Trabalhos de agulha e a pandemia da Covid-19 no Brasil: mulheres na produção de máscaras artesanais

Abstract

The present research investigates the labor of women from Paraíba in the production of handmade masks during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. With the advancement of the pandemic throughout the territory and the Federal Government's omission in the face of care policies, the phenomenon of the production of masks has spread to the point of becoming one of the symbolic elements of this new contextual singularity as an artifact that seeks to reduce the contamination risks. Needlework has historically been assimilated to a craft characteristic of women, in which sewing is presented as an element of social reproduction and also a potential income generator. From this, the research aims to discuss how needlework related to the sewing of handmade masks can be thought, meanings and resignifications considering the pandemic context from the markers of gender, class, race and generation. The research methodology was qualitative, based on semi-structured interviews carried out with women producers of fabric masks living in João Pessoa and metropolitan cities, and in the hybrid modality, with the interviews carried out online or in person based on the demands of the interlocutors, social isolation needs and ethical biosecurity measures. In the pandemic context, the intersection of working at home with homework not only points to issues related to the precariousness and flexibility of women's time and labor, but also crosses the various types of work with the illness of bodies.