The long-term "informal care" at the context of the ideological, societal and gender construction of the social care

Abstract

In the present article the autor makes a critical review of the definition and content of the long-term "informal care" provided in the field of family care. The reasons for applying it the appellation of "informal" relate to their proximity and linkage to the house-reproductive "work", that like a "women question" it remains invisible and unpaid, so his "nonformalization” means strengthening this feature of gender inequality. The normative frame in which this imaginary is based on the assumption that the nurturance and care are primarily the responsibility and competence of women ("familiarization" and "ethic of care"). The autor concludes with a proposal to integrate the dichotomies that face the "formal" and the "informal" and the paid and unpaid care work: the social care