Gender Stereotypes In Mexico

“Yes, I'm blonde. When I started as an actor, because of the accent and my body and my personality, it was not what the stereotype of the Latina woman in Hollywood is, so they didn't know where to put me. The blond hair wasn't matching. The moment I put my hair dark, it was better for my work” (Vergara). The media tends to portray stereotypes of many different people without warnings. So, when people watch TV or listen to the radio all they get are the generalizations of these different people. One group that has been highly stereotyped and somewhat portrayed in the media are Hispanic women. How the media portrays Hispanic women is based on both gender and racial stereotypes (Correa, 2010). This portrayal of Hispanic women impacts people in many ways. Sofia Vergara’s quote that was stated above is an example of the impact these stereotypes caused; it was hard for Sofia Vergara to get a job because she didn’t look like the stereotypical Hispanic woman and the media continues to portray Hispanic women as such. One of the largest influences on the roles Hispanic women are expected to play is the media’s portrayal of them. The media portrays Hispanic women by generalizations of how they look, how they act, and how they identify their values.

Mexican American women for over 20 years have had the highest rate of teen pregnancy compared to Anglo women. Teenage birth rates have decreased as a whole, but even with teenage births decreasing Mexican American women are still at the top, having the highest teen birth rates with 46.3 births for every 1,000 teens that are females. There are several reasons for this startling fact; this paper is going to illustrate some of the misconceptions when dealing with Latina sexuality and reproduction and also the negative results that came from it. To illustrate this alarming issue, some misconceptions about Mexican American sexuality and reproduction will be shared. Such as, most Mexican American teenage or adolescent mothers may lack knowledge.

Drugs and violence are universal. Although not all drugs cause violence some drugs like alcohol, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine do and can have horrible results. Some of the behavior that these drugs can cause are: domestic violence, sexual assault, homicides, and property crimes. Although horrible things do happen people still use them and crimes like these happen too much. This is a social issue because people see this as a norm. This shouldn't be a norm and people need to start realizing that.

A stereotype can be defined as a widely held, but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Stereotypes are in most cases falsified views that are used to represent an entire entity. Even when proven untrue, these persisting ideas can consume the naïve and offend the accused. As I sat in this Latin American Pro Seminar course, I noticed how unique and extraordinary each young lady in the class was. Even though they were all of Latin American descent, they differed in so many ways. I also noted that these ladies were different than the Latina individuals that I had previously seen in the media. Captivated by how intelligent and distinctive my colleagues were, I was prompted to write my research paper on the different stereotypes of the Latina woman and how I perceive them to be inaccurate.

I can also feel the rigid gender roles and norms in the Mexican American culture. In Movimientos de rebeldia y las culturas que traicionan, Anzaldua mentions that the Mexican culture barely accepts deviant behaviors. Their culture expects women to be commitment to men and if they are not, they are labeled as a selfish. Women are valued as a wife and mother, and “women are made to feel total failures if they don’t marry and have children.” Because of fear of being unaccepted and abandoned by their own culture, “some conform to the values of the culture, push the unacceptable parts into the shadows.” The Mexican women fight for women’s rights in their mother culture first, before they fight against the racism or sexism in white dominant culture.

Stereotypes are uneducated opinions towards a certain group, most commonly used within races, skin colors, and cultures. Stereotypes are usually from a majority group towards a minority group. Most of us do not think about it much but, Stereotypes are in our everyday lives, and everyone has taken part of a stereotype, either they have been the one stereotyping or they have been the victim of a stereotype and has been stereotyped. Throughout my life, I have heard a lot of stereotypes towards my kind, and more than likely it is always a negative stereotype. Some stereotypes through time die-off but as they die-off, new stereotypes flood or society. I am a minority, I am Mexican-American and classify myself and embrace myself as one. The stereotype that I have experienced the most is that all Mexicans are unintelligent delinquents. The stereotype of Mexicans being unintelligent and lazy was influenced by the media. Media sources in our lives skew the way we judge people. This stereotype may be taken lightly by everyone who iterates it but what is not taken into account is the effect this stereotype has in the community for those of us that are Mexican. It has a negative impact on my community, I noticed that the negative effect of this stereotype starts by influencing a couple of individuals and then expands to the community as a whole. The stereotype that Mexicans are these unintelligent delinquents gets planted in our heads at a young age and that affects the way some of

Coming from a diverse background, of Mexican and Central American culture, I can contribute my traditional Latin culture, and perspective of gender equality to the NC State community. I can contribute experiences varying from the tedious preparation of traditional cuisines, such as pupusas and enchiladas, to the different dialects of Spanish I've been exposed to throughout my life. The traditional gender roles within the Hispanic culture, is another aspect that I can inform the community about. The men in the family are seen as superior beings and the provider of money for the family. The women are depicted, as caretakers of the home and family, are more sheltered, and submissive to "male superiority."

Women are stuck in their gender roles and believe that they do not have the power to promote equality for the better of themselves or their children’s future. Women are following gender roles leaving school at young ages and believe that they indeed need to depend on men, and by doing so it limits their ability to fully have an education and understand what they need to read healthy productive lives. Gender Discrimination Education is key in promoting gender equality and because the women lack appropriate representation they are stuck in a circle of hunger and lack of resources. Women in Mexico need education to help them understand what their bodies need and not just as they are developing into mature women, but also as they carry on their children and for them to pass on to their children what food is needed to have a healthy

As a Latina, I grew up with the mentality that Family comes above all. Though not restricted to Latin countries, it is commonly believed in Mexico to this day that women are to stay home and take care of the children while a man works to provide for his family. As much as I love my culture, this belief is something I have always struggled with. My family migrated from Mexico at a juvenile age but brought this principle with them. Consequently, I have always had the job of cleaning the house, cooking for my brothers, and taking care of my youngest brother. I have never had a problem with taking responsibility when I’m needed, but it’s hard when your siblings automatically become your children because of your gender. I am expected to know how to be an excellent cook, cleaner, and nurturer at the age of 15 in my culture. It is a common joke that if a Hispanic girl cannot flip a tortilla without a fork she is not a woman. In addition to assumed responsibilities, there are certain roles that men take in Mexican cultures in which women are just not allowed to be part of. For example, I would never be allowed to be outside with my dad if he

Equally, liberal feminism (discriminatory policies which force women into an inferior social class without the consideration of their rights to participate fully); socialist feminism (the inequality rooted in the sexual division between paid and unpaid labor); and radical feminism (the power difference between men and women in a relationship) have surfaced . In result, the only way to overcome gender inequality is to prevent being exploited. A study done in Mexico by R. S. Oropesa in 1997, discovered that wives with an education were equivalent to their husbands in family power, were happier with their impact on the family and were less prone to violence. All in all, the pollution in society’s mind of women being lower than men is gradually seeping away as time

Have you ever been a victim of stereotyping? Stereotyping is when people think something wrong or good .Like “all girls need to stay in the kitchens” that is an example of stereotyping.There was a time i felt stereotyped just because of my color.

Worldwide, women are always one step behind men when it comes to fair treatments. Women make up 51% of the population but only 19% are in Congress. While men earn a dollar, women earn 20 cents less. Women in Mexico used to suffer these similar issues, but over the course of the years, they have improved greatly. In 1910, women made up 14% of the work constrain, by 2008 they were 38%. Half that expansion happened over the most recent 40 years. Nearly four million women 15 years or older are uneducated today; 92% of young ladies between the ages of 6 and 14 go to class — not the most ideal numbers, but rather still an immense transform from a century prior. The behavior and expectations of women in Mexico improved because of their educational

We all are humans, so we all want to be part of a certain group of people in order to feel us accepted and completed. Consequently, people in a community decide to develop their guiding principles and values that rule us as society. There are many reasons why society demand certain obligations for both sex, man and woman, but there is no manual to follow to show us how to live this life perfectly. The way we live the life can differ from one country to another, and even from one state to another. Mexico, as other countries around the world, has been experiencing changes related to gender roles because we all are part of a society, and we create our own perspective about what a man or woman should do or not. The three main reasons for changing

How women are perceived by others, and how women perceive themselves, impacts their leadership roles in the work place. Stereotypes and gender biases are themes women have been dealing with for centuries. How women are perceived by social medial and television have been influencing how they are treated by men, and how they view themselves when it comes to taking a leadership role in their organization. According to Omega Institute (2012), “The rapidly shifting landscape of new media and technology, including reality television and celebrity culture, continue to reinforce gender stereotypes” (p. 1). This leads to men still growing up viewing women as home makers versus bread winner. With more women entering leadership roles in the work place they lack the respect from men due to how these men have grown up to know the typical role of a man and woman. Men tend to feel belittled due to the gender stereotypes seen on television, and this leads to women struggling to succeed as a leader with the lack of support from their male counterparts. Lack of confidence with women in the workplace is also influenced and effected by how women are perceived in social media and television. According to Steele (2005), “Exposure to stereotypic commercials persuade women to avoid leadership roles” (p. 276). As young women grow up seeing the typical gender stereotypes they lack ambitions to break the mold and

Society can put unrealistic expectations of reality into individuals from a very young age. As soon as a child can begin to comprehend what is going on around them, they are shown movies of perfect society’s and perfect marriage. So, as they grow older, this is what they expect life to be like. Then, when they finally reach a certain age they begin to wonder why life isn’t going the way they thought it was going to go. The picture that the media and movies portray of life and how one is supposed to look can make individuals put outrageous expectation on themselves in order to be “normal”. Nobody feels those expectations more than females growing up do. Women are oversexualized and kept inferior to their male counterparts and this can affect