Gossiping Endurance: Discipline and Social Control of Filipina Helpers in Malaysia

Abstract

nation of people, goods and information across geographical borders. Further, the proliferation of transnational business, production and human man agement enhances the expansion of the international labour market, includ ing the female labour force. Much of the work on transmigration and the international division of labour, however, has been either (a) gender biased: focusing on men as productive human resources, predominantly when those from less developed countries flock into highly industrialized and devel oped economies; or (b) that migratory practices/purposes were largely based on calculations of economic returns; or (c) to do with maintaining homes at multiple locations, therefore, sustaining multi-stranded social relations.2 Women's participation in transmigration and their experiences on a daily basis, their social relations with other women, and their coping mecha nisms while abroad were, more often than not, ignored. In this paper, I attempt to examine some of the implications of female transmigration because of work, particularly for Filipina domestic helpers in Malaysia. I will focus on the contexts of transmigration, social control and discipline embedded in their experiences of working in others' house holds. The examination is largely grounded on women's social interactions and communication in the household (or the workplace, for transmigrants) and in public spaces. These experiences and interactions might be con sidered mundane or trivial for some; nonetheless, how do these interac tions represent the mechanism of control and discipline in their daily transnational social reproduction? In addition, what are the ways and means used to sustain normative behaviours and order in women's (migrants and employers) interactions? In Malaysia, foreign domestic helpers are subordinated and subjected to surveillance, which indicates that control and discipline are considered (by employers, state authorities and employment agencies) to be necessary for maintaining social order. Whereas, in public spaces, interaction is mainly