Abstract

GALARZA, Bárbara. Crazy cleaning ladies and industrious bodily techniques in a working class village. Cuad. antropol. soc. [online]. 2019, n.50, pp.107-124.  Epub Dec 19, 2019. ISSN 1850-275X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.34096/cas.i50.5375.

Despite its presence in everyday life, the cultural production associated with the vernacular figure of loca de la limpieza -the crazy cleaning lady- is a scarcely studied phenomenon in Latin America. In an attempt to contribute to this vacancy, I research with an ethnographic approach the way in which industrial working class women are trained in body techniques to become cleaning experts. The work is divided in three parts. Firstly, I define the training in these bodily techniques as an embodied practice associated with distress. Secondly, I describe some of the instances in which women learn cleaning up methods. Thirdly, I demonstrate that learning to clean is considered accomplished when women acquire tactile, olfactory and visually informed dispositions that allow them to feel dirt in their own bodies. Finally, I link loca de la limpieza identity to the productive system in which it is lived as social praxis.

Keywords : Bodily techniques; Industrious techniques; Vernacular distress; Crazy cleaning ladies; Working class village.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )