"Sex Watch" written after the China Airlines strike--born to be human, I want dignity.

"Whether you are 2030, still work in the 2040, no matter what your working environment will be, but if one day decide to strike or go to the streets, we would take today's decision and the action of the strike pledge, will not become the employer's alternative labor force, do not want you to be satisfied, not to grumble about your company image and dignity , because we know that the most important assets of the company are employees, and when employees ' rights and interests are completely disregarded, today we and tomorrow you have the responsibility to stand up and overthrow everything, even the unions that don't speak to the workers. 」

At night a face book was opened, full of the China Airlines strike Manifesto Wash. Read this paragraph, too the sentence of the "born as a person, I am sorry." "has been echoing in my mind. This is a young man collar 22K, will also be ridiculed by elders "Strawberry Clan" era; This is an enterprise old will say the achievement comes from the voluntary overtime, you fight for rights and interests is you "too much" era, this is a management in the bitter when shouting "the difficulties of the common body", make money but will not pay dividends to employees of the era.

This kind of neo-liberalism, sometimes always let me confused. The power of the consortium has long surpassed or even dominated the functioning of the country's politics. Not only does the Cross-border capital circulation bring about the possibility of financial turmoil, it also reflects the weakening of the role of the State and makes the working conditions tilt towards the capitalists.

But, being human, we need to be simple--is not the pursuit of dignity? But under the logic of "attribution to the individual" in contemporary neo-liberalism, the capitalist is busy reviewing the labor, but forgets that the laborer is not an object, has the blood to have the tear, will sweat also will be distressed. When workers are forced to accept worse conditions of work, they are always attributed to their lack of competitiveness, insufficient endurance, and even the sound of workers ' ability to "enhance their personal abilities", so that the workers are more hardworking, and not allowed to challenge the shouting and disregard the unfriendly social conditions.

Looking back on Taiwan in recent years, after President Chen Shui-bian took office, the practice of "financial six Law" and "Sihua" (localization, legal person, outsourcing, and mission) policy to promote financial reform has become the key eight years to deepen the new liberalism of Taiwan. [1]

But after the two-party rotation, the issue of neo-liberalism gradually emerged. Large-scale capital is free to flow, industries are moving outward to low-wage countries, companies are calling for lower costs, and the first axe is often the salaried class. "Flexible labor" of the responsibility system and "labor" has become a trend, enterprises even began to lobby the government to legalize the dispatch, exempt employers from the care of employees, the labor force is no longer a respected "people", and become disposable goods. However, the inadequacy of social welfare and the system is all left to the "individual" and "family" to bear. [2]

When the state has fengxin liberalism, market competition is overly idealized, as a driving force of all engines, the capitalist mouth "better future" appears illusory, workers are helpless, can only laugh at the "do not ask for a raise, to live in the past is good." So you put your dignity aside and live as a war for survival, not as a pleasure to fulfill your own life.

In China Airlines strike, we saw the arbitrariness of the management, this strike incident, not only netizens jokingly called a "high quality" of the fight, and not just to make the inconvenience of passengers to protest, in the new liberalism, workers should earn back the dignity. (Recommended reading: China Airlines strike site: This is not only the Labor war, but also the war on women's Rights )

Who is the "perfect" stewardess? When the body becomes a standard commodity

In contemporary economic life, the goal of commercialization extends from "things" to "people". And the woman's body can weigh weighing two of the consumer goods sold, when the body into the market in the circulation of goods means that, in line with the universal "beautiful" standard of the body can exchange for its own more resources, more easily in the community to obtain a dominant position.

Before China Airlines invited designer Zhang Shuping design new uniforms, causing the controversy of the lack of beauty, the chest red sharp corner cutting is dubbed as "Invincible Iron King." But in the beauty and ugliness of the smile,"stewardess uniforms if not to arouse reverie, is the designer's failure." "Zhang Shuping This sentence design idea let me ponder for a long time."

In the press interview, Zhang Shuping more frankly blunt: "The air service is not sexy clothes, is not a flight attendant." 」

Materialized in the capitalist society, has become the typical characteristic, the human body unceasingly is commercialized. Materialization of women as a commodity, so that their bodies become the focus of gaze, by the value of money to weigh the pros and cons. For example, women's population 私贩, beauty contests, surrogate mothers and so on, all of the above actions are made by the female body as the target of trafficking, as a transaction under the capital society.

Women's "materialized" to a certain extent is "sexual", to be able to trigger the male desire of the female body, is a valuable treasure. such as China Airlines uniform dispute, sex is often embodied in the reality--in a variety of public areas or workplaces, almost without exception to the female appearance requirements, which in the final analysis is a "sexual" woman's request. (same field Gayon: Why can't I Be the "girl" in the eyes of others?) )

The reason why the flight attendants had asked for a weight reduction was that it was unsightly and could not provide better service to the passengers. But why "flight attendants" can only be toeing to our "stewardess" of the poor imagination? Is it really important that the flight attendant's duty is to take care of the passengers on the voyage ? in the early days when "flight attendants" had not become "sexual" occupations, even more men were involved in the work. But in modern times, the three-word "flight attendant" sells not only care, but also the desire of heterosexual men.

In short, the content of the stewardess's work and figure is not a little bit of a relationship. But women who do not obey this body standard are bound to be marginalized. This marginalization is not only aesthetic marginalization, but also in the social life of many aspects of marginalization, from marriage, consumption to job hunting will be rejected and despised.

After walking into the family: we are all responsible for "ourselves"?

On the Face book page of the China Airlines strike, there was a message , albeit short, that made me particularly touched. It says that there is a need to support the group members, can help care. Because I have been too accustomed to "take the child" is classified as a woman, must find ways to own responsibility, but forget the woman before becoming a mother, but also have their own desire for the future and want to fight for life.

Under Neo-liberalism, "individual" and "family" are endowed with the unique and significant significance of this era: the individual is an action in the job market, everyone is encouraged to be responsible for their own life, your failure is from your own not enough effort. As the most important dwelling place of the individual, the family is no longer the abstract implication of literature, is to give people the ultimate reliance on market exploitation, we must find ways to undertake the shortcomings of each member, and "Woman" this role, because of traditional gender imagination, is divided into the private field, to bear the "home" Operation alone.

What to do with children in need of care at home? What about the elders who can't live by themselves? Public parenting, long-term care, and so on, these are the issues we were expecting the state to intervene in, but under neo-liberalism, the role of the state exits, so the burden has become a woman's responsibility, reflecting the absence of other caregivers in the family, not only did not continue to cross-examine the reasons behind the absence, even the state that it is not the scope of its responsibility. (Recommended reading: housekeeping, false orgasm, smile service: Emotional labor is not a woman's gift )

Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild, in the book "The Second Class" (the second shift), mentions how today's working women have to pay for housework and care after returning home from a job they can work for. As women move out of their home generation and factories, more and more women go to work, but that means changes in the nature of jobs no longer allow women to be tied up at home. However, we expect women to become "superwoman" and to juggle family and work without changing the plight of women in the labor market.

Photo Source: Taoyuan Professional Union of air Service workers

I know a flight attendant sister always love this sarcastic marriage: "Others see I am a fairy, I am actually a marriage maid." "She was very tired because she had to travel both in the workplace and at home," she said. After entering the marriage of the stewardess, often in order to family-oriented, in the consideration of child care, pay more labor to choose "Less" class table, scheduling time must first take family life as a priority, until the child grow up to consider other possibilities.

The biggest difference between the air service and the general career woman is that the working time is not fixed, and it is not like the general round work, and can hold their own time in the long run. So in terms of time, the impact of this work in the family is very large, if the partner is not considerate, the flight attendants for the occupation of the mother will always be tired, and often because of the time spent with their children constantly cut, and full of guilt and frustration, afraid of being blamed for failing mother and wife.

In the neo-liberal countries, the people in the upper class do not want to see the possibility that individuals in society seek unity, because these groups of forces symbolize the ability of the disadvantaged to supervise the state, and the eyes of the management only want to see men, women and families, and through the implementation of the Libreville field, to allow individuals to achieve freedom in consumption With the weakening of the role of the State, the social welfare system that allocates justice on the basis of home is still operating, but it is beginning to shrink gradually. (Recommended reading: Women's dilemma in the labor structure: the gender burden of the underground economy )

This strike is a struggle for labor rights, and our lives are no longer determined by the outrageous standards of management, but the possibility of opening another window for Taiwan's future. trying to find out If there is another possibility?"the capital society has its way of running, but it should be more humane, Should not always take the number of books as a measure of the only rule, I hope that time and again the cost of the reduced costs, no longer contain the dignity of the workers deserve .

This time, we are not sorry for being born. Our tomorrows are to be caught in our own hands, not in the mouths of the management.