Maid and Desperate Housewives depict two types of desperate women: On the one hand, there is Alex (Maid), a young, struggling single-mom who escaped her abusive relationship, and on the other hand, there is a group of upper middle-class housewives who live a seemingly perfect life. However, as soon as we take a  look behind the curtain it turns out they need to deal with several problems. 

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We chose Desperate Housewives because of its status as a “cult series” and Maid because it is a recently released Netflix mini drama series which was critically acclaimed.

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As you can see in the trailers, the series have different characteristics: Maid depicts Alex’s problems in a serious, realistic way, whereas Desperate Housewives includes a lot of irony and humorous elements. Nevertheless, the two series have a lot of aspects in common. 

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In the following we will investigate the relation between fictional depiction and the (US) reality regarding the topics maternity leave, child care, financial support/social housing, abuse and shelters.

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Maternity Leave

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Many women probably dream of having a baby at a particular time in their life. For some women – like Lynette from Desperate Houswives – this dream comes true in a way they even did not expect. In both TV series – Maid and Desperate Housewives – maternity plays a very important role. Therefore, before going into more details on depiction and examples of maternity as well as maternity leave in Maid and Desperate Housewives, it is worth taking a look at general information and regulations of maternity leave in the United States.

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The US is well-known for their Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) from 1993 which according to the U.S. Department of Labor “provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year“. At first sight, it looks like maternity leave is regulated by law and each woman is eligible to go on maternity leave. However, it is not the case. Not all female employees are qualified to receive up to 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave. According to the FMLA, in order to receive the unpaid maternity leave, women should have worked at least 1 250 hours during the last 12 months at a company employing more than 50 employees. Recent statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor show that about 60 % of all American women are employed part-time. This means that a huge number of American women do not reach the number of work hours mentioned above and therefore are not eligible for maternity leave. Another striking fact about maternity leave in the US is that the United States is known as “the only OECD country without a national statutory paid maternity“ leave as stated in The Guardian. This means that women who are qualified can take maternity leave up to 12 weeks, however, in many cases women do not receive any financial support neither from the government nor from the company they are working at. According to Lake (2020), this is also one of the reasons why around a “third of new moms don't take any time off at all, going back to work almost right“ after giving birth. However, there is an exception to every rule. As reported by Gilpin (2015) such multinational companies like Google or Facebook offer their employees even up to 18 weeks of paid maternity or parental leave. Nevertheless, even this can be beaten. For example, Lake reports that Netflix as well as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offer their employees up to 52 weeks of paid leave. As a result, it can be assumed that people working at huge international companies are usually better off than people working at smaller companies. After some important facts on maternity leave were discussed, it is interesting to take a look at how maternity and maternity leave are depicted in the TV series Maid and Desperate Housewives.

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Maternity plays a significant role in both TV series, however, maternity leave is neither of huge importance in Maid nor in Desperate Housewives. The main character in Maid – Alex – does not really have a permanent job and her daughter Maddy is not a baby anymore. Desperate Housewives, on the contrary, provides at least several depictions of women having babies. Therefore, in the following the focus will be laid on examples from Desperate Housewives.

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Susan, who is a writer and book illustrator gives birth to a boy (MJ) on Mother's Day (Season 4, Episode 15). However, there are no hints about her maternity leave. It can be assumed that Susan is not eligible for maternity because she is self-employed and therefore usually such workers are not eligible for that. 

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In Season 5 there are many changes in Gaby’s life: Carlos is blind, they have two daughters – Juanita and Celia – and Gaby seems to be overwhelmed by her new role as a mother. Unfortunately, due to the five year jump at the end of Season 4, there is no hint about Gaby’s employment situation as well as maternity leave. 

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Lynette is not only one of four friends who gets pregnant several times throughout the course of Desperate Housewives, but who is also successful at her job. However, after Penny’s birth Lynette is struggling to find a new job because her potential employers think that she will miss her job very often due to her children. Years later, Carlos gives her a job that she is doing great. Soon, Lynette finds out that she has become pregnant again and tries to hide it.

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When Carlos wants to announce that Lynette will be promoted, she misinterprets his wish to talk to her and tells him about her pregnancy:

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Carlos: “(...) But I need to talk to you. I want you to run the Miami office.”

Lynette: “What?”

Carlos: “If it isn’t gonna be Terrence, then it has to be you. (…) I need my best people on the spot (…).”

Lynette: “Carlos what is this?”

Carlos: “What’s what?”

Lynette: “Oh, c’mon. I know you know I’m pregnant.” 

Carlos: “You’re pregnant? Wow. Great.”

Lynette: “Carlos, please. I know Gaby told you.”

Carlos: “Nope. I would remember somebody telling me something like that. So that’s your answer?”

Lynette: “You send someone else to Miami and I stay here. That’s my answer.”

Carlos: “Except I need you in Miami and I don’t need you here. Not anymore.”

Lynette: “(…) You can’t fire me for being pregnant.”

Carlos: “I’m not firing you, Lynette. I’m offering you a promotion.”

(Desperate Housewives, Season 6, Episode 8)

 

As the above transcript shows, Carlos is disappointed because Lynette concealed her pregnancy from him. At the same time his wish to promote her grows into a wish to fire her. Although Carlos is not allowed to fire Lynette because of her pregnancy, he does it because, according to him, she is not able to do her work properly. As a result, Lynette takes proceedings against Carlos for firing her. Later, in the course of Season 6 when Carlos withdraws the notice of termination and Tom is allowed to do Lynette’s work, she admits how important her job is to her: “You know how much that job means to me. You know how much I hate being a stay-at-home mom.“ (Season 6, Episode 12). This quote illustrates that Lynette is one of those women who do not really want to take maternity leave. Moreover, Lynette is one of those women who cannot really imagine her life without going to work and realising herself.

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To conclude, it can generally be said that maternity leave is an important topic. However, not all women are eligible for it and the TV series Desperate Housewives does not explicitly deal with this topic. It can, however, be said that the depiction of Lynette who is a devoted mother and responsible employee shows that she belongs to 30% of the above mentioned women who would start working right after giving birth.

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Child care

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Since Maid is about a young mother who has to manage both her job and her daughter, child care is discussed several times during the show. Desperate Housewives addresses this topic too but it does not play such an important role as it does in Maid. This paragraph will therefore focus on Alex and her struggles concerning subsidized child care and child care costs. 

In Maid, the topic of child care is already discussed in the very first episode when Alex speaks to a social worker about her struggles. She has no job, is homeless and needs to take care of her three-year-old daughter. She hopes to find some sort of child care program, so she can start a new job. But without a job, home or income, Alex is not able to pay for any sort of child care without governmental help. However, receiving this governmental help turns out to be more challenging than previously expected. The social worker explains to Alex that she needs to have a job in order to get subsidized day care for her daughter. Alex is clearly confused about that statement and quickly points out how absurd this concept is. 

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Alex: “Um, I’m sorry. Is there anything else that you could do for us here?”

Social worker: “Honestly, without a job, I can’t do squat.”

Alex: “I can’t get a job if I can’t afford day care.” 

Social worker: “Well, we have access to subsidized day care grants once you have a job”

Alex: “I need a job to prove that I need day care in order to get a job? What kind of fuckery is that?"

(Maid S1 E1)

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Alex is clearly struggling in this scene. Without day care, she cannot start a new job, mainly because she has nobody who looks after Maddy during her working shifts. But eventually, after several incidents with leaving Maddy with unreliable family members, she manages to get a job and enroll her daughter in daycare. However, she is still struggling with additional costs that are not covered by her governmental aid, which becomes obvious during another conversation between her and her social worker: 

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Alex: “I’m on seven types of government assistance and I’m working the maximum I can without getting my benefits cut. But after food and gas and daycare co-pay we have a total of nine dollars extra every week. That’s a box of tampons.”

(Maid S1 E6). 

 

Moreover, when Alex visits a potential preschool for Maddy, she is almost immediately asked about her ability to cover additional costs: “So how much can you cover for a co-pay?” (Maid S1 E6). 

Many low-income families are required to make a contribution to the cost of child care in the form of a co-payment, short co-pay. Lead Agencies consider co-payments in three circumstances: families who are at or below the poverty level; families receiving protective services or families that meet different criteria established by the Lead Agency. But as Alex’s situation shows, these co-payments are not cheap at all. Even whilst receiving governmental aid, families struggle with the costs of child care, which are extremely high in the United States. The average cost for a Child Care Centre in the United States is $1,230 per month (for one infant). Washington D.C. is even more expensive, with $2,020 per month and $24,243 per year .Additionally, this situation has gotten even worse during the Coronavirus pandemic. A report published by Care.com revealed that 72% of families faced an increase in child care costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially low-income working families are affected: They spend 35% of their income solely on child care. 

However, child care costs are not the only problem. About half of the families in the US have trouble finding child care. Many of them live in so-called “child care deserts”, meaning they have very limited access to child care in their region. Especially in lower-income families, similar to Alex’s situation, 54% are struggling to access some sort of child care institution. There is even an official Website (https://childcaredeserts.org/) that helps families to find child care deserts in cities and towns across America, so parents can check whether the region where they intend to move is affected. Especially rural families have to deal with these deserts, leading to high demands of child care institutions in these areas. The following video portrays some problems that arise due to such a situation:

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The combination of these two aspects, high costs and difficult access to child care, is extremely problematic for many parents in the US. 1 in 3 working families struggles to find some sort of day care for their children. Especially lower-income families and single parents like Alex cannot afford quality day care for their children. And even if they receive government aid, the requirement to pay co-pays is an extreme burden. Many parents are therefore considering other, mostly not licensed, options for child care, which are relatively popular in the United States. One example are Family Child Care Homes, in which providers offer child care in residential buildings, often unlicensed. They can use their own homes to care for small groups of children. In comparison to the Child Care Centers, they are less expensive and an easy option for communities, neighbors or family members. Nevertheless, they are considered to be lower quality child care than more official institutions, which is contextual and therefore remains debatable. 

In conclusion, Maid portrays a young mother who is struggling to find day care. High costs, co-pay and limited access make it even more difficult for her. These struggles are not far fetched, but depict the reality many Americans face when becoming parents. And the COVID-19 pandemic did not make this situation any easier for them. 

 

Financial Support / Social Housing 

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Questions of financial support and social housing arise in both Maid and Desperate Housewives. However, since Desperate Housewives revolves around four upper-class women, this topic does not play as big of a role as it does in Maid.

In Desperate Housewives, for instance, Susan, Mike and their son MJ have to temporarily leave their house because of (Mike’s) financial problems in season 6/7. They decide to rent their (Susan’s) house until they can save up some money. In the meantime, the family moves into a small apartment in a complex across town. The following conversation between the four friends Bree, Gaby, Lynette and Susan illustrates that Susan – unlike Alex (Maid) – is surrounded by people who support her and who are also willing to help her out financially:

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Bree: “What do you mean you’re moving off the lane?”

Gaby: “You can’t sell your house!”

Susan: “We’re not selling. We’re renting.”

Gaby: “I don’t care. Either way you’re not gonna be living here. Lynette, say something! You’re very persuasive.”

Lynette: “I… I don’t understand why you have to do this.”

Susan: “Well, we dug ourselves in pretty deep, financially.” [women nodding] “We’ll be fine. It’s just gonna be for a while.”

Bree: “Checkbooks!” [Bree, Lynette and Gabby looking at each other]

Susan: “No, no! I love you for that. But no. We got ourselves into this, we can get ourselves out.”

Lynette: “Where will you go?”

Susan: “We found an apartment. Near the school. [...]”

(Desperate Housewives, Season 6, Episode 22)

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When the family arrives in their new apartment, MJ is shocked about his new home: “THIS is where we’re gonna live?” (Season 7, Episode 1). He further asks: “Are we poor?”, because he is used to different living/housing standards. The whole financial-problems topic is dealt with in a rather ironic way in Desperate Housewives (while it constitutes one of the major themes in Maid and is being depicted as more serious there):

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Susan: “No honey, we’re not poor. We’re just... lower middle class. Poor people wish they could live like this.” 

MJ: “They shouldn’t”.

(Desperate Housewives, Season 7, Episode 1)

 

Susan: “Pork chops for dinner! I know it was a little bit of a splurge, but I made up for it. One-ply toilet paper.” [taking groceries to the kitchen] “Is something wrong?”

Mike: “The bank turned down my loan application”

(Desperate Housewives, Season 7, Episode 1)

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As already mentioned before, the topic financial support and social housing is depicted in a more serious way in Maid (compared to Desperate Housewives):

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Social worker “Still 42 on the list.”

Alex: “No movement at all? Why the fuck does this country even offer such an aid if it’s a mythical unicorn no one ever gets?”

S: “Well… waitlists are longer than usual right now. There’s unprecedented homeless numbers.”

A: “We need somewhere to live.”

S: “We were lucky to get you into that last apartment.”

A: “I’m on 7 different types of government assistance right now and I’m working the maximum hours I can work without getting my benefits cut but after food and gas and daycare co-pay, we have a total of 9 dollars extra every week. That’s a box of tampons. How am I ever supposed to afford rent, even subsidized rent, with 9 dollars extra every week? How is this assistance assisting me?” 

(Maid, Episode 6)

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As the above transcript shows, Alex is struggling with the bureaucracy of governmental aid – as in the scene where she and the social worker talk about day care (“I need a job to prove that I need day care in order to get a job?”, Episode 1 – cf. our part about child care). Sarcastic utterances like “Why the fuck does this country even offer such an aid if it’s a mythical unicorn no one ever gets?” or “That’s a box of tampons”, that might make the audience laugh at first, still have a serious essence that make you think and show how desperate Alex is. In the course of their conversation, the social worker proposes that Alex could try getting an apartment through the use of Home TBRA vouchers. However, using Alex’s words, this program seems to be “a unicorn too” (Episode 6). The following scene from Maid illustrates how Alex asks potential landlords whether they accept Home TBRA vouchers:

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As the video shows, people laugh at Alex or even slam their doors into her face. The end of the clip shows Alex in a very desperate mood, because, as she already expected, she was not able to find a landlord who accepts Home TBRA vouchers.

In fact, Home TBRA (Tenant-Based Rental Assistance) is a governmental program (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) that helps homeless people or people in shelters afford the cost of rent. Households pay a certain amount of their income for rent and the TBRA assistance covers the remaining part. Participants are free to choose their own housing in the private market (as long as it meets the requirements of the program). However, as the scenes from Maid show, not all landlords are willing to accept Home TBRA vouchers and furthermore, the amount of funding is limited, so not every household will have the chance to enter the program and waiting lists are very long.

While there is also public housing (“decent and safe rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities”, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), the demand for this type of housing support often exceeds the available resources and waiting lists are thus often very long and may even be closed when they are too full. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as of 2021, there are approximately 1.2 million households in the US that live in public housing units. Other sources indicate that 9.3 million Americans benefit from housing assistance programs and that 75% of the households that need assistance are female-headed.

The graph below shows the additions to the rental stock in 2001 and 2016 and illustrates that more and more apartments with monthly housing costs over $1,500 are added to the rental market which makes it extremely difficult for low-income families to find affordable housing:

 

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Another type of governmental aid are food stamps. While there are so-called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) stamps, Alex uses an electronic card to purchase food. However, SNAP does not seem to cover everything she needs, which is why, standing at the cash register, Alex has to put certain items back while other customers are rolling their eyes (Episode 4). 

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Coming to a conclusion, there are different types of governmental aid (we were not able to go into detail here, if you'd like to read about health care, see the Breaking Bad text) that are supposed to support low-income families and people in need. However, the waiting lists for these programs are often very long and bureaucracy renders some processes really complicated. While the question of financial support and social housing is one of the most important elements in Maid and is treated in a very serious way, it does not arise very often in Desperate Housewives. Due to the comic character of Desperate Housewives, the topic is being treated in a rather ironic way and does not play a major role in the plot.

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Abuse

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Although abuse of male partners in heterosexual relationships exists – however not brought up very often, which might also be a result of a certain construction of masculinity predominant in our society (to see a more detailed description of this, see the Breaking Bad article – it is striking that the media prefers to portray violence towards women. The reason for this seems evident as statistics of domestic violence in the US shows that 24.3% of women and 13.8% of men have experienced physical violence by their intimate partner, for example being hit with a fist, beaten or slammed against something.

Even though the unrecorded cases in men (maybe due to pride) might be relatively high, the same can be applied to the abuse of women due to their practical powerlessness in toxic relationship structures. Both series lay bare patriarchal structures in their depictions of heterosexual relationships. Emotional abuse as a result of this is harder to identify - also for the victim. Examples of emotional abuse are:

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·       Threats of violence or abandonment

·       Intentionally frightening

·       Lying

·       Failing to check allegations of abuse against them

·       Making derogative or slanderous statements about an individual to others

·       Socially isolating an individual, failing to let them have visitors

·       Withholding important information

·       Being over-familiar and disrespectful

·       Unreasonably ordering an individual around; treating an individual like a servant or child

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(Source: https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/emotional-psychological-abuse/emotional-abuse-definitions-signs-symptoms-examples#:~:text=Emotional%20Abuse%3A%20Definitions%2C%20Signs%2C%20Symptoms%2C%20Examples%201%20Definition,Symptoms.%20...%203%20Examples%20of%20Emotional%20Abuse.%20)

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Maid succeeded in portraying the hardship women face when they find themselves in abusive relationships – in this case highlighting emotional abuse. Especially the conversations between Alex and the people closest to her display the complexity and sensitivity of the topic. It also shows how Alex tends to lack compassion towards herself – before getting the help she needs, as seen in the dialog below

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Alex: “Maddy’s dad… uuh… he drinks and… uh… he blacks out and punches stuff.”

Social worker:”Punches you…?”

Alex: “No.”

Social worker: “Punches Maddy?”

Alex: “No.”

Alex: “Just… Last night…umh… Last night was different and I got scared”.

Social worker: “Wanna file a police report?”

Alex: “No.”

Social worker: “Do you wanna call the cops now? It’s not too late.”

Alex: ”And say what? That he didn’t hit me?”

Social worker: “Well, there’s shelters for domestic violence victims, but you need to go on record with your abuse.”

Alex: ”I’m not abused.”

Social workers: “Okay, hun. So according to you, you’re not abused and you’re not homeless. Why are you here?”

Alex: “We don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight.”

(…)

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It is obvious that Alex does not fully understand what happened to her before. Especially her confusion towards the social worker’s statement regarding abuse proves that she has not developed compassion towards herself yet as she still seems to be in shock because of the situation. The calmness and routine of the social worker indicates that she might be familiar with cases like Alex, where the victims do not identify as victims.

Other than the social worker, Alex’ mom, Paula, who was severely beaten up by her ex-husband and father of Alex when Alex was a child, does not take Alex’ explanation of being emotionally abused by Sean seriously, when she is being asked by Alex to write a statement for Alex’ custody request (Season 1, Episode 3). This toxic behavior of her mentally ill mom comes from the unprocessed trauma she suffered from being beaten up which was carried on to her daughter. Alex finding herself in similar relationship dynamics shows the transgenerational impact of patriarchy, which also includes certain attitudes towards abuse from men towards women.

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Alex: “If you want to add that Sean is abusive that would be really helpful”.

Paula: “*laughs* Sean?! *laughs*”

Alex: ”Emotional abuse is abuse.”

Paula: “What does that even mean? How can emotions be abused? Where do people get this stuff?”

Alex: “Alright. Did you notice that we were in a bank earlier?”

Paula: “Yep.”

Alex: “Did you notice what I was doing at that bank?”

Paula: “Banking.”

Alex: ”I was opening a bank account, because I don’t have one, because Sean took my ATM card away, when I didn’t pay the electric bill and said that he would handle all money.”

Paula: “Honey, Sean’s good with money and you’re like me shitty with it.”

Alex: “Or I was isolated in a trailer for two years without any access to money and that’s financial abuse, a form of emotional abuse.”

Paula: “Where you getting this shit? Your class?”

Alex: “No, I’m getting this from the DV Shelter, mom.”

Paula: ”This is why I don’t go to the doctor, because if you start poking around because you think something’s wrong, you’re gonna find something.”

Alex: “That’s an incredibly fucked up point of view.”

(…)

 

This scene shows Alex being treated as if she overreacted about what happened to her as Paula devalues Alex’ argument (e.g. “because if you start poking around because you think something’s wrong, you’re gonna find something”). It also shows how hard it can be to convince people when they are not interested in understanding – or in this case afraid of understanding – what is truly going on.

The impact Sean’s control over Alex had on her is eventually shown when she is able to cut ties with him during a conversation in episode 9 of season 1, stating that he will “never ever control [her] again”. The actress’ performance – particularly her expression and trembling voice – enables the viewer to see how mentally exhausting this conversation is for Alex. Nevertheless, she remains calm and consistent with her demands which shows her personal development, eventually leading to her empowerment as an independent woman.

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Desperate Housewives deals with the topic of abuse in a different way. Since there are several storylines there are also several victims of abuse and each story has a different focus on abuse. Anne Schilling may be a secondary character, however her story of abuse displays the cruelty of physical violence by her husband Warren and the compassion of Lynette who eventually saves Anne after she is beaten up brutally (Season 5, Episode 8). Anne seems very helpless as if she had already resigned herself to her fate, showing how psychologically damaging physical violence can be as well.

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Gabrielle (Gaby) Solis, one of the main characters, was sexually assaulted by her step-father when she was a teenager, but was not able to seek help at her Catholic school since the nun she confided in (Sister Marta) did not believe Gabrielle, telling her she only needed attention. During a visit in her hometown the two of them meet again 20 years later (Season 7, Episode 15). Sister Marta welcomes Gabrielle with phrases like “(…) Well, you always liked being the center of attention (…)”, while Gabrielle seems insecure, confused and also frightened for a moment. Afterwards Gabrielle follows Marta and confronts her, after being asked by Carlos who the woman was.

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G: “We need to talk.”

S. “Marta: Alright.”

G: “Do you remember the discussion we had here 20 years ago?”

M: “I’ve had a lot of students over the years, Gabrielle, I can’t remember everything.”

G: “I think you remember this conversation. I told you what was happening with my stepfather.”

M: “Yes. You had a big imagination. Most likely from all of those trashy books and magazines you used to sneak into class.”

G: “Oh my god, you still don’t believe me. I came to you with a secret, a horrible secret. I couldn’t tell my mother or anyone in my family. But I thought I could trust you because you were my teacher and a nun! So I told you. You remember what you said to me?”

M: “I’m not going to stand here and listen to this.”

G: “YES! You are. You told me I was a liar. And that I should be ashamed of myself and I have been ashamed ever since!”

M: “Is that why you came back here? To blame me?”

G:”No. I came back here, because my therapist had a crazy idea. She thought it would help if I stood on the grave of the man who abused me and told him how I felt. But you know what? I think I need to tell you I did not deserve what happened to me. I was a child! But you, you were a grown up and you did nothing. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

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The stigma of victims of abuse seeking  attention when confiding in someone or making their abuse public is visible in the nun’s attitude towards Gabrielle. Although in this case we have a “good-and-evil-depiction” of the two women as Sister Marta seems to have a lot of hate inside of her, turning it towards Gabrielle. Therefore, it even seems like she might believe Gabrielle but refuses to act on it since she blames Gabrielle due to her hate against her. This dialog depicts a key conversation within Gabrielle’s trauma processing as she was able to speak up for herself.

Although Maid especially draws attention to this making it a crucial aspect of the story, both series depict how economic resources and social environment play a role, which can be found in a study by Totten (2003) and Zavala (2010). Despite being a small study with a qualitative focus, including only very young men, it indicates the correlation between the aspects mentioned above and abuse in heterosexual relationships. Connecting these aspects to the fictional circumstances of both series, we have Gabrielle who, although being in a financially good position as an adult, grew up in unstable family structures as a teenager with a mom who was not compassionate with her daughter at all. The storyline in Maid on the other hand, is entirely based on the hardship of a mom escaping from an abusive relationship and starting off with a couple of dollars since Sean and her have been dealing with financial problems since they moved in together. He is also an alcoholic and the only person with a job (bartender), meaning Alex is financially dependent on him.

In conclusion, Maid shows how financial independence is a crucial factor when it comes to building the life you want and highlights how women still tend to slip into a life and relationships of codependency, especially when not born into a secure environment. It also shows the difficulty of dealing with emotional abuse as it is harder to grasp, especially as obvious physical wounds are not existent when it is solely emotional abuse that we are talking about.

Desperate Housewives has a more superficial approach and a higher amount of fictionality when it comes to portraying abuse. However, the series still shows how damaging these experiences can be and sheds light on the powerlessness the victims experience in these situations.

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Shelter & Social Support

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The question of how victims of domestic violence can escape the cycle of physical and mental abuse is at the center of Maid. The series portrays in great detail the long and difficult journey of Alex as she transforms from a victim to a survivor of domestic violence. Therefore, the following sections will focus solely on Maid as the series dedicates itself completely to telling this story.

 

After having escaped from her abusive boyfriend, Alex and her daughter Maddy are left with no home and nowhere to go. Driven by her desire to protect the both of them from her friends and family, who are not able to notice (or perhaps are not willing to admit) the severity of the situation and the danger that awaits her at home, the young mother is forced to sleep in the local ferry station with her daughter. It is only when she meets with social services that Alex learns of the domestic violence hotline:

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Jody: “You need to call the DV hotline yourself. They’ll send a cab around to the closest police station to pick you up” (Episode 2).

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According to the Center of American Progress, the domestic violence hotline and similar programs form a “network of national, state, and local programs and services (that are) intended to prevent, mitigate, and respond to incidents of DV". This informal network offers both emergency shelters as well as support to victims. It is here that Alex and Maddy find an emergency shelter that offers what they need most: safety.

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The National Network to End Domestic Violence estimates that more than 25.000 victims of domestic violence find "refuge in emergency shelters or transitional housing provided by local domestic violence programs” every day. In order to ensure the safety of these victims, information regarding the number of such shelters and their locations are highly confidential. Maid shows this in many subtle ways. Instead of receiving the address of the shelter, Alex and Maddy are driven there by a cab. The shelter itself also has a set of strict rules:

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Denise: “On his desk is the sign-out book where you sign in and out. Now your phone goes here. Just check the location is off first. (...) Just have to leave the premises to use it. Walk a block or two. Protecting the confidentiality of our location is our top priority” (Episode 2).

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Regina: “Hey. Do you need me to go in with you?

Alex: “Oh. You actually can’t. Thank you” (Episode 9).

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This becomes especially important because it often takes many attempts for victims of domestic violence to escape from an abusive relationship. Alex herself needed two tries before she was able to break out of the cycle.

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These rules ensure the safety of the victims and help create an environment in which victims such as Alex can begin to heal. Therefore, in addition to a safe and secure home, shelters offer many forms of social support that can help victims to rebuild their lives. Many shelters offer programs such as:

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–        Safety planning

–        Supportive counseling and support groups

–        Help build life skills

–        Housing assistance

–        Employment assistance

–        Financial literacy skills

–        Legal consultations

–        Temporary childcare

–        Case management

–        Practical assistance

Safe Horizon (2021)

 

Maid uses multiple episodes to show the viewer how an emergency shelter becomes a home for Alex that gives her the environment to process what has happened to her and to help her move forward into creating a better future for herself and her daughter. Many scenes, therefore, depict both of their lives in a shelter and show how the different programs help them on their journey.

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In the shelter, Alex and Maddy find a home to stay in which both can be with each other without being paralyzed by fear. Here they can play with puppets, laugh, and just be together. While this might seem trivial to the viewer it correlates with the experiences of actual survivors who reported how important the relationship and connection to their children was for them and their healing process: “Emotionally, my son, my son is my biggest support system, even though he’s three, but I like speak to him, and even though he doesn’t understand, [he says] ‘Okay mommy, I love you,’ and gives me a kiss” (Carolina – survivor of domestic violence).  Alex, despite being alienated from both her family and her friends who remain sympathetic to her abusive boyfriend, finds the necessary strength to move forward in the moments of happiness that she can share with her daughter.

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Shelters are aware of the importance of these relationships. In order to create an environment in which the parents and legal guardians can focus on their next steps without having to worry about the safety and wellbeing of their children, many shelters offer some form of temporary childcare:

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Denise: “There’s a playgroup for kids your age in a few minutes. (...) Today is arts and crafts. You and I can do some intake and then I’ll take you shopping (Episode 9).

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Alex profits from such programs as it gives her the chance to find work in order to better her financial situation and to attend programs that help her to deal with her trauma. It also provides a sense of normality to both of them. On top of that, the shelter also offers a shop in which Alex can pick up new clothes for herself and her daughter. These clothes are all donations and as such are free for the survivors. The shop, containing a cash register, is, however, set up in a way in which each piece of clothes is "bought" by Alex for free. This is done in order to further create a sense of normality that was missing in Alex’ and Maddy’s lives.

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Lastly, Maid also highlights the importance of social support groups and therapy. Alex, who entered the shelter as a victim, at the end of the series leads a support group focused on creative writing. Writing has always been an important part of Alex's life, and it is here that she can bring in her own experiences and her own personality to help other victims.

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Alex: “Do any of you guys write for fun? (...) Writing is where I got to be honest about how I feel. Sometimes it’s really the only way for me to know what it is that I’m feeling. (...) I find that it’s a lot easier to write the truth than it is to say it out loud (Episode 10).

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While it is a beautiful way in which the writers concluded Alex's journey from a victim to a survivor who is able to use her own creative strength to help others on their own individual journeys, it is also a very authentic portrayal of social support groups. Beyond Shelter states that supportive counseling is often focused on helping the victims develop "a positive state of mind, hope, and inner strength”. This is often accomplished by encouraging the participants to write about their future and dreams. Many survivors of domestic violence have reported that this strategy has helped them envision a better future for themselves: “I actually wrote something (in the shelter group meeting) that I stand by even today and it was like, where do we see ourselves five years from now? And I’m definitely living by that” (Carolina - survivor of domestic violence).

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Coming to a conclusion, Maid portrays in great detail the long and often difficult journey from victim to survivor of domestic violence. Emergency shelters provide a safe space in which victims of abuse can begin to heal and focus on a better future. Besides food and housing, shelters also provide victims with a wide array of social programs that can help them deal with the emotional trauma that they have suffered from while also providing them with programs that will help them to prepare themselves for an independent life. Maid especially focuses on the importance of a home and the emotional strength that can derive from the relationship of a mother to her daughter. Additionally, Maid highlights how support groups can help victims focus on a better future.

 

 

Overall Conclusion 

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Although Maid and Desperate Housewives differ in terms of mood and atmosphere due to different genres, they have several aspects in common. Both series put women at the center of narration. In doing so, the creators picked topics that affect US women in reality, which might be one of the reasons for the series’ success. One of the main problems in Maid is financial support as it sheds light on different types of governmental aid, but also the problems and complications that come with applying for these things, making the story very realistic. However, Desperate Housewives focuses less on these issues while therefore shedding light on interpersonal intrigues and problematic attitudes of men towards women when it comes to work and family life – e.g. Lynette having to hide her pregnancy to her boss Carlos. However, the series does not go in depth with these topics since it has a tendency towards overdramatizing for the sake of entertainment. The same applies to the depiction of abuse. The interesting thing is that Desperate Housewives mocks the idea of the perfect housewife by playing with stereotypes and showing personal development of the characters in a male-dominated society. Additionally, Maid – although in a more serious way – depicts Alex as a woman making her way from the bottom to the top despite all the obstacles American society has brought upon her. Comparing the fictional world to actual information related to American society, showed how relevant these topics are in real life. 

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