A poll

[brainwane]

My spouse and I got into a conversation, riffing on Columbo and A Suitable Boy, that leads me to ask:

Poll #21776 Live-in masseur/masseuse

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 38

When I think of the idea of a masseuse who lives in one's home (assuming the employer is wealthy enough to afford such a servant), I think:

View Answers

Cool!
9 (23.7%)

Who gets massages that often?! Or, do they serve the whole household, including the other servants? [Logistics spiral]
27 (71.1%)

Someone's having an affair.
8 (21.1%)

Wait, what word do we use now? Masseur? Massage therapist?
6 (15.8%)

Something else, which I may discuss in comments.
4 (10.5%)

Comments

[lilysea]

I am 100% here for the cleaner and the cook getting free massages as part of their compensation package!

[brainwane]

That sounds great to me too!

[ivy]

Yes! It would be awesome to take care of one's staff as well as one takes care of one's self!

[cadenzamuse]

As someone for whom massage is a huge part of managing chronic pain, my immediate thought is SIGN ME UP. If I could afford a massage therapist every other day for an hour or two, I would do it. (But I also think all the servants should get free massages!)

[laurashapiro]

My "something else" is what I often think when I am served by others on a vacation, and,it goes like this. This is awesome --> guilt--> no, I deserve this --> no one deserves this --> actually, EVERYONE deserves this, and after the revolution everyone will have access to it --> after the revolution, who massages the massagers?

[tim]

I think "eat the rich".

[wohali]

Me too. Though "compost the rich" prevents prion disease from spreading.

[breathedout]

I am honestly shocked that eighty percent of your respondents have chosen "Who gets massages that often?!" As far as live-in staff, I'd way rather go with a massage therapist than a housekeeper. I know how to clean and organize my own house, but I can't give myself a massage.

[brainwane]

Life is a rich tapestry! My readers and friends lead many different lives. :)

[elysdir]

I more or less agree with laurashapiro’s comment.

Some further thoughts:

I love chair massages, and would love to get them even more often than I get them, and would hope that everyone who lived and worked in the house would also get them, and that the massage therapists would get ample recompense (and ideally would get massages of their own).

But I find interacting with service people deeply awkward (mostly due to unresolved class stuff in my head), and I would be extremely tense at having such a person living in my home. (I don’t want *anyone* else living in my home!)

…I guess my gut reaction changes somewhat depending on whether we think of the person as a “servant” or as a “professional massage therapist.” :)

[bibliofile]

re: terms

I think that the best term may be "staff", as in "professional on staff". Or more than one, so that person might not be the only person in the building who doesn't get regular massages.

re: quiz

I would've voted for "All of the above", because so many questions...