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488:. Maids in South Africa were referred to as domestic servants and they included men, women, and children. They were subject to low wages, lack of a social life, unfavorable working conditions, and even unaccommodating work hours. The Afrikaans word for a mite (small arachnid) has been used demeaningly to refer to women of colour. The English word for a friend, "mate", is also avoided for this reason.
424:
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180:, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids are now typically only found in the wealthiest households. In other parts of the world (mainly within the continent of Asia), maids remain common in urban middle-class households.
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Legislation in many countries makes certain living conditions, working hours, or minimum wage a requirement of domestic service. Nonetheless, the work of a maid has always been hard, involving a full day, and extensive duties. Maids would be familiar with hard work and typically worked long hours in
513:
Maids traditionally have a fixed position in the hierarchy of the large households, and although there is overlap between definitions (dependent on the size of the household) the positions themselves would typically be rigidly adhered to. The usual classifications of maid in a large household are:
351:
As the end of the nineteenth century neared, the relationship between employer and servant grew more and more distant and they were less loyal. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a decline in the want for maids and other servants entirely, which has led to today when the majority of
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of servants stretched up to the housekeeper and butler, responsible for female and male employees respectively. It was the best and most common way that women could earn money, especially lower class women. The word "maid" itself means an unmarried young woman or virgin. Domestic workers,
333:
Some households employed maids-of-all-work as young as twelve in the 19th century in
England and they often worked from five in the morning until late in the evening on a wage of £6 to £9 per year. They had no free time and typically only had one or two days off in a month.
560:: also an "upstairs maid", but one who worked in the children's nursery, maintaining fires, cleanliness, and good order. Reported to the nanny rather than the housekeeper. The nursemaid would often stay with one family for years or as long as their services were needed.
584:: the lowest grade of "below stairs" maid, reporting to the cook, the scullery maids were responsible for washing cutlery, crockery, and glassware, and scrubbing kitchen floors, as well as monitoring ovens while kitchen maids ate their own supper.
608:; as the work involved the supply of alcohol, cosmetics, medicines, and cooking ingredients across all departments of the house, the still room maids were part of the "between staff", jointly answerable to all three department heads.
532:
House-maid or housemaid: a generic term for maids whose function was chiefly "above stairs", and were usually a little older, and better paid. Where a household included multiple housemaids, the roles were often subdivided as below.
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330:, were expected to remain unmarried while in service. They had their own section of rooms in the house, though they were far away from the other rooms and weren’t anywhere near as nice as the rest of the house.
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337:
In
Victorian England, all middle-class families would have "help", but for most small households, this would be only one employee, the maid of all work, often known colloquially as "the girl".
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Under kitchen maid: where multiple kitchen maids were employed, these were the staff who prepared vegetables, peeled potatoes, and assisted in presentation of finished cooking for serving.
978:
1034:
301:
In less developed nations, various factors ensure a labour source for domestic work: very large differences in the income of urban and rural households, widespread poverty, fewer
590:, sometimes known as a "tweeny": roughly equivalent in status to scullery maids, and often paid less, between maids in a large household waited on the senior servants (
196:. These meanings lived on in English until recent times (and are still familiar from literature and folk music), alongside the sense of the word as a type of servant.
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caused by long periods spent on the knees for purposes of scrubbing and fire-lighting, leading to the condition attracting the colloquial name of "housemaid's knee".
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Head house-maid: the senior house maid, reporting to the housekeeper. (Also called "house parlour maid" in an establishment with only one or two upstairs maids).
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In some areas in the region, the word "maid" is avoided. This is most likely due to the fact that it sounds like a racially derogatory term in
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Laundry maid: they maintained bedding and towels. They also washed, dried, and ironed clothes for the whole household, including the servants.
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247:. In some poor countries, maids take care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Many maids are required by their employers to wear a
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One of the most in-depth and enduring representations of the lives of several types of maid was seen in the 1970s television drama
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Under house parlour maid: the general deputy to the house parlour maid in a small establishment that had only two upstairs maids.
38:
369:
945:
Domestic
Service and the Formation of European Identity: Understanding the Globalization of Domestic Work, 16th-21st Centuries
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402:
in large numbers to work as maids or other roles of domestic service, and are often vulnerable to multiple forms of abuse. An
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529:, and accompanied her lady on travel. She took care of her mistress's clothes and hair, and sometimes served as confidante.
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543:, and sometimes also dinner. They tidied studies and libraries, and (with footmen) answered bells calling for service.
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Chamber maid: they cleaned and maintained the bedrooms, ensured fires were lit in fireplaces, and supplied hot water.
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Parlour maid: they cleaned and tidied reception rooms and living areas by morning, and often served refreshments at
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598:) and were therefore answerable to all three department heads, often leading to friction in their employment.
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and his family with an Indian maid, painted 1765. As she appears to be caring for the child, she may be an
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Head kitchen maid: where multiple kitchen maids were employed, the "head kitchen maid" was effectively a
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840:"The domestic balance of power: Relations between mistress and maid in nineteenth-century new England"
1103:"Madams and Maids in Southern Africa: coping with uncertainties, and the art of mutual zombification"
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in
Mandarin) works as a domestic helper in China, and occasionally provides personalized childcare.
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1050:"Saudi Arabia's treatment of foreign workers under fire after beheading of Sri Lankan maid"
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was often the only staff. It is possible this word originates from the
Italian for slave ("
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566:: a "below stairs" maid who reported to the cook, and assisted in running the kitchens.
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1025:""As If I Am Not Human" - Abuses against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia"
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1076:"'Bad Dreams:' Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia"
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series, set in
England between 1912 and 1926 and shown from 2010 onward.
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between 1903 and 1936. The lives of maids were well represented in the
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919:"Life Below Stairs: Life as a Maid-of-all Work in Victorian England"
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were women working at the mines of
Cornwall, at smashing ore &c.
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meant an unmarried woman, especially a young one, or specifically a
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243:, although there are more specific occupations for this, such as
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1078:. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Archived from
904:"The Maid's Room: Inception, Obsolescence, and Transfiguration"
781:
417:
43:
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particularly those low in the hierarchy, such as maids and
266:). Many services historically provided by maids have been
994:"Domestic servants and households in Victorian England"
72:
761:"Occupations: census returns for 1851, 1861 and 1871"
656:, a 1906 satire about French maids going on strike
317:Maids were once part of an elaborate hierarchy in
37:"Chambermaid" redirects here. For other uses, see
797:dialect "maid" is commonly used to mean "girl";
521:: a senior servant who reported directly to the
239:, and caring for household pets. They may also
298:have enabled robots to perform domestic work.
223:Maids perform typical domestic chores such as
1266:
621:
57:The examples and perspective in this article
8:
452:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
1273:
1259:
1251:
262:, employed directly or through an agency (
1129:A Parlour Maid's timetable is summarised
971:"Housemaid's Knee (Prepatellar Bursitis)"
472:Learn how and when to remove this message
99:Learn how and when to remove this message
1048:Chamberlain, Gethin (13 January 2013).
890:An Essay on the Principle of Population
752:
340:Historically, many maids suffered from
199:The concept of a maid has developed in
1012:– via Taylor and Francis Online.
726:Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
525:of the house, but ranked beneath the
374:Today, foreign women are employed in
366:Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
7:
1367:Cleaning and maintenance occupations
833:
831:
612:In more modest households, a single
450:adding citations to reliable sources
1101:Nyamnjoh, Francis (February 2005).
1074:Human Rights Watch (14 July 2004).
1037:from the original on Nov 21, 2022.
981:from the original on Oct 15, 2022.
942:Fauve-Chamoux, Antoinette (2004).
771:from the original on Nov 15, 2022.
362:Migrant workers in the Gulf region
25:
1236:
1224:
1212:
812:"A day in the life of a servant"
604:: a junior maid employed in the
422:
48:
370:Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia
917:Jeffers, Regina (2020-02-07).
838:Lasser, Carol (January 1987).
679:The American television drama
1:
1241:The dictionary definition of
1158:"Victorian Servants Category"
700:-nominated television series
235:the house, grocery shopping,
135:
132:Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta
1023:Varia, Nisha (7 July 2008).
969:Tidy, Colin (28 June 2020).
902:Moreira, Ana; Farias, Hugo.
816:National Trust for Scotland
696:The main characters in the
75:, discuss the issue on the
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61:the English-speaking world
36:
29:
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1010:10.1080/03071028308567561
856:10.1080/00236568700890011
352:people don’t have maids.
344:, an inflammation of the
296:artificial intelligence
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63:and do not represent a
1229:Quotations related to
992:Higgs, Edward (1983).
685:, set in the 1880s in
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622:
510:
157:
145:
120:
117:William Thomas Smedley
27:Female domestic worker
1281:Modern cleaning roles
706:are four housemaids.
652:
634:Further information:
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241:take care of children
151:
126:
114:
32:Maid (disambiguation)
1362:Gendered occupations
1221:at Wikimedia Commons
1188:"Victorian Servants"
1162:Victorian Life Style
1133:extract from a book.
923:Every Woman Dreams..
663:Upstairs, Downstairs
446:improve this section
400:United Arab Emirates
342:prepatellar bursitis
254:In the contemporary
81:create a new article
73:improve this article
59:deal primarily with
30:For other uses, see
1146:. 15 November 2018.
654:La Grève des bonnes
626:"—"owned person").
594:, housekeeper, and
292:emerging technology
152:A maid cleaning in
1030:Human Rights Watch
698:NAMIC Vision Award
658:
630:In popular culture
571:deputy to the cook
511:
274:coordinating with
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1217:Media related to
955:978-3-03910-589-2
765:The Victorian Web
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346:prepatellar bursa
276:autonomous robots
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83:, as appropriate.
16:(Redirected from
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1194:. Archived from
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1233:at Wikiquote
1196:the original
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1181:
1170:. Retrieved
1166:the original
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1144:"nursemaids"
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1080:the original
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1057:. Retrieved
1054:The Guardian
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975:Patient.info
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588:Between maid
564:Kitchen maid
558:Nursery maid
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501:George Clive
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462:October 2022
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319:great houses
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286:. While the
264:maid service
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850:(1): 5–22.
799:Bal maidens
731:French maid
636:French maid
527:housekeeper
519:Lady's maid
290:remains an
280:Amazon Dash
272:IoT devices
268:substituted
219:Description
170:maidservant
143: 1900
139: 1890
128:La Toilette
1341:Categories
1172:2012-08-04
1086:14 January
1059:14 January
928:2023-05-25
821:2023-05-25
747:References
606:still room
360:See also:
215:servants.
141: – c.
864:0023-656X
721:Charwoman
666:, set in
486:Afrikaans
433:does not
392:Hong Kong
388:Singapore
176:. In the
166:housemaid
89:June 2015
77:talk page
1035:Archived
979:Archived
878:Essay XI
784:, "Maid"
769:Archived
710:See also
309:a week.
260:cleaners
233:cleaning
71:You may
1311:Janitor
1296:Cleaner
1117:"hours"
892:, p.139
741:Servant
736:Janitor
716:Au pair
668:England
623:schiavo
454:removed
439:sources
328:footmen
323:retinue
249:uniform
237:cooking
229:ironing
225:laundry
156:in 1912
154:Denmark
1291:Butler
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592:butler
380:Kuwait
368:, and
313:Europe
284:Roomba
205:sci-fi
194:virgin
119:, 1906
1357:Maids
1321:Valet
492:Types
396:Japan
384:Qatar
270:with
245:nanny
201:anime
168:, or
79:, or
18:Maids
1316:Maid
1244:maid
1231:Maid
1219:Maid
1088:2013
1061:2013
950:ISBN
860:ISSN
596:cook
523:lady
437:any
435:cite
408:aunt
398:and
356:Asia
282:and
211:and
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185:Maid
162:maid
1006:doi
852:doi
793:In
782:OED
691:era
616:or
506:aya
448:by
404:ayi
188:in
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