$8 billion per year. We could make a lot of change with all those dollars, ladies.

Sources please?

Would star 100 times if I could.

I wonder how closely it resembles the actual baby. The 3D ultrasound I had, which is not like this one (couldn’t touch it- just looked 3D) looked like a 3D face of an alien, but nothing like the baby when he was actually born.

Thank you for the intelligent discourse :)

I never said no one wants this job. The women referenced in the article couldn’t have a conversation with me if I tried because they don’t speak English and I speak neither Korean, nor Chinese. But it appears that they are doing only what they have to to survive, and barely even surviving. This is not a choice career…

Fair enough. I’m sorry to have insulted you. And I may be biased in that I don’t think the beauty industry is doing much for me or the women around me besides upholding a system in which women are valued primarily for our beauty. I have a hard time separating the artistic aspect of it from the patriarchy. I usually…

Believe me- I don’t. I am a young woman living in the United States and believe it or not I actually have friends, some of whom enjoy manicures and pedicures. They aren’t assholes, though I know that some of them aren’t as socially conscious as I am. I regretfully decline those outings and miss that female bonding…

Argh. Damn internet. I didn’t say that everyone everywhere. I was pointing to this culture. These poor women shoved into these jobs where they are abused by their bosses and neglected by their clients.

Agreed. But those aren’t the women (clients or providers) who were discussed in this particular article. And my suspicion is that these forced labor arrangements are not unique to NYC.

I do feel strange about many of the things that you mentioned actually. It’s not this industry in particular. And I don’t think most of the people who are responding here are saying that the people doing those jobs don’t deserve fair compensation- quite the opposite. But in practice, their jobs are not valued, they…

You, spending over $100 on nails, and I, are very very different.

I didn’t miss the point of the article. I just raised another one. I think there is an inherent relationship between value and wage that is being abused here. I think that salons have gotten away with and will continue to get away with exploitation because the people performing the work are not valued. Like a lot of…

Thank you for the not-dismissive response. I meant that the massage actually makes me physically feel better. What about the mani-pedi makes you feel better if it’s not the psychological aspect of being worked on by someone? It’s a genuine question. I don’t understand that.

I agree.

It’s right in your response: “quit her low wage job at a high end salon.” I’m not talking about your situation, in which it sounds like she enjoys her job, is independent, and you have become friends. I don’t think that’s the norm, and I don’t think those are the conditions described in this article. I think that…

Me too.

Actually I’m one of those dirty feminists, so I don’t do those things. JK. The hair washing- sometimes, especially when a lowly “shampoo girl” is doing it, but I find this one hard to avoid if I am getting my hair cut, which I do at a salon because NO ONE WILL HELP ME, much to my chagrin. I’d much rather trade…

I guess I don’t understand it then. Someone else doing something for me that I can do for myself has always felt demeaning to the other person. I don’t like being waited on. Like I explicitly said, this is something that I can do for myself. If you can’t and it’s really important to you, knock yourself out (and make…

I disagree with you at levels deeply beyond the level of this discussion. I do think there is something wrong with having someone work on you (also your home, car, etc.) in ways that you can do for yourself, unless there is a carefully considered compensation process that accompanies it (not just financial). If you…