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‘The Maid’ is for Middle Class Women
It’s Not for Those of Us Who Have Actually Been Poor
Everyone, including me, is watching the Netflix hit “Maid.” It’s good TV. From the very first episode, it’s hard not to feel strongly for underdog young mom Alex as she makes the incredibly difficult choice to leave her boyfriend in the dark middle of the night as his emotionally abusive tendencies become clear. Sean is a heavy drinker, both young people are ill-equipped to have a toddler, and the stress level in the home is nearly palpable.
It’s gut-wrenching to watch the dollars tick downward for Alex as she puts gas in the car, buys tiny necessities, and makes her way to social services only to learn how truly labyrinthine the system truly is. Viewers, including myself, are all rooting for her success.
But some viewers, like me, know that the roadblocks to her success are not easily portrayed in a ten-episode limited series. The biggest hurdle is the time it takes to unravel red tape.
There are some revelatory moments, like when Alex learns that she is ineligible for financial daycare assistance because she is unemployed, yet she can’t get a job until she has adequate child care.
Because it is television, she’s able to cobble together a makeshift system of child care within a day or two, and is hired on with a cleaning…
