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Layering Power and Privilege: Class, Race, and Domestic Labor in Brazil's Black Rome

Rosana Resende, Ph.D.University of Florida

Domestic Labor in Brazil

20th C: Have a maid or be a maid

Maids as markers of middle class status

Education/career but domesticity

Availability of poor young women in need of work, shelter, and monitoring

Emotional labor

Deep roots

Bargaining with Hierarchy…

The ties that bind …

The nation of domestics

Lula’s programs:

Formalization

Education

Housing and Subsistence Assistance

Shrinking inequality and the traditional middle class

President, CEOs, and nannies

New visibility and protections for domestics

Transforming the nation

The times are a-changin’

12 million formal jobs during Lula

Public policies offer more avenues than domestic work

Perks of formalization versus perks of autonomy

PEC das domésticas

The Vanishing

A Crisis of Prosperity

Turning Tables

Field research in Salvador 01/14-07/14

Ethnography and survey research

Women from TMC working, studying, and/or volunteering outside the home

12 IDIs, 76 questionnaires

Slaves, agregados, and rapid urbanization

Patronage, poverty, and prata da casa

A “metropolis” by any other name

Salvador, Black Rome

Straddling Eras

“I’ve always been lucky to find someone who sleeps, because I get them from the interior”

“We have to adjust the schedule [to fit the 8 hours.] I ask her to wake up later, take a 2 hour lunch, so she can be on the clock when [my daughter] arrives [from school.]

Rose

The ladies of the house

“She doesn’t do anything. I have to hire a cleaning lady because she just doesn’t clean.”--Kim

“[The maid] does everything. She is the real woman of the house.”--Julia

“In the Northeast, we have ties to these people. It’s friendship. It’s not a professional relationship.”--Pati

“We let the last one go, she thought she was the owner of the house. She wouldn’t let us in the kitchen after she cleaned it.”--Celia

“After mom died, we had to share her.”—Tania

“They just asked if I could take her and she came”--Lu

The Ties that Bind

In many ways, old patterns remain

“Prata da casa”

Inherited “white women’s” burden

“I tell her to go out, to study”

“When the children come, you are hostage to that relationship”

What’s really changing?

Phasing Out?

Existing relations remain

Even when labor ties are gone

Likely to affect new relationships, but not old ones

Economic downturn may impact choices of working class

Salvador, Northeast—unlikely to lose patronage all together

Culture Shift

Embedded belief systems

Patronage: favors in exchange for being served

Domestics disallow patroas/guests from chores

Loyalty as primary value, underlying affection

Young TCM sees relationship as restrictive

PEC erases distinctions so

Professional relation: labor in exchange for remuneration

Strategies to make life easier

Question Já utilizei UtilizariaNãoutilizaria N/A

Comprar comida pronta no cotidiano 21.05% 50.00% 23.68% 5.26%

Comprar comida pronta de vez em quando 50.00% 42.11% 5.26% 2.63%

Comer fora rotineiramente 34.21% 36.84% 15.79% 13.16%

Comprar e/ou usar mais eletrodomésticos de grande porte (como máquina de lavar pratos, secadora, etc.) 47.37% 42.11% 10.53% 0.00%

Contratar serviço de transporte para dependentes 26.32% 44.74% 5.26% 23.68%

Usar creche ou pré-escolar em horário integral 10.53% 36.84% 10.53% 42.11%

Usar uma lavanderia comercial (como as da Laundromat) 18.42% 47.37% 23.68% 10.53%

Matricular filho/a em horário integral no colégio 27.03% 32.43% 10.81% 29.73%

Mudar local ou horário de trabalho ou estudo para estar mais disponível em casa 31.58% 36.84% 10.53% 21.05%

DIminuir carga horária ou deixar de trabalhar ou estudar 28.95% 31.58% 21.05% 18.42%

Redistribuir tarefas entre os outros residentes em casa 32.43% 54.05% 10.81% 2.70%

Reduzir a frequência com a qual se fazem certas tarefas 19.44% 66.67% 5.56% 8.33%

Abrir mão de certas tarefas domésticas como: 11.43% 54.29% 17.14% 17.14%

Comprar produtos domésticos que facilitem a limpeza e organização em casa 54.05% 40.54% 0.00% 5.41%

Diminuir horário de lazer/descanso 16.22% 40.54% 27.03% 16.22%

Culture shift

Most survey participants showed: increased use of convenience services (66%)

increased demands of household members (52%)

decreased investment in newer employees (across categories)

But… old habits die hard Patronage: exchange of favors for “being served”

Domestics valued for personal traits: affection, loyalty, hygiene

Personal relationship outlasts professional one

Grandfathered in versus new dynamics Shift to valuing skills, preparation in exchange for higher wages

Freedom from restrictive ties

Salvador

First capital, Black Rome, “metropolis”

Domestics have NOT vanished from Salvador

Schooling: schedules, transportation, caregiving

Job sites: flex time, shared time, telecommuting

Caregiving infrastructure: daycares for children, elderly, people with disabilities

Goods and services: convenience services, semi-prepped goods, products that save time, easy-care goods, range of appliances

At home: reduced expectations for “an ideal home” and increased demands on shared contributions

The Future: A better Brazil for all women?