“Cómo hacerle sin un hombre”: dueñas de cantinas en la Costa Chica de Oaxaca

Abstract

In this article I propose to present, from my field work in the Costa Chica of Oaxaca, Mexico, how the phrase how to do without a man, constantly repeated by women in this area constitutes a form of symbolic domination. Certain women have broken with this internalized belief, demonstrating that it is possible to get ahead without a man and often enjoying greater autonomy and control over their bodies, economies and lives. This is the case of the owners of canteens, women alone, who have made their struggle by going ahead as heads of family.