When domestic production enters the market it is assumed payment will
be individuated and correspond to the division of labour. However, the
sparse and often ambiguous evidence about payment for women's domesti
c production shows that payment is not necessarily made to the produce
r. Payees for farm butter supplied to a dairy in North Norway were in
some cases the women who made the butter, and in others men, but there
were no clear differences between households which explained why. The
act of payment is more than simply a material transaction, it also ha
s symbolic significance as a ritual marking status. Variations in prac
tice reflect different interpretations of its meaning. When a woman is
payee, either butter production is seen as a sideline, or the payment
is given a different ritual significance. Market transactions do not
inevitably displace previous status relations, but add new means of co
nstructing public statuses and maintaining inequalities.