This chapter analyses the growing numbers of international migrant domestic workers employed by Italian families, explaining why the Italian case is noteworthy even to scholars not especially interested in Italy. It will explain the reasons for this growing presence and will provide readers with data on the numbers and nationalities of the women and men working in this sector. The main focus of the chapter will be on the contradiction between the efforts made by the Italian authorities to control the national frontiers and thus prevent undesired immigration, and the care needs of Italian families. While one’s house is often conceived of as a close space of intimacy, in the last decades it has actually (and paradoxically) been for a large numbers of Italians the main arena of encounters with foreigners.
Open Houses versus Closed Borders: Migrant Domestic Workers in Italy. A Gendered Perspective (1950s–2010s)
SARTI, RAFFAELLA
2016
Abstract
This chapter analyses the growing numbers of international migrant domestic workers employed by Italian families, explaining why the Italian case is noteworthy even to scholars not especially interested in Italy. It will explain the reasons for this growing presence and will provide readers with data on the numbers and nationalities of the women and men working in this sector. The main focus of the chapter will be on the contradiction between the efforts made by the Italian authorities to control the national frontiers and thus prevent undesired immigration, and the care needs of Italian families. While one’s house is often conceived of as a close space of intimacy, in the last decades it has actually (and paradoxically) been for a large numbers of Italians the main arena of encounters with foreigners.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
