[4] The Tizon family went through a tumultuous and indigent time as they moved from the Philippines to Los Angeles, to Seattle, and multiple other locations before settling in Oregon.
[6] The Atlantic acknowledged these mixed reactions to the story with the article "Your Responses to ‘My Family’s Slave’" by assistant editor Rosa Inocencio Smith.
[11][12][13] The Washington Post noted that the article "drew wide praise, with readers commending Tizon's honesty, and some saying it was among the most powerful magazine pieces published in recent memory.
But it also spurred intense criticism from some readers who felt it humanized a slave owner and others who described Tizon as being 'complicit in the systemic oppression of Filipino househelp'.
"[14] The Filipino magazine Scout argued that "a lot of the international outrage is coming from a place where they don't fully understand the culture the story is set in".
[5] The American magazine Slate also noted the "wide-sweeping judgment coming from people who have no context nor familiarity with Filipino culture, history, or economics".
[15] Slate further wrote that, as the Philippines is a developing country, "the wide disparity between those with and without money makes the culture of servitude a viable option for many born into poverty, especially in the provinces".