Disposable Women and Other Myths of Global Capitalism -- Melissa Wright

1. Melissa W. Wright Disposable Women and Other Myths of Global Capitalism --Melissa Wright

2. Myths: “Socially Useful Lies” • Obscure the lines between fact & fiction • Naturalize the power of hierarchical relationships • Explain/validate qualities that are believed to be part of women’s existence • Do not characterize any particular woman, but form the pillar of story that validates practices in concrete settings

3. Myth of the “Third World” Disposable Woman • Is often believed to be a factual account of women workers • The young, Mexican woman worker comes to personify disposability who turns into a form of industrial waste • Paradoxically, the myth explains how she simultaneously produces value through her labor • The things she makes generate value even as she depreciates in value

4. The Myth explains traits that make her labor valuable to global firms: • Dexterous (“nimble fingers”) • Patient in monotonous assembly work • Attention to detail • Discourses about women factory workers not only describe—they produce these workers on the line (Salzinger) • …And shape global capitalism

5. “Mythical Discourse” • The Myth has direct consequences for the functioning of global factories • It produces specific gendered subjects • Thus establishes the normative characteristics & behaviors of the “disposable third world woman” • Thus the exploitation & suffering she experiences are not the fault of global factories or the global consumers who buy their products

6. Disposability • Practices that assume the disposability of women = good business models • Young women cycle in and out of jobs—are constantly being replaced • Ciudad Juárez Low-cost, high-quality, labor intensivemanufacturing Women & Formal Sector Ppt