Rosemary Mulvey

Professor Turkon
Cultural Anthropology
3 November 2016

Hidden Heads of Households Reflection

1. Causes that can be attributed to the situations of the poor

children in the study include classism, extreme poverty, and lack of

education. Together, these three causes create the never ending cycle

of child labor and exploitation which supports all areas of the economy

within Brazil and in part the global economy. Classism separates the

poor literally with concrete walls with glass shards on top. The poor

live separate from the upper classes in favelas that no one would deem

as acceptable living spaces. Often, their families have lived in the

same favela for generations, so the poverty associated with them is

deeply rooted. Some families even need to live in dumps in order to

scavenge and clean trash to sell for them to sustain their families.

Living in these conditions for generations, families are put into a cycle

which creates the extreme poverty of the lives of these children. No

one for generations has been able to work enough to afford what they

need to live, so children must help. Children work, grow, and have their

own children who are in turn expected to work the same jobs as their

parents did. This was the case with Gloria, one of the women Kenny

interviewed. Often children bring in the most money, so their

contributions are strictly necessary. The lack of education also prevents

them from making a substantial stand for their rights. Most people
dont know their rights or know much about their government, so they

think they do not have anything to say, as one of Kennys neighbors

commented while they watched a mayoral candidate. Most people

dont even know how to form an opinion about someone because they

are illiterate or feel inferior or that they dont know anything and

therefore have nothing to say. Candidates buy people, and candidates

have to, (28-29). These conditions are likely global. Corruption,

classism, poverty, and lack of education are universal problems that

are faced by many countries around the globe. When given an

opportunity to support their families financially, child labor seems like

an obvious way to not starve because it works and there are no other

solutions for the family.

2. In my opinion, this study was not as problematic as others

discussed such as the situation with the US graduate student who

harassed people with questions. Also Kenny being conscious of the

problems with exploitation also helped to alleviate some of the

problems. Kenny also stayed in contact over the years with the people

she studied and did not abandon them like others which were

mentioned by some of the people she interviewed. While Kenny

needed to protect herself and not let anyone take advantage of her,

she did try not to exploit the participants in her study. She could not fix

all of the problems in their lives, but she treated the people she met
with dignity and like people and didnt abandon them or ignore their

needs.

3. Global tourism provides more jobs for the children, but the cost

of the jobs is great. From tourist guides to prostitutes, children and girls

take advantage of the tourism industry. Often the children have to

leave school to work in these jobs, especially as tour guides when they

need to devote whole days to their tourists. The pay is good in

comparison to other things they could be doing, especially for the

people who partake in sex work and companionship for tourists. Kenny

describes how girls could form relationships with western tourists that

could continue for years with them living with and taking care of the

houses of the tourists and potentially marrying them and moving to

Europe. Many of the girls who do this prefer even the loneliness and

crummy jobs in Europe over life in a favela. While the work they do has

problematic elements ex. sex work, swindling, and violence against

each other and tourists in the eyes of the children, they view global

tourism as an overall positive because it provides new opportunities for

them.

4. I believe to some extent that the children are agents in their

work. They make decisions about how and what work will bring in the

most money and work pretty much independently from adults.

However, they are not agents in the sense that they are choosing to
work themselves. They work out of necessity under the threat of

domestic violence and starvation. Poverty makes their work necessary

to sustain their families. The children understand their situation and

want to make changes to their lives. While I do not think letting

children who have not had a complete education craft legislation is a

particularly good idea, I do think that their important and expertise in

their own lives is important in making policies that directly affect them

and their families. They are acutely aware of their needs and the

realities of their situations and if their government worked with them

instead of trying to suppress them, policies that are actually beneficial

could be created. I think the same idea works with street kids who are

systematically killed for existing. If the government, instead of ignoring

them or worse, actually tried to help their situations in ways that did

not endanger them more (like the system that has already been

implemented) then perhaps everyones situations could be handled.

5. I do not think that globalization can eliminate child labor or make

it more fair. Change needs to come from within the country for it to be

lasting and worthwhile. While pressure can be put on countries from

international organizations like UNICEF and the UN, reforms and social

change cannot be forced onto populations. Brazil is a large country and

it would require a lot of effort to change their entire economic and

social structure, but it would not be the first time such a revolution

occurred in a similar situation. Brazil relies on child labor to some

extent to keep the country afloat economically, and the majority of

child labor occurs under the radar. While they could create stricter

legislation, it would end up doing more harm than good to those who

rely on the incomes of children to live when it is taken away. The adults

in these situations need to be more economically stable before child

labor no longer becomes an option. I think one program in particular

that I have read about that pays children and their families to go to

school would be beneficial should the country wish to make the drastic

change to eliminate child labor. Overall, I think change should be

encouraged globally to eliminate child labor in all countries, but the

change needs to come from within to make it work for their

populations.