An occupational folklife study of women's housework in St. Lunaire-Griquet, Newfoundland

Carroll, Kayla (2015) An occupational folklife study of women's housework in St. Lunaire-Griquet, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis examines women’s housework in St. Lunaire-Griquet, Newfoundland and Labrador, through the lens of occupational folklife and feminist folkloristics. I argue that despite many social, technological, and economic changes, women consistently remain responsible for housework in the community. In examining the women’s contemporary cleaning using McCarl’s concept of canon of work technique, I trace the “work” of housework both spatially and temporally, documenting the daily, weekly, and annual/semi-annual tasks in each room. I argue that housework requires a complex system of conceptual planning that dictates what I call the hierarchy of chore importance. I also examine personal experience narratives women tell about their housework, arguing that their narratives position women within a framework of gendered labor, maintain social relationships, and contribute to their sense of self and occupational identity. I end by presenting my concept of the Clean Continuum, a useful tool in conceptualizing the positive and negative connotations evidenced by their housework that get associated with women, and the greater implications for the community.

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