NEGOTIATING DUALISMS - WOMEN, LOCALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN OAXACA CITY, MEXICO

This paper examines the validity of the public/private and reproductiv e/productive dichotomies commonly adopted in the analysis of gender an d employment. It considers three aspects of the dualisms: spatial divi sion, activity patterns and the construction of identities. The discus sion is based on fieldwork undertaken in three districts of Oaxaca Cit y, Mexico, between 1992 and 1995. While recognising the usefulness of spatial dualisms within Mexican cities, the paper seeks to identify th e ways in which class and location within the urban space affect the c onstruction of the boundary between ''public'' and ''private'', women' s ''employment'' experiences, and women's identities.