‘On Par’? The Role of the Au Pair in Switzerland and France

Mellini, Laura; Yodanis, Carrie; Godenzi, Alberto

doi:10.1080/14616690601079432

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The argument here is that categorizing au pairs as students or 'big sisters' opens up a cheap labour supply in the destination countries that may leave au pairs vulnerable in relation to their hosts (Anderson 2007;Cox and Narula 2003;Hess and Puckhaber 2004;Mellini et al 2007;Sollund 2009;Stenum 2011a;Yodanis and Lauer 2005). These tensions, we shall show, must be seen as part of a wider field of relations that can be explored through theory of relatedness.…”

Section: The Au Pair System and Notions Of Relatednessmentioning

confidence: 95%

Local and transnational care relations: relatedness and family practice among au pairs in Denmark

Dalgas¹,

Olwig²

2015

Global Networks

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An increasing number of young women from the Global South have become au pairs in the Global North since the turn of the millennium. Through ethnographic analysis of three cases of au pairing in Denmark, involving Filipina and Caribbean women, this article discusses the nature of the local as well as transnational family relations in which these women are embedded as au pairs, and the opportunities and restraints that they present. We use anthropological theory to conceptualize family and kinship in terms of notions and practices of relatedness. This offers a useful framework for elucidating the different moral and contractual obligations and expectations associated with these varying family relations, the power asymmetries with which they are linked, and the agency that the au pairs display as they seek to position themselves in the most favourable way in relation to the multi-directional ties in which they are involved.

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Section: The Au Pair System and Notions Of Relatednessmentioning

confidence: 95%

Local and transnational care relations: relatedness and family practice among au pairs in Denmark

Dalgas¹,

Olwig²

2015

Global Networks

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“…This ambiguity leads to problems in the relationship dynamics between au pairs and receiving families (Mellini et al 2007). The different expectations with which families and au pairs typically get into this experience mean that both parties have great difficulty in establishing a relationship in which they can be sympathetic to the other's needs.…”

Section: Au Pairsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Different expectations about how to raise children can make understanding each other complicated, therefore compromising everyday life in the same home. Conflict over best approaches to care as well as negotiating over boundaries have been documented as problematic areas in the relationship between au pairs and host families (Mellini et al 2007). If Beatrice found it hard to adapt to the lifestyle of a family in which the children would hardly see their parents at all, Patricia, an English 21-yearold student at Cambridge, thought the child she had to look after when she au paired in France was too spoilt: Patricia: I worked there for three months, but it was in not a particularly nice town, and quite isolated [ .…”

Section: Ab: Why Is That?mentioning

confidence: 98%

On ‘An Introspective Journey’

Bagnoli

2009

European Societies

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To what extent can the experience of travel become also a journey of self-discovery leading to a reconstruction of identities? Taking 'a year out', inter-railing, going abroad on a language study or an au pair stay: these are some of the most common forms of youth travel in contemporary Europe. As almost ritual ways of moving, they may be likened to initiation journeys. This article explores the significance of travel in young people's lives, and in the process of identity construction. These issues are explored in the travel narratives of a group of young people who took part in an autobiographical and mixed method project on identities which was conducted in England and Italy. The meaning of travel in these young people's lives is appreciated through their own words and written diaries. Young people's agency and role in constructing their travel experiences is analysed, as well as the extent to which fate, in the shape of societal expectations and norms, as well as parental intervention, may actually predefine some forms of travel as 'institutional' rites of passage. Travels may offer a scenario for an individualised construction of self, which may also involve the co-participation of significant others. The experiences of young women backpackers in this study point out how travelling can still be a way of defining alternative gender identities.

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“…While the amount of money is small it allows the migrants to send remittances back home. A prevailing theme in the literature on au pairs is the vulnerability caused by the au pairs' ambiguous position as, officially, students of culture and language in their host society, members of their host families and, as de facto workers (see for example, Hess and Puckhaber 2004;Mellini et al, 2007;Anderson 2007). While this clearly is an important topic of investigation, little attention has been paid to the educational aspects of the au pair program.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Becoming independent through au pair migration: self-making and social re-positioning among young Filipinas in Denmark

Dalgas

2014

Identities

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Over the past decade, growing numbers of young Filipinas have entered Denmark on the au pair scheme. While its official aim is to broaden the cultural horizons of youth, researchers generally view Filipina au pairing as a form of labour migration using au pairs as inexpensive domestic workers. This article argues that, despite this critique, au pairing does play an important formative role for young Filipinas because it opens up for experiences abroad that enable them to be recognised as independent adults in Philippine society. Rather than autonomy, however, au pairs define their independence in terms of their capacity to assume responsibility for others, thereby achieving a position of social respect. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark and the Philippines, this article explores how young Filipinas use the social, economic, and cultural resources they gain from their au pair stay abroad to re-position themselves vis-à-vis family and friends at home.

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‘On Par’? The Role of the Au Pair in Switzerland and France

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

Local and transnational care relations: relatedness and family practice among au pairs in Denmark

Local and transnational care relations: relatedness and family practice among au pairs in Denmark

On ‘An Introspective Journey’

Becoming independent through au pair migration: self-making and social re-positioning among young Filipinas in Denmark

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