Category: labor

  • The Museum Treating Home Cooking as Fine Art

    The Museum Treating Home Cooking as Fine Art

    LIKE MOST THINGS THIS YEAR, the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ Reclamation exhibition did not go as initially planned. Curator and director of public programs Melani N. Douglass wanted to treat kitchen labor—the often-invisible daily work that disproportionately falls on women and feminine people—as high art. She envisioned an exhibition centered around kitchen-like spaces physically installed at…

  • The State of Our Work

    The State of Our Work

    In early March, word started buzzing across Cambridge: things were about to change. It was more than two months after the novel coronavirus had begun to spread through Asia, and mere weeks after the first community transmission in the U.S. For Yiran He and her peers, graduating seniors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it…

  • When American Waitresses Were Labeled ‘Women of Ill Repute’

    When American Waitresses Were Labeled ‘Women of Ill Repute’

    WHEN NELL RETURNED TO THE breakroom, her waitress’ apron was full of money. Her coworkers, spotting the dollar bills, laughed. “Them ain’t tips,” said one waitress. “Them is dates, ain’t they, Nell?” Nell displayed the cash to her friends. “Sure,” she said. “Be thankful for a dollar in these hard times!” Nell wasn’t the only waitress…

  • Australia’s Growing Camel Meat Trade Reveals a Hidden History of Early Muslim Migrants

    Australia’s Growing Camel Meat Trade Reveals a Hidden History of Early Muslim Migrants

    THERE IS A CAMEL IN Hanifa Deen’s kitchen. He looks down at her as she cooks, eyes proud yet warm, delicately flared snout smelling dinner. While the creature is merely an image on a poster, Deen, who has written several books on Islam in Australia, regards him affectionately. Read more at Atlas Obscura. Photo: National Museum…

  • Experiencing Imposter Syndrome? That’s Probably Because You’re an Imposter

    Experiencing Imposter Syndrome? That’s Probably Because You’re an Imposter

    That we are the captains of our professional destinies is a lie Western capitalism tells us to prevent the poor from burning the entire system to the ground. You are not the captain of your destiny. It’s possible you’re the rare person who took over your destiny through a thrilling yet bloody mutiny. But successful…

  • Tech Workers Revolutionary Roundup

    Tech Workers Revolutionary Roundup

    Happy Prime Day, everybody!  That’s right: on July 16, the world witnessed a half-priced online commerce holiday, as Amazon slashed rates so online shoppers could know, in concrete terms, how little the company values/pays its workers. While some of the world was shopping, many were resisting, as Amazon warehouse workers went on strike against low…