"I sing to your soft hands of bleach
on Mondays and Tuesdays,
on Wednesdays and Thursdays pricked by the needle,
anointed with garlic and onion.
(Saturday is an extraordinary day:
kitchen cleaning, double shopping,
and around six, varnish on the nails
to go out to a cheap cinema
on the arm of the husband.)"
Angela Figuera de Aymerioch.
Almost everywhere, the bulk of the responsibility for so-called "domestic work" - the daily tasks of cooking, cleaning, and caring for children and other dependent people - continues to fall on women. In addition, they may also be responsible for producing food and other products to meet their family's needs. In general, these responsibilities continue to be assigned to women even after they have joined the public world of paid work.
Much of this work has traditionally been invisible. It has been considered "natural" and therefore "good" for women and it has been taken for granted that it was not necessary to investigate or regulate it. However, these assumptions are beginning to be questioned as women themselves have begun to reveal the reality of their daily lives and rebel against it.
Women assume duties and responsibilities in exchange for the social status of wives, motherhood, protection and possibly financial support. Denis Kandiyoti, a Turkish anthropologist, has described the result of these negotiations as the "patriarchal bargain". The conditions that women can achieve in this "patriarchal bargain" will obviously depend on their social and economic circumstances, as well as the cultural context of their family life.
The most important characteristics of domestic work worldwide are its unlimited hours and its enormous volume, a woman's working day can be endless and many have difficulty separating working hours from those dedicated to rest or "leisure". In fact, women with small children may never be "off duty", as their working day even includes the hours when others are sleeping.
In addition to being exhausting, domestic work can also expose women to more immediate risks to their physical health. Domestic accidents are relatively frequent, especially for older women. Housing conditions have a significant influence on women's health, both directly and indirectly, through their impact on their domestic work. Cleaning a damp and inadequate home requires more work and the humidity itself is associated with a higher incidence of asthma, respiratory conditions and lung problems.
Caring for a house and its inhabitants can bring women into contact with a number of toxic chemicals, but it is becoming increasingly suspected that, as a result of their domestic work, women may be exposed to risks derived from the dangerous chemicals that affect their partners in the workplace. The domestic workplace is not necessarily free from the risks of work in factories. Toxic substances do not become safe simply by crossing the doors of the home.
However, it is not only the physical health of women that can be threatened. In the developed world, there is a growing interest in the psychological risks of domestic work. Several studies have pointed to a particular propensity for anxiety and depression among full-time "housewives", especially when they have small children in their care. The explanations proposed highlight the intrinsic characteristics of domestic work, its low social consideration and the conditions in which it is carried out. Isolation and exclusion from the public sphere have been identified as particularly relevant factors.
The home can be a "heartless" place. Research results reveal that social support is an essential element for the promotion and maintenance of physical and mental health. Women play a central role as sources of support for those close to them, but they themselves often do not receive it from anyone. And, as the poet said: "It seems to you / that you are winning everything / and you are losing everything".
Francisco Arias Solis
