Two rival racialized explanations coexist for sweatshop exploitation of migrant women

Evidence

The poor working conditions of many in the clothing industry have been linked to a variety of racialized accounts, from the tenacious myth of the immigrant small business which exploits its own (womenfolk) in sweatshops to a more widespread exploitation of migrant businesses by multinationals who know how to use the iniquities of institutional racism as an aid to the production of profit. The two explanations say that either, on the one hand, the solidified through migration patriarchy of some communities makes the women into cheap labor for community enterprise or that, on the other, the limited by racism choices of some people leave no room for more comfortable forms of paid work. Whichever explanation you choose, the main point remains - rag-trade work is still low-paid, low-status work in poor conditions and the people who do it are often those who face racism and sexism in the job market. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 2856

Categorization

• QUESTION: Both accounts — cultural patriarchy vs. structural racism limiting options — are presented as mutually exclusive, but they could jointly operate. Worth investigating whether the framing forces a false choice.
• XREF: connects to: Global networks enable intense exploitation of female migrant labor in unregulated fields — Theresa M. Senft, Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in…, 84