Recent commentators (e.g., Willis 1977) have stated that domination depends on the consent of the dominated. Such a view, though tragic, seems optimistic. It is optimistic in the sense that coercive force is no longer necessary, despite a long history that would attest otherwise, in the opera­ tions of a now-civilized state. It is tragic in the sense that consent increas­ ingly depends on the thorough brainwashing of consenting parties. In this case, what is consent? What is freedom, autonomy, or independence, the values held so sacred by the citizens of a democratically ruled society? In a paradoxical way, state incorporation of coercive power presents a more opti­ mistic outlook than that of symbolic power, or rule through the less readily perceived mechanisms of hegemonic control. The present chapter explores a case in which certain citizens do not subscribe to dominant values and the discourses through which they are articulated. Direct and indirect mecha­ nisms of power are combined in manufacturing the consent of women who are designated for positions upon which industrial capitalism depends most: menial wage labor. Indeed, women increasingly represent the body of labor serving the forces of production and consumption, both nationally and internationally (see, for example, Ong 1987).