However, the social perceptions that could have gained her an easier entry into low-class work also could have kept her there, and prevented her from entering a management position. Gender in the absence of race seems to be the cutting divide at the Maids, while the individual who is in charge of the franchise is male, and a male voice guides the Hispanic demonstrator on the tape. But in more diverse Minnesota at the Wal-Mart, Ehrenreich is recruited as "management material," a status not extended to her nonwhite colleagues. (Ehrenreich, p.109) "Much of our interaction with others consists of subtle negotiation over just how much deference, honor, respect, and awe we are to extend and receive." (Kroehler & Hughes, p. 178) Divisions of respect are not exclusive to race, but race seems to predominate, with class, language, and gender stepping in only afterwards, in the absence of clear racial markers.
It is unlikely, had Ehrenreich been an immigrant who did not speak English as her primary language, that she would have been targeted for advancement at the particular Wal-Mary she described. The qualities that gave her the ability...
Had she been African-American as well, she might have been more apt to 'blend in' with the other workers escaping notice but also opportunities at economic betterment. The one other advantage possessed of racial minorities seems to be the greater sense of community and support staff provided by the church and other ethnic representatives -- the Czech busboy shares a room with other Czechs, as do African-American men at the hotel, while the white Ehrenreich is left up to the mercy of the capricious system of social help. Ultimately, for blacks and whites, for people of all ostracized lower classes, the perception of "power affects the ability of people to make the world work on their behalf," and race affects the way one's power is perceived in an elemental fashion, regardless of other factors. (Kroehler & Hughes p. 180)
Works Cited
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. New York: Henry Holt. 2001.
Kroehler Carolyn J. & Michael Hughes. Sociology: The Core. Sixth Edition New York: McGraw Hill 1999.
