At Home with Apartheid: The Hidden Landscapes of Domestic Service in Johannesburg

Index

Abie (pseud.), 98 African Americans: as domestics in kitchen spaces, 193n4; migration of, 34–35, 40–41; resistance to Jim Crow laws, 24; southern vs. northern attitudes toward, 147; taking back their own bodies, 195n72;“talking back” of, 195n58; on uniforms , 144. See also slavery African National Congress (ANC), 13 Africans: curfew for, in Johannesburg, 51, 124; familial roots of, 175; land tenure restrictions on, 17, 30, 99; limits on movement of, 37–39, 109–11, 114 (see also apartheid regulations and laws; influx-control measures); oral traditions of, 18–19; polygamous traditions of, 119; right to maintain familial ties, 135;“superfluous,” 144; uniforms indicative of working, 142–44; use of term, 5; whites feared by, 82. See also domestic workers; female workers, African; houses, African; male workers, African; men, African; women, African Afrikaners: as domestic workers, 7, 8–9, 10; English antipathy to, 10; farm workers and (Boers), 149; as madams, 146–50; as police officers, 134; political power and racial policies of, 153–55 agency: hiding people in rooms as, 130–31; nighttime visits and, 112–13; quitting job as, 110; violating house rules and, 157–63, 159; withholding of self as, 61–62; women’s redefinition of relationships as, 131–33. See also resistance Alexandra: dangers of, 79; distance from job site to, 79, 80; housing in, 175 Alice (pseud.), 125 Amy (pseud.), 137 ANC (African National Congress), 13 Anesu (pseud.), 45 Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), 10 Anna (pseud.), 105–6 apartheid: acculturation into, 94–97, 142; Africans as undermining, 2–5, 53, 111, 133–37; Africans’ experience of, 109–11, 157–58; discourse surrounding, 153–56; effects of, generally, 1–2, 13–14, 29, 99; hallmarks of, 6; height of (1960–76), 13; international condemnation of, 148–49, 154–55; played out in multiple landscapes , 173–76; questions about, 22–24; spatialization of, 104–5; women’s journeys in context of, 29. See also racial categorization ; white supremacist ideology apartheid regulations and laws: African land tenure restrictions, 17, 30, 99; alcohol restrictions, 143; back room size and 217 Index Italicized page numbers indicate illustrations and maps. 218 iNdeX apartheid regulations and laws (continued) location, 11–12; black and white children separated by, 104–5; circumvention necessary, 41, 43; cracks in and subversions of, 112–14; departure after retirement , 176; free movement denied in, 37–39, 109–11, 114; history of, 13–14; interracial sport restrictions, 154; location of employment, 1; National Party’s influence on, 37–39; township housing, 30, 38, 118, 131–32, 175; uneven success of, 25; whites’ need for labor out of sync with, 91. See also house rules; influx-control measures apartments: examples of, 7, 125; guarded entries of, 124–25. See also rooftop rooms appearance. See clothing and appearance appliances: cost-effectiveness of worker vs., 67; denied to domestic workers, 67–68, 69, 73, 85, 140; gender roles and, 152, 166; reading instructions and learning to use, 65–66, 68–69, 73, 76; sewing machine of worker, 77. See also consumer goods; electronics architecture. See apartments; built environment ; domestic spaces; floor plans; houses; multiple landscapes; sleeping quarters of domestic workers autism, 92 automobiles: housing changes linked to, 10; sounds of, 136; washing and waxing, 165, 169 Bachelard, Gaston, 4 back rooms: author’s first impressions of, 12–13; broader perspective on, 173–74, 175; children staying in, 102, 103–4; companionship and, 114–15; development of, 10; examples of, 6, 11, 57, 62, 122, 123, 127, 128; exterior details of, 12, 61–62, 62, 119, 122; furnishings and decoration of, 56–59, 126, 127, 128, 136; homemaking skills applied to, 119–20; location of, 11, 11–12, 122, 123; meal preparation in, 88–89; planning for unexpected police raids or employer visits to, 125–29; pre-dinnertime break in, 85; as shebeen (speakeasy), 136; size and layout of, 57; structural defects of, 58. See also rooftop rooms; toilet facilities; visitors to domestic workers backyards and lawns: beauty of, 119; broader perspective on, 173–74; communicating with nearby workers via backyards, 69; door from front yard to, 123; gardens of, 52, 60–61, 166, 169; restrictions on use, 83, 103, 105 Bertha (pseud.), 99 Bophuthatswana: distance from job site to, 79; former workers’ homes in, 179, 181; living and social conditions of, 32–33, 33; location of, 34 Brenda (pseud.), 158, 161–62 built environment: city vs. rural, 48–49; complexity of, 24–25; multiple perspectives of, 133–37; women’s first impressions of city, 39–41; women’s learning to...