Patriarchy and women's multidimensional agency: A case study of a Mexican sending village

Abstract

This article examines women's multidimensional agency. It argues that in the context of international migration, the complexity of women's agency is highlighted when women, embedded within a patriarchal structure, adapt, negotiate, resist, and/or transform the meaning of the schemas or normative orientations that compose this structure as they address existing economic or affective stresses. Drawing from a qualitative case study of women in a Mexican sending village, we contend that women's multidimensional agency is highlighted as women's responsibility of motherhood (i.e. “motherhood” schema) drives their participation in the labor market (i.e. “fatherhood” schema) as an extension of caring for their children. In addition, we argue that within a constraining patriarchal context, the multifaceted interpretation and reprioritization of the patriarchal schemas, and the resulting blurring of private and public spaces, create both added stresses (e.g. gendered regulation, mobility constraints, and self-doubt) as well as empowering and liberating experiences for women.