Imigração brasileira nas cadeias globais de cuidado: um estudo sobre Au Pairs brasileiras na Holanda

Abstract

This text aims to present an investigation into the dynamics of new international migration processes, focused on the apprehension of care as an expression of a new form of international division of service work, based on the study of experiences lived by Brazilians as Au Pairs in the Netherlands between the years 2008 to 2012 and 2018 to 2022. I understand this cultural exchange program as an expression of care work relationships, as the exchange migrant is responsible for domestic work and child care in the host family. Thus, the apprehension of the different motivations, meanings, strategies and interests of the subjects that pervade the migratory dynamics, marked by various social inequalities present in this process (gender, class, race, nationality, among others) is considered a sociological problem. The proposed research follows a qualitative methodology based on mediated and multi-sited research, both on platforms that make up online social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Youtube, as well as in offline environments that make up the daily lives of research subjects and companies that offer Au Pair services (agencies, language school, etc.). Procedures such as semi-direct interviews and observations of posts on electronic pages related to the theme “Au Pair in Holland” (blogs, agency websites, etc.) were carried out. For data analysis, I use gender, care, international migration, work/family reconciliation policies as a theoretical framework, in order to present a discussion of how this exchange program intersects work and consumer relations.