Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, and the Value of Women's Work

Media representations of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa following their deaths extolled their good works and selfless devotion to others. This essay explores these representations using Luce Irigaray's analysis of women's unpaid domestic labor and charity. It argues that there is a connection between the unpaid status of so much of women's work and the current imagery surrounding Princess Diana and Mother Teresa celebrating the capacity of women to perform acts of charity and work for free.