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
Paid domestic labor; Mistresses; Maids; Teenage women; Social class