Made/maid in the media: narrative discourses surrounding Filipina nannies in the live-in caregiver program

Abstract

This paper explores the various narratives and media representations surrounding Filipinas in Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program. This study draws upon existing scholarship in global migration of (gendered, racialized, and class-based) domestic labour, as well as theories of postcolonialism and media studies. Using critical discourse analysis, the content of 132 news articles from 1988 to 2014 in the Toronto Star are coded and discussed. The five main categories in which these Filipina live-in caregivers – ‘or Filipina nannies’ – are constructed are identified as foreigners, mothers, workers, victims, and activists. The research findings suggest that representations of Filipina live-in caregivers are framed by notions of difference and social hierarchy in Canada’s most widely disseminated newspaper. Thus this newsprint media discourse reproduces the subaltern status and dual in/visibility of this minority group in Canadian society.