Migrant Workers & The Sexual Other
Two of the largest minority groups in Hong Kong and Macau are from the Philippines and Indonesia. Many are single, women working as nannies who send remittances home to support their families. It's often cited that on Sundays, their day off, many of these women congregate in places around Central including Victoria Peak. This is an example of the blurring between private and public lives: because these house workers often live in the homes of their employers and have no private space of their own, their day off takes place in the public spaces of Hong Kong. In my experience, there is a greater visibility of women. People in Hong Kong will tell you that on Sundays, Filipina and Indonesian women, regardless of sexual orientation, take to the public squares. This is their day off.
The presence of these women presents a foil to the identities of Chinese Hong Kong women, who are now living in increasingly nuclear households.
The sexualization of migrant women in Hong Kong’s Red Light District (Wan Chai, Exit C)
Many Filipina household workers are expected to cut their hair short and wear only pants as to avoid appearing "attractive" and presenting less of a threat to the household mother (Constable) or as a professor I met told me, some women prefer to hire lesbian workers.
The presence of these women presents a foil to the identities of Chinese Hong Kong women, who are now living in increasingly nuclear households.
The sexualization of migrant women in Hong Kong’s Red Light District (Wan Chai, Exit C)
Many Filipina household workers are expected to cut their hair short and wear only pants as to avoid appearing "attractive" and presenting less of a threat to the household mother (Constable) or as a professor I met told me, some women prefer to hire lesbian workers.
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