Children and Care Labor in Turkey. Intersectional Inequalities of Gender, Class, and “Age”

The role of children in care labor within the family has been largely overlooked by social reproduction theory and feminist literature. By applying an intersectional approach and considering the gendered position of children, it becomes essential to revisit social reproduction theory by incorporating girls’ social reproductive labor. The inclusion of girls’ domestic care labor introduces the category of age that intersects with gender and class in the theory and sheds light on the complex dynamics of social reproduction. In this context, the chapter explores the multiple vulnerabilities arising from social reproductive labor, specifically focusing on girls’ domestic care labor in Turkey. The analysis is based on a qualitative study conducted with girls who are engaged in sibling care in Istanbul. Utilizing the conceptual framework of “depletion through social reproduction” proposed by Rai et al. (Int Fem J Polit 16(1):86-105, 2014), the study demonstrates that care labor reinforces gendered dynamics within the realms of childhood, affects participation in childhood spaces and places physical and emotional burdens on girls. The absence of social resources related to care at the macro-level, such as the shortage of accessible childcare services, intensifies the burden of domestic care labor on girls at the micro-level. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024, corrected publication 2024.