"Mujeres en la venta": família e relações de gênero na fronteira amazônica - Brasil e Peru

Abstract

This work is a reflection on the themes of gender and Family on the amazon frontier region between Peru and Brazil, specifically in the municipalities of Benjamin Constant (Brazil) and Islândia (Peru), through the accounts of “mujeres en la venta”. In this frontier region l’ve followed the journey of my interlocutors – four Peruvian women living in the municipality of Islândia, between the years of 2017 and 2018. With that in mind, I’ve conducted interviews, applied questionnaires, observed and followed their ways, describing the dynamic of day-to-day life and the process of buying and selling, as well as the circulation of goods. I’ve tried to map the families of the interlocutors based on blood ties and alliances, resorting to the analysis of their family tree, as well as the description of the relation between family members, including children, parents, siblings, spouses and ex-spouses. I’ve tried to understand how these women see themselves, given that of the four, three are not married and pay the bills though the purchase and sale of products, although they do not believe this act makes them sellers or storekeepers, and instead self-identify as “ama de casa”, which would translate to something like a housekeeper. The only one who affirms herself as a seller is the one who already raised her children into adulthood. Categories like gender were used to analyze these relations, specially the sale of goods, emphasizing the relational logic that intertwines the family’s organization, in conjunction with the “ama de casa” identity. Besides discussions on the subjects of gender and work, this research also deals with themes like women’s empowerment and self-sufficient women.