Jennifer Natalie Fish: Domestic Workers

For many, we take great advantage of our lives. We are able to walk or drive to a nearby store, grab a carton of milk for two dollars, and drive home within an hour. For others, they do not get such a luxury. We can see these hardships through photographs taken by Jennifer Natalie Fish. She has spent most of her life, twenty-five years to be exact, photographing the lives of many domestic workers and how they live their life every day. As Jennifer explains, a domestic worker is someone who, “care for households, children, and elders throughout the global economy.” (Fish) A large population in the world are considered domestic workers. According to the International Labor Union, there are an estimated fifty-two million domestic workers living in the world. (ILO) So why is that a group with numbers so large which could be considered a country have almost no rights, are considered undervalued, and live such hard lives? The photos that Jennifer Natalie Fish took were created to show support for the fight for more rights directed to domestic workers around the globe. Her photos shed light on what it is like to be a domestic worker and the hardships that some face in order to survive. Both images are very similar but have some differences. “Nourished” is a photograph depicting an elderly woman holding a bowl of soup. Her face illustrates a look of

“99 Chias” has some similarities and some differences to “Nourished.” In “99 Chias,” there is another elderly woman taking up most of the photograph. This woman looks much older than her counterpart in the other photograph. Also, this woman is securely holding a cub of some type of drink to her mouth. Her hardened hands carefully wrap around and under the glass, making sure that the cup has no chance of falling or spilling. Additionally, the color in this photo is very monotone and dull. No bright contrasting colors are