Tea Break

Day 5

There are no Domestic workers in the Gym and I'm suddenly feeling uncomfortable with it.

As I walked into the gym midday for a quick spinning class I realised that everybody was starring at me.

This suddenly made me feel very uncomfortable.
What is the help doing in the Gym They ask themselves?

I quickly run to the change rooms and get into my Gym gear.

Within a few minutes of gentle warm up stretches, I saw the ladies that were in the change rooms with me staring directly at me. I tried to focus on the stretching, but i found all I could think about was, what is going through their heads? do they think I should be cleaning the change rooms? do they think I work here? do they think Virgin active is giving employee perks to the cleaning staff?

I was completely unable to focus on the class, instead feeling so aware of the woman starring at me.

x

Woman of the House.

Day 4

So Today I was feeling a bit down and decided to do my hair and make up and wear a pair of my favourite sunglasses with my domestic worker outfit.

The reactions I got today where mixed  but most people asked me if I was sleeping with my Madam's husband or if I got a wage increase. I laughed it off and carried on with my day.

I have heard many stories of domestic workers getting it down with the man of the house. Some do it because they are too scared to lose their jobs when the man makes advances and others do it simply to show the lady of the house that they too are capable.

If I was going to be running another woman's household then how can my employer not expect me to take over and be the woman of the house.

After 4 days in the Job, today I am feeling more confident. and i am more positive that ever that just like any other job I can climb the appropriate ladder and get myself a promotion.

This is after all the new South Africa.

We are care takers not SLAVES.

Day 3

I'm going to talk a little bit about my helper today. Since I didn't leave the house I spoke to her for a bit.

Wake up, fix breakfast, get the children ready for school, laundry, house cleaning, cook dinner and repeat.

My nana has been with my family for 25 years. She raised me and my sisters. Throughout those years she has had 2 children. Both whom I consider family.

During Those years nana has had many problems.  She has had difficulty with being away from her family and money problems, with her Job she has not been able to provide for her family the way she would have liked to.

Nana never left and when I asked her why she said its because she really Loves us and that she See's us as her own family now.

not every care taker's story is like my Nana's story but I share it because she is my second mother and I appreciate her more than anything in the world today.

Many care takers often have difficult times mainly because of low wages and ill treatment. however they do some of the most essential human work, taking care of us and our basic needs but their work is totally undervalued by our society and this devaluation is institutionalised by our government.  For many years domestic workers have been excluded from basic human protection and today Domestic workers still lack many of the basic protections that many of us take for granted.

As South Africans we should stand together to honour our caretakers who have done this work for many years, to show deep appreciation for the woman who raise future generations we need Good employers to stand up for labour rights and give domestic workers respect.

Below is the link of the labour act in South Africa:

http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/downloads/documents/useful-documents/basic-conditions-of-employment/domesticworker2012.pdf

A day in the life of a South African Maid

Day 2

As I walked into Sandton city this morning, I felt myself sinking.

As I approached one of my favourite shops, I considered not going in and turning back and just going home, But none the less my friend pulled me in.

As I walked into Top Shop I looked around to see the people around me, starring at the domestic worker in such a high end shop. only Today the domestic worker was me, I felt a shiver going down my neck as I one of the employees whom I knew very well just walked passed me, not recognising me and not offering me help.

At this point I felt angry, I was angry because just like all the other people who were in the store, I was a customer too, and deserved the same amount of help and attention as the person standing next to me, instead I was overlooked.

After Today's experience I was in such a hurry to get home because I felt so little so uncomfortable and so betrayed. Betrayed by society and their perceptions, and a little betrayed in myself for not feeling comfortable in my own skin.

I will try again tomorrow.

x

Theme: The Body (un)comfortable

You live in two spheres of beauty. The first sphere is your physical reality, your own body. The other is less tangible. It lives only in your mind - your aspirations and your concept of ideal beauty that you would like to attain. Realistically, these two poles will never meet.

By emotionally stepping back from your my own situation. through my 10 day intervention I will unpak my own level of discomfort.

Tea Break

YOU BROKE MY CHINA!!!

Hello and welcome to my blog.

In a country like South Africa being black and being the help,

is not a new phenomena.

I will be maintaining my intervention both publicly and privately for the next 10 days. During my 10 day period I will balance my blog with a combination of videos, relevant research, diary entries and visuals.

Day 1: The body (un)comfortable

Today I am dressed as a Domestic worker in South Africa and it is 

like nothing I have ever felt before.

The reason I chose to dress like a domestic worker was because psychologically

it made me feel uncomfortable and out of my skin. 

I'm rushing to Vega to hand in an assignment. The receptionist I speak to everyday, doesn't recognise me today. She stops me and asks me if I need help, I yell No and rush past her only to realise 5 minutes later that she has been following me. I stop to explain to her that I'm not lost and that I am a Vega student and that this is part of an assignment. I then make my way past a group of 1st years on the staircase, on my way back from handing in the students are whispering 'See, I told you she is not a domestic worker, she can speak English properly'.

All in all I have had so many different reactions. Some barely recognised me and walked right passed me. others stared as I spoke to my friends. others laughed. and others asked me questions.

Rushing home I realised that I didn't feel like cooking and should probably get a snack on the way. stopped at a restaurant 2min away from where I stay and for me this made me crawl out of my skin. I was extremely uncomfortable as the people there know me and I knew some of the customers in the restaurant. I realised today how important my appearance is to me and how it was so easy for me to feel small and out of my skin. I felt like my reputation was flushed down the toilet and that people would never look at me the same way.

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