article

The stories our mothers tell: projections-of-self in the stories of Puerto Rican garment workers

oral history review • 16 (2) • Published In 1988 • Pages: 23-28

By: Vazquez Erazo, Blanca.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

In this article a 55-year-old woman garment worker tells two stories about her work experience. The first is about how she cunningly hoodwinked her boss to teach her how to use a sewing machine of which she had only minimal experience. The second story relates how she quit her job at a peak work period, because her boss had tried to fire her when she asked for a better piece rate. Vasquez, worker's daughter and author, argues that far from being a cowed and passive worker, her mother was smart and dignified, fighting for respect.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Life history materials

External migration

Labor supply and employment

Labor relations

Gender status

Classes

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Puerto Ricans (Mainland)

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

2002

RegionThe area the document pertains to

North America

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs

article

Evaluation

Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.

Educator

Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection

Ian Skoggard ; 2000

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

Not Specified

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1948-1970

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

New York, N.Y., United States

NotesAdditional notes

Blanca Vazquez Erazo

'Stories to live by : continuity and change in three generations of Puerto Rican women'

For bibliographical references see document number 60:Vazquez Erazo (p. 44-46)

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

74644497

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Puerto Ricans--United States