Negotiated crossings and mobile identities: Brazilian au pairs navigating tourism, work and precarity in the Netherlands
This work investigates the mobilities of Brazilian au pairs in the Netherlands, focusing on their time use, perceptions, and emotions. The thesis analyzes how the mobility opportunities the Au Pair program provides influence participants' identities. I conducted 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Brazilian au pairs, incorporating participant observation and analyzing virtual forums dedicated to them. Key themes include contemporary mobilities, global care chains, and exchange tourism, which challenge traditional boundaries between tourism and migration, as well as work and leisure. This interplay highlights how the dual roles of au pairs as tourists and workers transform their identities. I examine the shifts in social positioning experienced by Brazilian au pairs in the Netherlands compared to their previous status in Brazil, emphasizing changes in class and race perceptions, referred to as downward mobility and racialised mobility. These identity transformations create challenges in reconciling their roles, necessitating a balance between flexibility and structure in navigating these new forms of travel. While flexibility is crucial, failing to categorize different mobility forms can lead to uncertainties and vulnerabilities for mobile identities. I propose a framework that acknowledges the diverse social roles of au pairs, ensuring that neither tourist nor worker identities are marginalized. The Au Pair program frames itself as a cultural exchange to maintain a non-immigrant status, benefiting the Dutch welfare state by utilizing the invisible labor of au pairs. I recommend enhancing program regulations to better balance work and leisure, aligning with the program's identity as tourism.