Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change

Domestication moved people away from communal living and removed the social and connective aspects of all labor.

I don’t believe care work has to wreck us. This labor can be shared, social, collective—and transformative.

It makes white women uncomfortable to think that they are no different from their hired help.

American society values work in terms of how much we produce, and how efficiently we can do it. It tells us that our output is our worth. Caregiving, conversely, is inefficient. But it pays dividends. If we were to think about work in terms of our humanity—making people feel dignified, valued, and whole—then caregiving is the most important work we

We will always find ways to take care of one another. When we lean into this natural, unstoppable, and very human urge, the results are expansive. And I want more.

As I age, the more convinced I am that the concept of “normal” is the most toxic thing in our culture.

The economy could stand to bend to the will of decency and care. What if we built a system that lets us actually care for the people who care for us?

Love is acts of attention,

What if every child believed that being “good” at a sport or activity—football, badminton, or ballet; break dancing, skateboarding, or curling; fencing, jumping rope, or juggling—means that you enjoy doing it?