Emotional labor havin’ a moment like :’(

Today’s links, inspired by the sheer terror/sense of abandonment one experiences when one faints on the New York subway and then suffers the realization that A) Calling Former Primary Caregiver aka Mom is not an option, and thus B), one must get their own sad, shaky ass up and home*, is centered around the theme of ~caregiving~, specifically as it centers on emotional labor.

First up: this New Yorker profile on immigrant caregivers, which, if you haven’t read, will break your heart to pieces, especially post-Mother’s Day.

Employing a nanny, of course, is not exactly a universal experience, but this Elle essay from a working mother attributing her success to hers, makes ya think. Like, assuming many of us Deez Links readers want to be/be with successful professional women who may become mothers one day, what in the living f are we supposed to do if we can’t afford an extra caregiver?

Then, if you wanna get into some gender politics, this piece: Emotional Labor: What It Is, and How To Do It, picks apart why it kind of?? seems like it’s always?? up to the women to manage relationships??

Not directly related to caregiving, but does lead one to think about how nannies and personal assistants and counselors and general all tend to be overwhelmingly (and stereotypically) jobs held by women. Is the femininity of emotional labor due to ~culture~ or is just part of the vagina package?

*Um, speaking in generalities here, but also this could be why there was no Deez yesterday...