Toward an Understanding of the Interconnectedness of Women's Lives: The "Racial" Reproduction of Labor in Low-Income Urban Areas

ABSTRACT The “racial” reproduction of labor forms the central concern of this paper, which comprises an investigation of low-income African-American and Anglo-American wome's engagement in waged and unwaged reproductive activities in a downtown area of Grand Rapids, Michigan. A snowball sample was conducted with 97 women. n“Race” was shown to structure options in relation to occupations, access to transportation, and child care provision, as well as formal and informal community networks. An emphasis on the practices underlying the creation of social constructions of gender and “race” reveals that even within the same geographical location women have different experiences of urban poverty.