Disposable Women & Other Myths of Global Capitalism

Disposable Women and Other Myths of Global Capitalism is an innovative, cross-disciplinary weave of poststructuralist feminism, Marxist theory, and ethnographic accounts of women workers for multinational firms in export-processing zones (specifically, China and the maquiladora zone of Mexico). The story she tells is the opposite of the onward and upward tale so integral to mainstream accounts of the workings of our current global capitalist system. It is a tale of stasis followed by decay and disposability, as women enter the workforce unskilled and are forced to leave before they acquire skills. She argues that this story has achieved mythic status - at least among the managers and executives who employ such women - yet is belied by the facts of women's protest and organization. And this myth is integrated into a larger explanation of the employment mandates of firms attempting to be competitive in a world dominated by global capitalism.