She feels that she is a professional, doing as dignified a job as we, her employers, are, and feels this not just in words but also in actions and attitudes. Trust me, our lady is more comfortable and happy working for us than with anybody who she calls senior/seniora and who call (and treat) her 'muchacha'. Can not agree to 'when in Rome do as Romans" in Mexico as this society, in my personal opinion, is far from examplary in their values and attitudes. We carry our (universal, timeless, egalitarian) values whether we are in Communist China, muslim Jordan or undecided Mexico. I also kept asking her not to call me 'seniora', and also kept calling her 'seniora' in return, until she started calling me by my name.
So I call ours a "helper lady" or a "house helper" (when refering to her with others or referring to other people's helpers) in English only, & after a few times everybody understood & remembered it. Would your house worker's teenage daughter be proud to tell her mates: 'my mum is a muchacha at some Brit's home'? No. I had a very strong gut feeling (even before I could say a word in Spanish) that 'muchacha' is not a dignified title for anyone working hard to make our life comfortable and clean. But are we, or should we be Ok with it? Not really, not in my world, or my house. And, yes, sadly, these hardworking, humble, dependent ladies "accept and are ok with it". YES, muchacha is derogatory and it might even be 'Ok' for locals to call this. VIVA MI PATRIAAA, ARGENTINA TE AMO UN ALMA DE SEDA :'Portal de entrada al Alma. I'm one of the "old-hands", or so I think, as each year counts for 3 in Mexico City for me. Mi patria es una muchacha - JOSE ANGEL TRELLES- 9 DE JULIO. Interesting discussion - thanks for asking the Q.
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