Untidy Gender

Gul Ozyegin is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at the College of William and Mary.

"A sophisticated and sensitive text on domestic service in Turkey that singles itself out by a powerful account of the micro-sociology of power. It engages the reader in much broader debates about the mutual relations of class and gender, the role of patriarchal controls in shaping informal female labor markets and the management of status differentials by women in their daily lives. An important scholarly contribution written in a lucid and accessible style."-Deniz Kandiyoti, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London "Untidy Gender makes contributions to a large number of debates in several social science fields and sub-fields. And it does so on an extraordinarily sound methodological base: Ozyegin was able to construct a random sample for her 'women in the basement.' This is the gold standard of research, and may be unique in the research annals of studies of domestic workers."-Rae Lesser Blumberg, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia "This original book sheds new light on the dynamics of modernity and newly constituted urban identities. Through a careful ethnographic study of paid domestic work, Ozyegin illuminates the varied ways in which relations of class and gender inequalities are shaped and maintained. American audiences interested in rural-urban migrants, in intersectionalities of race, class, and gender, and in identities, power, and resistance in the workplace will find some of the most compelling ethnography and many valuable theoretical nuggets in this book."-Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Southern California

• Acknowledgments 1. The View from Downstairs 2. Husbands, Households, and Other Determinants of Women's Work 3. Neither Maids Nor Cleaners 4. Intimate Weapons of the Weak 5. The Domestic Work of Maids, Mothers, and Men 6. Earning Power and Women's Prerogative 7. Conclusion Appendix: Sampling Procedures Notes References Index