Proletárias do lar: o trabalho doméstico na cidade de Manaus (1922-1972)

Abstract

This dissertation carried out an investigation into domestic work in the city of Manaus, covering the period from 1922 to 1972. It examined the living and working conditions of domestic workers, with emphasis on mechanisms of marginalization, including the exclusion of domestic service from the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) in 1943, which institutionalized the informality and precariousness of the profession. The analysis addressed the social representations of these workers in Manaus, exploring stereotypes and prejudices resulting from the intersectionality of class, race, and gender. Issues related to sexuality were also investigated, revealing their connection to power relations and exploitation in these women's daily lives. By using the figure of Domingas as a representative character, the dissertation showed that migratory flows contributed to perpetuating the exploitation and invisibility of domestic workers, particularly the so-called crias de família: girls and young women displaced to the homes of wealthy families under false promises of care and education. The study investigated the insertion of these crias into the dynamics of domestic labor, in which employment relationships were often concealed by family ties, reinforcing the inferior position of these women through an affective ambiguity that disguised exploitation. Finally, the research explored the forms of resistance adopted by these workers to confront oppression and injustice in the workplace, with an emphasis on everyday tactics. Grounded in the theories of Michel Foucault, James C. Scott, and Michel de Certeau, the dissertation highlighted the cunning and resilience of domestic workers in facing the adversities of their condition.