Male domestic workers and gendered boundaries among Latin American migrants in Brussels

Abstract

Based on ethnographic research conducted in Brussels, this article analyses gender-based constructions in relation to paid domestic work. We focus our attention on Latin American migrants who, unlike migrants from other regions, come from societies where paid domestic work has been the main occupation of women throughout the twentieth century, where it was strongly shaped by a colonial legacy. We identify two main tropes within the discourse of our informants regarding this kind of work: the '(gendered) professional' and the '(domestic) worker'. In our analysis, particular attention is given to the participation of men in paid domestic work within the context of migratory experiences.