Patroas e adolescentes trabalhadoras domésticas: Relações de trabalho, gênero e classes sociais

Abstract

Paid domestic labor is very common in Brazil and lots of teenage women, since childhood trained in the accomplishment of household tasks, often find their first employment on such a job. An important issue regarding such context is the relationship between maids and their employers. Discussing labor, class, and gender relations, the article analyzes the interactions characterizing such relationship in a popular neighborhood in the city of Sao Carlos, state of Sao Paulo. The empirical results point out that these interactions may produce either a more affective (and also harmonious and less hierarchical) relationship or a more formal one, with roles and limits defined by hierarchical patterns, with a net tendency towards conflicts.