Sensing the (in)visible: domestic cleaning and cleaners on Mumsnet Talk

Abstract

Based on a thematic analysis of 7,569 posts on the online parenting forum Mumsnet Talk, in this article we examine how domestic cleaning-one of the most invisible aspects of reproductive labour-and the people who perform it are made visible. We conceptualize Mumsnet discussions as a "visibility sensor:" a technological and affective space that captures, analyses and relays information and feelings in ways that contribute to visibilizing cleaning labour and sensitizing its users to recognize the women they employ to clean their homes. At the same time, our analysis highlights the limitations of this sensor: how the visibility Mumsnet discussions afford to cleaning and cleaners tends to reinscribe its meanings within a gendered and individualized logic. This mediated visibility mostly fails to expose the systemic structures that produce and sustain the invisibility of cleaning and cleaners, and does little to sensitize participants to the ways in which their own lives are shaped by patriarchy. The article contributes to the growing feminist scholarship examining how gender and class come into public visibility through social media platforms and the "digital mamaspehere," and the implications of this visibility for the configuration and reconfiguration of power relations.

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“…The knowledge that cleaners are disproportionately poor women, women of colour and migrants (British Cleaning Council 2017) who have long histories of being underpaid, overworked and hidden from view, can adds to white middle class women's 'shame' (Bothelho 2021). In addition, Chira's reflections also identify that many cleaners remain invisible; performing their work at times when other workers are not present, or in the process of arriving and leaving (Orgad and Higgins 2021). However, importantly, as individual researchers, we bring our own identities, politics and insider/outsider subject positions to mediate these social relations, as Chira reflects:…”

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“…Then, in Clifford (1963) defined social visibility as the position that an individual occupies within a group as perceived by the other members of the group. However, despite this concept still being used in sociology to give a voice to the most vulnerable groups in society (Castro and Kosminsky, 2010; Orgad and Higgins, 2021; Pearce et al , 2018), the explosion of social networks has led to a new concept of social visibility. In the era of SM, social visibility has been defined as a measure of the propagation of a resource amongst social network users (Rathore and Tripathy, 2021).…”

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“…(p. 906) With this gendered, racialized profile of cleaning professionals, they are at an even higher risk of exploitation (Beels, 2017;Orgad & Higgins, 2021). Many studies concur with the gender and racial profile of cleaners, reporting that they are disproportionately female minorities, often with problematic immigration statuses (Beels, 2017;Camargo Magalhães, 2017;Orgad & Higgins, 2021). Other studies present the cleaning profession as a modern-day continuation of the slavelike labor initially experienced by Irish immigrants and Black Americans (Phillips, 2017).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the job duties of cleaning professionals, with many of them leaned upon for disinfection and called "essential workers," putting them at greater risk for exploitative hours, chemical burns, and personal infection exposure (Aoun, 2020;Orgad & Higgins, 2021). Traditionally, Van Doorn (2017) noted, cleaning professionals are individuals whom others do not want to acknowledge, but they are essential to the functioning of many workplaces, including the home.…”

“…Regarding cleaners of the past, he wrote: More precisely, white women were able to attend to their duties as housewives, mothers, and hostesses, and could enjoy leisurely activities such as reading and participating in associations and charities, only because they were in a position to offload the more strenuous and dreary chores to domestic servants who were usually women of color with few other options for making a living. (p. 906) With this gendered, racialized profile of cleaning professionals, they are at an even higher risk of exploitation (Beels, 2017;Orgad & Higgins, 2021). Many studies concur with the gender and racial profile of cleaners, reporting that they are disproportionately female minorities, often with problematic immigration statuses (Beels, 2017;Camargo Magalhães, 2017;Orgad & Higgins, 2021).…”