Nkechi Orjiugo examines how deeply poverty affects single mothers in America today and the importance of accurate representation of this issue in the media.
Raising a child is no easy task and the labor of both parents is a necessity in doing so. There are many situations which may lead to a parent raising their child alone such as death of one of the guardians, separation, and so on. Leaving an abusive relationship with a child in tow is a prevalent reason for single parenthood and leaves the parent with barely any means to provide more times than not. I had a first hand experience with this when my mother had to leave my father after he had married another woman. We were left with barely anything and found ourselves with no help from the people we thought would help us in tough times. Single mothers are disproportionately affected by poverty and adversely affects both the parent and child.
The ten episode series, Maid, takes the viewer on the journey of a single mother, Alex, who escaped an abusive relationship with her child by her side. This Netflix series is based on the true story of Stephanie Land who first wrote a book on her experience. Alex goes through myriads of hardships trying to secure a roof over her and her child's head. The series gets into the nitty gritty of the realities of government assistance and how difficult it is for a single parent to receive any type of assistance. Even when Alex's daughter became very sick due to the mold present in the government housing, Alex still could not receive any additional help. Although poverty is a leading issue in America, it is often misrepresented in the media but Maid reveals the reality of poverty stricken single mothers.
Lack of Government Assistance
The lack of assistance from the government that is depicted in Maid shows the realities of government assistance in real life. When Alex fled from her abusive partner she barely had any money with her to sustain herself and her child because her partner had been the sole breadwinner in the family.-Kang's "The already great 'Maid' is Even Better with Mother-Daughter Stars Andie MacDowell and Margaret Qualley" and My Safe Harbor's "U.S. Single Parent Households" explore how Single mothers tend to be affected by poverty in a higher number and in abusive relationships they often get left with no source of income when trying to leave those relationships. Inkoo Kang discusses Alex's monetary struggles throughout the series. The series showcases how difficult it is for people living in poverty to receive any assistance. There were many occasions in the show where Alex was faced with barrier after barrier when trying to receive any government assistance. For example, when Alex had been trying to get housing in a particular area so that she could not afford to send her daughter to a better school, she was constantly getting denied since landlords would not accept the type of assistance she received from the government.
My Safe Harbor provides statistics that enforce the portrayal of the adverse outcomes of single-parent households. The report discusses how single mothers are the most disadvantaged, which ties into Maid’s portrayal of poverty among single mothers. Not only does this report examine how single-mother families have majorly increased since the 1960s, but it also examines how the children in these homes are ultimately affected because of growing up with a singular parent and not having enough money. If single-parent households received an adequate amount of assistance from the government, the conditions and outcomes that are shown in Maid and My Safe Harbor's statistics would be far less prominent. These sources explain how poverty-stricken single mother households suffer and do not receive adequate assistance to sustain them, as shown in Maid.
Raising a Child in Poverty
Poverty prevented Alex from providing good childcare for her daughter. Alex wanted the best for her child which is why she left her partner in the first place, but was not able to do so because of her financial status. Angie Han discusses the show's focus on Alex's struggle with financial stability and on single parenthood itself. Angie Han and Yuan Chiao Lu both examine how Alex shows that single parenthood increases the difficulty of raising children. In the first source, "Margaret Quallye in Netflix's 'Maid': TV Review", Han discusses how difficult it is for . Alex’s situation makes it challenging for her to pull herself up by the bootstraps. Being in a pit of poverty makes it difficult to provide a safe and healthy environment for her child. Not only is providing for her child putting a physical and mental strain on her but her child is also put at risk. In order for Alex to go to work, she would have to leave her child with her mother, who has an undiagnosed mental illness that poses a risk for her child. There was also an instance in the show when the apartment that Alex and her child were placed in was infected with mold and her child got very sick.
Yuan-Chiao Lu supports Maid’s depiction of financial lack by providing research that shows how single mothers are disproportionately affected by poverty. This research discusses the disparities between single mothers and fathers and how poverty affects both differently. This research supports the show's portrayal of the adversity that Alex faces while raising a child alone in poverty. These sources shed light on how 'Maid' depicts poverty within single-family households.
Unrealistic Means to an End
Although Maid shines a light on the reality of poverty in America that is not portrayed in the media, the ending of the show is not achievable for most poverty stricken single parents who do not look like Alex. At the end of the series, Alex ends up gaining entrance into a writing program in a college in Montana where she receives financial aid, housing, child care, and employment. While this is a happy ending for Alex based on the true accounts of Stephanie Land, this is not achievable for many other single mothers living in poverty not only because of how difficult it is to come out of poverty but also due to race issues.
Despite Maid’s unrealistic ending of how one could come out of poverty, the series still depicts poverty in a way that most other shows about poverty have not depicted it. Alex left her abusive household with her child and experienced many of the real life obstacles, such as lack of government assistance and the difficulties with raising a child without enough funds, which many single mothers experience presently. Many first hand accounts and scholarly articles support most of what was shown in Maid. It is imperative that hardships among poor single mothers are accurately presented in the media to bring more light to the matter.
Author bio: Nkechi Orjiugo currently lives in New Jersey and studies Nursing at Bloomfield College.
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