Part of a full day workshop at Bethune-Cookman University "Afro-Latino Adaptations:Images from the Caribbean and Brazil"

1. {
Layering Power and
Privilege: Class, Race, and
Domestic Labor in Brazil's
Black Rome
Rosana Resende, Ph.D.
University of Florida

2. 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

3. Deep roots

4. Bargaining
with Hierarchy…

5. The ties that bind …

6.  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

7. 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

8. The Vanishing

9. A Crisis of Prosperity

10. Turning Tables

11.  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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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”

15. What’s really changing?

16. 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

17. 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

18. Strategies to make life easier
Question Já utilizei Utilizaria
Não
utilizaria 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%

19. 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

20. Salvador
First capital, Black Rome, “metropolis”
Domestics have NOT vanished from Salvador

21.  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?