淡水茶室中高齡女性工作者的勞動與能動

Labor and Agency of Middle-aged and elderly Female Workers in Tamsui Hostess Teahouses

茶室工作者及客人的中高齡身分在勞動及互動上經常面臨社會隱形、污名貶抑及情色想像的刻板歧視。本研究旨在探討中高齡女性工作者如何透過勞動身體並建構情感網絡；她們如何以經營者之姿展現女性、中高齡自主的能動性，藉此批判社會對茶室中性別與年齡的刻板印象，對抗污名論述，並創造對話空間。
本研究運用了參與觀察和訪談法。研究結果發現，從臺前到幕後的所有工作都是她們的勞動範疇。茶室空間以及工作／休息時間界線模糊，勞動內容難以切割；且情緒勞動與親密勞動交互滲透，以多層次的勞動展現出「勞動連續體」的狀態。也從性別、年齡與性階層三個視角出發，展現茶室工作者在結構性限制下的能動性，包括翻轉「頭家娘」的角色定義，建立人際網絡，以及展現經營者的生存策略。綜合來看，她們肩負著在父權體制與父系社會下的多重照顧角色，同時也透過心態轉變與互動技巧，巧妙應對茶室內的宰制關係。
透過深入了解茶室工作者的經歷與從業過程，本研究開展更多對中高齡勞動女性在年齡、性別與階級交織下的描述與理解。

The middle-aged and elderly identities of both teahouse workers and patrons often face societal invisibility, stigma, and stereotypical discrimination, which are influenced by sexualized imagery in their labor and interactions. This study aims to understand how middle-aged and elderly female workers express their labor and build emotional networks. It also explores how they, in their roles as operators, demonstrate agency and autonomy related to their gender and age. Additionally, the study seeks to critique societal stereotypes about gender and age in teahouses, challenge stigmatizing narratives, and create space for dialogue.
The study employs participant observation and interviews. Findings reveal that the scope of their labor encompasses both frontstage and backstage activities, with blurred boundaries between teahouse space and work/rest time. Labor is difficult to compartmentalize. Emotional labor and intimate labor are interwoven, creating a multi-layered labor practice that manifests as a ’’labor continuum’’. From the perspectives of gender, age, and sexual hierarchy, the study highlights how teahouse workers exercise agency under structural constraints, including redefining the roles of ’’teahouse madam’’ and building interpersonal networks to showcase survival strategies. It also synthesizes their multiple caregiving roles under the expectations of patriarchal and patriarchal societies and demonstrates how they navigate domination through mindset transformation and interaction skills.
By deeply exploring the experiences and processes of teahouse workers, this study contributes to a richer understanding of middle-aged and elderly females at the intersection of age, gender, and class.