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This article provides an analysis of the struggles of women domestic workers in Brazil, based on two field studies. We examine the imbrication of racism, sexism and class inequality in their lives and struggles, and in their relationship with the black and feminist movements and workers' unions. While this intersection of social relations produces multiple forms of oppression, it is also a force for the collective struggles of domestic workers, enabling them to form alliances that led to the enactment of a law guaranteeing the category's rights in 2015. However, the intersectional nature of their claims has also led to tensions and conflicts with their allies, which limit the scope of their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Anthropology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais is the property of Centro de Estudos Sociais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper discusses how whiteness is perceived and described by upper-middle class men self-identifying as white in Rio de Janeiro. In part one I present a brief history of the role played by whiteness in the formation of Brazil as a nation and the specific characteristics of Brazilian color classification with particular attention for the relationship between class and color. In part two I explore the main methodological problems related to the study of whiteness within the framework of Brazilian research on whiteness and French sociological analysis of the upper-middle class and aristocracy. In particular I focus on the relationship between researcher and interviewee when the latter is part of a dominant group and the foci of the investigation concern his/her dominant position. I then discuss interviewees' efforts to give definitions of whiteness, their silences and laughter, and the different types of answer they offer. Class appears as a privileged language for giving concrete content to whiteness: while class is described as something more tangible and objective, whiteness is perceived by these men as elusive and impossible to put into words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an analysis of the struggles of women domestic workers in Brazil, based on two field studies. We examine the imbrication of racism, sexism and class inequality in their lives and struggles, and in their relationship with the black and feminist movements and workers' unions. While this intersection of social relations produces multiple forms of oppression, it is also a force for the collective struggles of domestic workers, enabling them to form alliances that led to the enactment of a law guaranteeing the category's rights in 2015. However, the intersectional nature of their claims has also led to tensions and conflicts with their allies, which limit the scope of their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]