Você é o seu próprio lar e o motor do mundo: o cuidado feminino na engrenagem (in)visível do capital

Abstract

This dissertation aims to understand the relationship between women's care work, carried out in the domestic sphere, as (un)productive labor and the sphere of social reproduction in capitalism, based on a materialist feminist perspective. The research is guided by the following question: how do women from different social groups understand the impacts of care work on the productive sphere? It is based on the premise that this work, although rendered invisible and devalued, is an essential mechanism for the reproduction of the labor force and, consequently, for capitalist accumulation. To this end, a qualitative study with a hermeneutic-dialectical approach was conducted through semi-structured interviews with women from various age groups and social contexts. Data analysis was guided by social reproduction theory and the contributions of materialist feminism, revealing that the feminization of responsibility for care—intertwined with social relations of sex, class, and race—intensifies the overload and precariousness of women's lives. The results indicate that, although care work is central to the maintenance of the capitalist system, it continues to be disregarded as legitimate labor, resulting in the denial of rights, impediments to full autonomy, and the perpetuation of inequality in social relations of sex. This research seeks to contribute to the visibility of care work as a fundamental part of social reproduction, challenging the dichotomy between productive and unproductive labor, and providing support for critical debate.