1. Ch. 2: The Aesthetics of Domination; Class, Culture, and the Lives of Domestic Workers
1.1. Domestic Work in Women
1.1.1. It would have been beneficial for Gloria to know how to speak English and other European languages due to the directions on international foods Dona Beth wanted her to prepare.
1.1.2. Domestic workers, like Gloria, want independence.
1.1.2.1. They want independence from their children relying on them for support.
1.1.3. Women find it extremely difficult to secure decent working-class jobs with adequate pay because of their observable racial and class characteristics.
1.1.4. They work in an economy that rewards Afro-Brazilian women the lowest pay within the highly skewed and unequal Brazilian economy.
1.1.5. Domestic work is readily accessible, one of the lowest paying jobs, and it is filled by Afro-Brazilian women.
1.1.6. Many jobs in Brazil require a good appearance, which is mainly a cover for saying you cannot have dark skin.
1.2. Poverty in Brazil and the Effects
1.2.1. An exchange of labor for wages.
1.2.2. Workers paid low wages and women are entrapped in an economy that cannot absorb them into other sectors.
1.2.3. Labor and slavery connected, almost similar.
1.3. Ambiguous Affections
1.3.1. The author and Dona Beth want to help Soneca and Gloria economically but these attempts were complicated by the effective relations involved. And, there were limitations to how far they could help Soneca and Gloria due to their inevitable racial and social class.
2. Ch. 3: Color-Blind Erotic Democracies, Black Consciousness Politics, and the Black Cinderellas of Felicidade Eterna
2.1. Abortion is used without a second thought for unwanted children.
2.2. Skin color is naturally perceived as an indicator of a class relationship.
2.2.1. Eliana appears to be her grandson's caretaker (baba) because he is lighter skinned.
2.2.2. Lower-class (black) nanny and upper-class (white) child.
2.3. Race, Class and Slavery
2.3.1. Dark skin color and African racial features continue to be associated with slavery and considered ugly.
2.3.2. Although there is no legally sanctioned racism in Brazil, the structures of racism are present in everyday experiences.
2.4. A Black Cinderella
2.4.1. Azeredo was seen by her white assailants as a person not worthy of making others wait and was assaulted for it.
2.4.2. Assumed to be black and poor, but was actually the daughter of a governor.
2.4.3. Seen as Cinderella because her attackers felt they could rightfully throw an imposter out of the ball.
2.4.4. In Brazil, you would have to be a fairy-tale character to be both a governor's daughter and black.
2.5. Coroas
2.5.1. A coroa is a man who is distinguished by age and class or wealth, and is usually white.
2.5.2. Many underprivileged women believed that one of their best opportunities for getting ahead was to seduce an older, richer, whiter man, a coroa.