies running it are very interested in fostering a "family-friendly atmosphere" - by which they apparently mean no mention of human reproduction, since the play they picked would get a thumbs-up from Glen Beck and Lou Dobbs for its anti-government, anti-Mexican overtones.

All right then, we're encouraging chastity. No problem. I applaud chastity. If your T-shirt proclaims you to be "bound for Glory" and this theater troupe is one of your rest stops on the journey, that works for me.

But I just. don't. get. the Miley Cyrus thing in the cultural context of preserving youthful virtue. Our teenage choreographer is adapting a "Hannah Montana" routine called The Ice Cream Freeze to serve as the show's main dance number. The tweens and teens in the troupe, clearly familar with the entirety of Miley's ouevre, enthusiastically requested the chance to perform this dance in front of their evangelical families and friends.

Am I crazy? When Miley shakes her milkshake and shakes it down low, is it not her ass that is actually doing the shaking? When she exhorts the boys to follow her lead and party all night, is she leading them to a tent revival? Why is this acceptable media consumption in a culture that claims to enforce a draconian version of sexual modesty?

If my children were 10 and 14 instead of 3 and 5, I'd have to pull them out of the fundie theater troupe because I'd be embarrassed to have them do those moves, to those lyrics, in front of a crowd. Never in my life did I think I'd be the most sexually uptight mom in the room, most certainly not in a room full of Southern Baptists. It's really weird.

YouTube is full of tweens who love to do the Ice Cream Freeze. I don't want to inadvertently publicize any minors gyrating, but search for "ice cream freeze dance" or "let's chill" if you want to see a medley of stuff that would be no big deal at a slumber party, but probably doesn't belong ALL OVER THE GODDAMNED INTERNET FOR THE PERVS OF THE WORLD TO JACK OFF TO.

I know it's wikipedia, but

First, please pretend this is November 13, ok? Then I won't get in trouble for being behind schedule (as usual.)

I can't remember how, but somehow I stumbled across the men's rights section of Wikipedia. Now, you may be thinking that a smart person would have slowly backed away from the monitor and turned away to do something more productive and cheering such as clean the dog poop out of the backyard. If that's the case, you do not understand the morbid fascination of a train wreck or a really bad Wikipedia post.

If your health care provider has cleared you of heart conditions and blood pressure issues, here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_rights

Honestly, until now I have found very little in there to object to. I found some really minor errors once in a geology article, which were corrected before I could object, and the occasional geographic detail about some part of my hometown area that no one ever went to anyhow. But for the most part, even the controversial topics I read up on--with my pessimist's eye--have been reasonably even-handed.

However, the men's rights article reads as propaganda. Completely and without exception. I was surprised to discover, for instance, that "very little has been done to formalize what men's rights are or to protect these rights. With the increased focus on the rights of women and children, some of the rights of men have been devalued and overturned." Thankfully, a broad coalition of men AND women, from LOTS of countries, practicing LOTS of relgions, with ALL KINDS of political views exists to solve some of today's thorniest human rights issues, such as the damaging repercussions of sexual harassment laws, "Violence Against Women Act-type laws," and of course the epidemic of false rape accusations.

Another cause of concern is feminist control of the media. Apparently, the media is heavily biased against men, reports false statistics on the wage gap, and portrays men in so negative a light that there is a even a word for it: "the term "Lace Curtain" to describe feminist control over publishing and media representation of gender issues."

No diatribe against the awesome power of women would be complete without opinions on the lack of men's "choices" in fatherhood, the unfairness of divorce, alimony, and child support, and the unfairness of domestic violence laws. For instance, this shocking revelation: "Many women's shelters will assist male victims of domestic abuse but do not house men, instead offering hotel vouchers, counseling, case management, legal services and other support services." Were you aware that some shelters that exist to protect abused women would keep males from sharing living quarters with them?

I an perfectly happy to concede that there are many topics, including the above, on which a healthy debate could be had regarding the relative advantages given by society and law to men and women. However, there is no debate in the Wikipedia article, and I would argue that it is not even the place for debate. It is the place for information as close to neutral as possible. In fact, however, there is not even a feint at neutrality. The article reads as pure propaganda. Citations are virtually absent, and sources are almost exclusively agenda groups.

The only faint glimmer of hope I can derive is that clearly, no one else cares enough to bother writing about the so-called movement for men's rights. Perhaps this means no one cares enough to bother reading about it, either. One can only hope.

More than a poppy

In Canada, the poppy is the official symbol of Remembrance Day. The Canadian Legion sells felt poppies as a fundraiser for disabled veterans. People wear the poppies in their lapels and coats for several days around Remembrance Day. It’s not a common practice in the US, so I was surprised and pleased to get one from a Canadian co-worker today. It made me think about what it means to support the troops.

I don’t have many direct connections to the military. I have an uncle and a couple of cousins in the Canadian armed forces, but I’m not very close to them and don’t see them often. My grandfather fought in world war II, but he rarely spoke of it, certainly not to children. He died of Alzheimer’s disease when I was a teenager, so I was never had the chance as an adult to talk with him about his life. He immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands when he was 18, and so volunteered for the Dutch Free Army – mostly likely the Princess Irene Brigade. I do know that he was stationed in the Netherlands and got in trouble for “losing” his supplies. Like many of his fellow soldiers, he had gone to visit his family and given them all he had – so many people were starving during the war.

What does it mean to support the troops? It’s easy to wear a poppy. It’s easy for public figures to praise and thank members of the armed forces at memorial services. These symbols do matter to people, but if that’s as far as it goes, it’s not enough. What else do the troops need? Enough money to pay soldiers a decent salary and to equip and train them properly. In the US, I’d never argue for more spending on the military – this country spends a staggering amount on defense. In Canada, it’s a different story and our military has been seriously underfunded. We’re in a world where militaries are necessary and, if we’re sending people into situations where they are likely to be injured or killed, we are obligated to equip them properly. War damages people, both physically and psychologically. As a society, we have a responsibility to provide pensions and health care to soldiers. These are the easy points – they take money and organization, but aren’t particularly contentious.

As a society, we also have a responsibility to take the decision to use our militaries seriously. We owe to our militaries. We particularly owe it to the civilians, who did not volunteer for danger. We cannot take this lightly. Now, I’m sure that the generals and the government always think they’re taking these decisions seriously. My point is that that’s not enough. As a society, we need to question those in power about why we’re going to war and challenge them to find another way. As private citizens, protests and writing are often our only tools. This may not feel like support sometimes; being questioned can be very difficult. However, I firmly believe that preventing unnecessary harm is at least as important as wearing a poppy.

Lest We Forget

I was going to write a big post about women and the Korean War, in honour of Remembrance Day (in spite of the fact that in Korea today, we celebrate Pepero - a chocolate-covered biscuit stick). However, in spite of borrowing a book from the school and printing out some Internet articles to do this at home, what I ended up doing was going to a pub quiz, winning and staying out until 6 a.m. (don't try this at home!)

However, if you go over here you can read my post about Korean Comfort Women and their weekly demonstrations for reparations and an apology from the Japanese government.

And here is the only poem I have committed to heart:

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

While I was home, I bought a ton of books (between my father giving me gift certificates at the Bolton bookstore and Indigo and all those coupons designed to get people shopping at Canadian stores like Roots and Indigo, I had fun). In addition to lugging all of those back to Korea to read (minus the perhaps six or so I read while at home), I also grabbed Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch from my shelves and threw them in my suitcase.

Reading books on (not) getting by in America and the (futile) pursuit of the American dream seemed to be a logical choice, given the current state of the American economy. Interestingly, I didn't find Canada to be in a particularly difficult economic situation and read all about why Canada wasn't hit in the same way as the States in various magazines. However, Time Magazine's articles on Vegas prompted me to finally get around to reading Ehrenreich's books.

"When someone works for less pay than she can live on - when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently - then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The 'working poor', as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else."

I really enjoyed reading Nickel and Dimed. After getting past my own recollections of my days working minimum wage jobs (and the summer that I worked two, back to back during the week, one of the two on weekends as well), I found it an insightful look at low-wage America and the impossibility that the working poor could ever live in decent conditions on minimum wage. It also touched on the intrusion of the workplace into the personal lives and minds of their workers: psychological tests for hiring, the make-work tasks that come when workers have a free moment, rather than allowing them time to use the bathroom or rest, drug tests, shifts that aren't regular enough to allow for scheduling of other commitments, and complete lack of not just benefits but even unpaid sick days. It is then that you see how the state of the working poor connect to the state of the middle class.

Because in Bait and Switch, when Ehrenreich enters the world of the white-collar unemployed, she finds that the corporations require from their employees the same personality assessments, aimed at producing people with likeability, under a certain age, who maintain a positive attitude and passion and dedication for a workplace that makes no promises in return: no job security and hence no security of their benefits, including health and pensions. The promise that hard work will equal success when in fact often success and high salaries lead workers to be identified as prime cost-cutting targets.

Both of the books end calling for workers to unite, to work together to confront the corporations that make all the rules and yet offer so little to the people who work for them. As Ehrenreich points out, corporations get lots of advantages from governments largely in return for jobs - jobs that they often don't provide or if they do are not at wages that allow a decent life. She calls for the power of numbers of the unemployed, or underemployed, or working poor to be directed at looking at the systemic problems that exist in the way we have chosen to set up our society as it relates to work.

If you've read the books, what do you think of Ehrenreich's analysis?

The Gravity Well

The theory of general relativity describes gravity as a bending of spacetime. Massive objects like the sun bend spacetime, forming a “well” that makes it difficult for smaller objects to escape it’s vicinity.

When I was pregnant, we knew that I would return to work (after 9 weeks leave) and that my husband would stay at home with the baby. At that time my work visa changed and my husband no longer had work authorization, so being a SAHD was the only option that didn’t require quiting my job and moving back to Canada. We had always intended to share parenting equally (doesn’t everyone in our generation intend to?), but knowing that he would be responsible for many hours of daily baby care was an extra incentive to take the baby classes and be involved in our plans. Then the baby arrived…

Breast-feeding was tricky at first, but after a couple of weeks we were pretty good at it. However, it certainly took a lot of time. I spent a couple of days tracking how much time I spent child-to-breast, because I am exactly that geeky. One day’s total was about 5 hours. Add in diaper changes, burping and a bath, and there wasn’t much day left. My maternity leave was short, so I also felt that I had to make the most of those weeks. Before we knew it, I was doing the vast majority of the baby care.
Despite our best intentions, traditional gender roles form a gravity well that it takes a determined effort to not fall into. After my return to work, full-time baby care was a real shock to my husband. He learned and we got through it, but things were tough for a while.