Nanny (2022)
Reproductive Labour
Also Reproductive Labour
100

What motif pops up regularly throughout the film?

Water.

100

Who makes up the vast majority of reproductive labour roles?

Women.

100

Define reproductive labour.

Reproductive labour is the work required to sustain human life and raise future generations.

200

What happened to Aisha's son Lamine at the end of the film?

He passed away by drowning. 

200

In terms of race and gender, describe the occupational segregation that is explained within the reading. 

Job types have specific biases when it comes to gender and race. Racial-ethnic women are significantly overrepresented in both the private household and within institutional job types, racial-ethnic men are hired most often within institutional job types, whereas white men are underrepresented across the board. 

200

Is giving birth a form of reproductive labour?

Yes! Birth is an unpaid form of labour (quite literally).

300

Which language did Aisha teach Rose?

French.

300

Women’s work is often at a disadvantage in the labour market. Why is that?

Feminist scholars have argued that women’s continued responsibility for unpaid work in the home puts them at this disadvantage.

300

Does reproductive labour have to do with the private sphere or public sphere?

Private sphere. Reproductive labour often takes place in the private home.

400

Name the two West African folklore creatures that haunt Aisha throughout the film.

Mami Wata the mermaid-like figure, and Anansi the spider.

400

In this century, there has been a change in the statistics of the race-nationality composition of non-nurturing labor. (food prep, cleaning work, etc) What race has the highest concentration of women in this type of work, and what race has the highest proportion of men?

Both Hispanic women and Hispanic men. 

400

What did the concept of reproductive labour emerge from?

From the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. 

500

As described by Malik's grandmother, explain the significance mermaids have in West African Folklore.

Sexuality, money, and promises of fertility. Mermaids are seen as dangerous, unpredictable and temperamental.

500

As reproductive labour shifted from private homes to organized institutions, what caused this increase in the disproportion of the “dirty work” being performed by racial-ethnic men and women?

As these tasks are removed from the privacy of a home, and performed within the public eye, racial-ethnic men and women were pushed to the “back rooms”, whereas those who were white were given far more public roles such as nurses and secretaries.

500

According to this week's reading, what is the difference between "nurturant" and "nonnurturant" jobs?

The difference is that, while they both refer to daily tasks, these terms specifically categorize nurturant jobs as those having to do with caregiving; teaching, health care, care for children, the elderly, and those who are ill. Nonnurturant jobs on the other hand, refer to what is often classified as "dirty work"; cleaning, laundry, food prep, for example.