Editing Zapotec peoples (section)

===Women's autonomy===
[[File:Statue of La Tehuana - Zapotec Woman - By Miguel Hernández Urbán.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of La Tehuana Zapotec Woman adorned in traditional Zapotec attire]]
Much of Zapotec social life is strongly segregated by sex. Men and women often work separately, coming together to eat in the morning and evening, and during ritual occasions, they remain separate except when dancing."<ref name="ste">{{cite journal |last=Stephen |first=Lynn |year=2002 |title=Sexualities and Genders in Zapotec Oaxaca |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=41–59 |doi=10.1177/0094582X0202900203 |jstor=3185126 |publisher=Sage Publications, Inc. |s2cid=145808692}}</ref> The purity of women is highly valued and their sexual and social autonomy can be hindered as a result. "Most women in the community, whether old or young, are concerned with protecting their sexual reputations. Many girls are still strictly watched and not allowed to walk the streets alone after the age of ten or eleven." Though this is seen as a way to protect the women, it nevertheless restricts their behavior.

Women are generally free to choose romantic partners; monogamy is valued, but having multiple sexual partners is not. However, for men and women this differs slightly; again for women virginity is regarded as important, even to the extent of publicly displaying the bloody sheet from the wedding night for some, an ancient Mediterranean custom brought by the Spaniards, while unmarried men are encouraged to experiment before they marry.<ref name="ste"/>
This follows from the fact that "paternity is uncertainty." Women always know a child is their own, but a man cannot be so sure. Thus men need assurance of paternity to be willing to put in decades of support for a child. Within marriage, the degree to which women are able to exercise agency depends on the husband. Some women are very free and have the ability to do as they wish, while others may have very controlling husbands; either way, however, women's freedom is determined by their spouse. "While some men jealously guarded their wives (even insisting on driving them to the marketplace), others [allow] their wives and daughters considerable independence."<ref name="ste"/> The issue of domestic violence is not necessarily commonplace.{{clarify|date=December 2023}}<ref name="Fry">{{cite book|chapter=Female Aggression among the Zapotec of Oaxaca, Mexico|title=Of Mice and Women: Aspects of Female Aggression|last=Fry|first=Douglas P.|year=1992|pages=187–199|chapter-url=http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Archtext/Fry92.pdf}}</ref>