"Machos and Witches in Patagonia". Work, Masculinity and Reproduction Space

Abstract

The title “Machos and Witches in Patagonia” illustrates the core debate of this article and attempts to problematize the processes emphasized by social class and gender relations. “Machos” refers to the social construction of the oil worker as imposed by the production system. Meanwhile, “witches” refers to the witch-hunts of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the practice in which women were confined to the domestic sphere and their reproductive role of the workforce. Therefore, we want to analyze the link between the production process of the oil workforce inside the production system and outside of their work experiences in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentinian Patagonia. Given that masculinity and femininity are relational gender positions, we will discuss the role of men and women in the organization of work, as a whole.