ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how individuality, always embedded into the processes of cultural distinction, is expressed through the intricate relationship between women's work (care work, unregistered or registered labour) and leisure. Individuality is ‘earned’ and expressed through the exhibition of a high level of responsibility, which is a key mechanism in (re)formulation and demonstration of respectability and is central to the regulation of leisure. The chapter displays when and for whom a work (be it informal labour or care work) becomes ‘leisurely’, and how this ‘leisurely’ work is propertised in acquiring value. The first section of the chapter elaborates on the widespread exploitation of women's informal labour by defining these works as ‘leisure/ly’. The second section focuses on care work. A point worth highlighting is that the new middle class perceive childcare as ‘leisurely’ despite the clear inequalities they are subject to.
