This article presents results of a master degree research regarding the condition of women of different social classes who stay home as housewives, going apparently against the "new" female model. We interviewed three housewives from the following social classes: low, medium and high. Discourse analysis of the interviews appointed three categories: (a) the meaning of domestic labor; (b) feminine condition and private life; and (c) satisfaction and (or versus) (de)value (devaluation) of housework. The discourse of the women revealed the weight of the economic reality in the meaning and value they attributed to their functions and status as women.
housewife; social class; gender