“O serviço que não aparece”: a divisão sexual do trabalho e as formas de agenciamento de mulheres camponesas em Jaguari-RS

Abstract

This work aims, through ethnographic analysis, to present the daily life of peasant women from the community of Rincão dos Alves, interior of the city of Jaguari, central region of Rio Grande do Sul and who are part of the collective “Grupo de Mulheres”. Jaguari was the aim of European immigration between the years 1888 to 1906, which means part of the population that resides there is formed by descendants of immigrants. The peasants of the community of Rincão dos Alves are descendants of German, Polish and Italian immigrants who nowadays call themselves colonists, thus forming an ethnic group that claims for themselves a different ethnic origin. In properties that have an average of 25 hectares of land, the main source of income for families in this community has been the tobacco production in the last 20 years. This dissertation aims to present the work dynamics of women in this environment, highlighting their arduous routine and daily lives. On one hand, It seeks to present how work is carried out in the so-called reproductive activities that occur around the domestic sphere. These activities are considered of female dominance and responsibility. On the other hand, it also focus on the active participation of these peasant women in the productive activities, in the case of cultivation of tobacco, marked by hard work. In both fields, the work done by women do not receive collective acknowledgment. In the general context of family farming, all members are dedicated to the productive sphere. However, due to patriarchal logic that tends to favor men, based on the idea of the father/boss/owner, they manage the property, the work itself, as well as the gains from them. Due to this logic, women are reserved the position of subordination that implies non-recognition of their functions, but still deprives them of the administration of the so-called family assets, thus undermining their autonomy. Therefore, the objective is to highlight the forms of agency of these peasant women, that is, the forms of resistance that they adopt in their daily lives, aiming at obtaining a gain that is, in fact, considered theirs. To this end, they commercialize products such as cheese, jams, eggs and other products that arise from activities that are considered to be in the female domain, but gradually tend to overcome the boundaries of strongly structured gender roles in the peasant world.