This study argues that women's gendered experiences record distinctive features of their subordinate yet resilient positions at home and in society. It portrays the work and lives of selected women in a changing peasant fishing community in the Philippines and suggests directions by which power relations implied in their personal, local, and global lives might be more fully grasped. Despite an underlying perception of 'separate spheres' reflected in such local notions of work as pangabuhi and pangita, the women pragmatically pursue 'public' and market-related roles and activities for the immediate 'private' requirements for their households' sustenance and reproduction. Nevertheless, they are less discerning, and thus, less active in negotiating their strategic interests as women. The recommendations underscore the socially constructed character of gender divisions so demystifying the myths that sustain them. Social development projects that assist but not exacerbate the burdens of rural women are also endorsed.

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