Un/Identifying reflexive subjects: The case of women in paid domestic work in Mexico

Abstract

Theories of reflexive modernization are still at the centre of a heated debate regarding the possibilities of social transformation through agency and the reflexive capacity of individuals to work on themselves through the construction of their own biographies and certainties. However, when it comes to identifying reflexivity in the lived experiences of individuals, the issue becomes more complex since this enterprise greatly depends on the way people engage with narratives of the self. This article explores reflexivity and processes of individualization in the lived experiences of paid domestic workers and women employers in Mexico. The article also analyses the way academic work has identified reflexivity among workers. Even though the term ‘reflexivity’ has not specifically being used, studies have often demonstrated the way domestic workers reflexively engage with processes of individualization. The article argues that there are important methodological challenges when it comes to identifying reflexivity through narratives of the self. The context of an interview, the subjectivities of the researcher and participants’ own subject position might all be factors that enable or obstruct the production of those narratives and therefore have an effect on the visibility of processes of individualization in the lived experiences of individuals.