To be a young woman in Melchor Romero

Spatial practices, mobility and violence from a gender perspective

Abstract

In this paper, I aim to explore some experiences of young women from popular sectors, to analyze their spatial practices, mobility, and especially, the different forms of violence they suffer in their neighborhoods. Based on an ethnographic work conducted through participant observation and interviews to young residents of Melchor Romero, this analysis shows some rules, expectations and sex/gender/desire regulations that fall on young women, but also its various forms of agency and the tensions around the ways to be a young woman in these neighborhoods.