“I hardly see the husband”: Noticing the absence of men in paid domestic labour research

Amy Jo Murray, Kevin Durrheim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Feminist scholars have focused on paid domestic labour as a site of gendered inequalities structured by race, gender, class, and citizenship. However, men are largely absent from feminist intersectional understandings of everyday interactions within paid domestic labour. This paper draws on an interview study of South African domestic workers focusing on their talk about interactions with male employers. The analysis demonstrates that talk about routines of the physical and symbolic absence of men can become normalised within domestic labour discourse. This is a narrative that is only brought to light once men's (lack of) presence is made a topic. The conspicuous absence of analyses of this kind within paid domestic labour studies points to unfinished and troubling feminist projects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)328-346
Number of pages19
JournalFeminism and Psychology
Volume34
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2024

Keywords

  • South Africa
  • absence
  • paid domestic labour
  • patriarchy
  • silence

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gender Studies
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • General Psychology

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