Street sale of pulque and sociospatial practices: A gender perspective in central Mexico

Background: Pulque is an agave (agave salmiana) alcoholic beverage, with a high nutritional content, which is part of the diet and ritual life of different ethnic groups in central Mexico. Since pre-Hispanic times, it has been commercialized and consumed in street markets. There is limited knowledge about the strategies that women who sell pulque use to face the mechanisms of exclusion, discrimination and control established for the sale of pulque. The objective of this paper is to analyze, with a gender perspective, the socio-spatial practices that are reproduced in the sale of pulque in central Mexico. Methods: Through an inductive method, empirical evidence was gathered to understand the social practices related to gender, which affect the material and symbolic continuity of pulque. A qualitative case study was carried out in a street market in central Mexico. The case was selected according to the following criteria: i) it is a market with a historical depth close to 200 years; ii) it is considered the largest street market in Latin America; iii) it has a large number of buyers and sellers; and iv) it has an important offer of ethnic foods. Data was collected between 2016 and 2017. Results: Motivational, experiential and discursive differences were found in the ways that the public space is used between women and men who sell pulque in the largest street market in Mexico. Women and men continue to practice forms of sale and consumption of pulque that deepen asymmetric power relations and exacerbate socio-spatial segregation. Despite the persistence of exclusionary practices between genders, the role played by women is fundamental in the economic and cultural reproduction of ethnic foods such as pulque. Conclusions: The perspective of feminist geography allow us to understand the differences between men and women who share the same space, showing how those socio-spatial gender practices, generate processes of marginalization and inequalities that almost always disadvantage women. It is expected that this document will be useful for the pulque sellers and will serve to recognize the female work that allows the maintenance of ethnic alimentary patterns, in order to implement fair and inclusive spatial policies. Keywords: central Mexico, ethnic foods, feminist geography, social segregation, street market