Paper short abstract:

Transborder living is precarious and an enormous challenge for Mexican origin women. Two case studies are presented that exemplifies the economic and social processes of constantly "slanting" and negotiating daily realities in the midst of a transnational capitalist context.

Paper long abstract:

Two case studies accentuate how Mexican origin women of the U.S Mexico Region carry enormous transborder responsibilities and innovate to great lengths in order to not only survive but excel sometimes tragically. Women guide the unfolding of that quest and are often caught between multiple transborder contexts beyond their control as they seek to ensure that the next generation does not suffer what they suffer now, and as they sacrifice themselves, and even their children, in order for those children to eventually become successful. Often the only way for many women to take hold of self and space in these circumstances is by a "slantwise" manner. That is,they slide into the edges of interstitial spaces and places in between great structures of economy and polity, creating the connectivities and spaces that can be negotiated, manipulated, and traversed.

This is critical of the bipolar model used in many discussions concerning the agency versus domination opposites along an axis. More important is the emphasis on "slantwise" behaviors and strategies having much to do with "going around," underneath, sideways, or slipping by the structures of economy and power in order to access or to acquire needed resources and legitimacy in a context of alienation or marginalization. As the case studies show sometimes success has tragic consequences unforeseen in this quest for survival and achievement in a transborder world.

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