Mexican American Culture And Gender Roles

Women in the Hispanic culture grow up with strong ties to their values, norms and how they were raised by their families. Parents instill a “machismo” and familism ideology into the upbringing of these women (Fuchsel, 2012). “Machismo” is a term to describe what is acceptable and expected of men (Fuschel,2012). Familism is, “the subordination of the personal interests and prerogatives of an individual to the values and demands of the family” (dictionary.com). An example of “machismo” is that it is not seen as a problem for men to be unfaithful (Fuschel, 2012). Women would continue to stay with the men, because of the strong sense of familism and not wanting to break the family apart (Fuschel,2012). Also, the strong tie to family makes it difficult to express the troubles in a marriage, because family may be unwilling to help (Fuschel,2012). Machismo and familism affect Hispanic women in their day-to-day lives and how they approach marriages and relationships (Fuschell,2012).

Social standards may confine individuals from pursuing their own personal interests. Through the relationship between societal standards and individual interests, Sandra Cisneros’ short story, “Woman Hollering Creek,” introduces the roles of men and women in a Hispanic culture. The protagonist, Cleofilas Hernandez, is trapped in an abusive relationship with her newly-wed husband, Juan Pedro. However, Cleofilas tolerates the toxic relationship due to the social norms of her society, which reveals that the Hispanic culture revolves around a patriarchal society and that women have to be submissive to their husbands. As the story progresses, Cleofilas abandons the gender norm to lead an independent lifestyle.

Have you ever reflected on how important your culture is to you? A culture is defined as a group of people from a particular location or within a community that shares beliefs, manners, customs and numerous habitual actions that are passed down to future generations. While cultures may share particular attributes, without a doubt, they are all special and unique. Based on the upbringings and the values a person has acquired over time, they give you the opportunity to explore new ideas and meet a diverse set of people. Growing up with a Hispanic background, has allowed me to know the world that I am accustomed to today. Although I am honored to have the opportunity to experience everything within the Hispanic culture, there are also unpleasant issues that are associated with it. Gender roles, which are defined as behaviors that are more masculine or feminine, are expected to be performed by one gender. Consequently, both men and women are limited in their independence and their individuality.

We live in a society where for decades we have been socialized to believe that there are only two genders: male and female. The idea of gender is socially constructed. Society and culture create gender roles and through those roles we all learn to enact our specific roles. With this in mind, this essay will seek to examine how gender shapes the structural and lived experiences of Chicanxs and Latinxs in the U.S. This essay will draw from Abrego, Acosta, Ocampo, and the documentary “No mas bebés” to see how gender affects an individual’s experiences in the U.S.

Machismo, or male chauvinism, is a concept that characterizes many Latin American male behaviors, most importantly those associated with masculinity and pride. This concept, most likely introduced to New Spain by Spanish conquistadors who embodied these traits, was then adopted and integrated as a part of Mexican culture going forward. Because of male masculinity prevailing over feminine traits during the 17th century, misogyny and the oppression of women became a norm in Mexican culture. Struggling to be valued in Mexico, women turned to literature and art to voice their opinions and expose the machismo in Mexican culture. Through literature and art, is where feminism in Mexico arose and is continually strengthen in. This paper will discuss the ways in which Mexican feminist literature and art over time have exposed and challenged machismo, misogyny, and the Mexican patriarchy since the Spanish Conquest.

While dealing with the hardships of being Mexican, a woman also had to face the burden of being a female. A social hierarchy was clearly in existence. While the men were inferior to the Spaniards and Anglos because they were

Why are Chicana women given a gender role? Ever since I was a little girl I was always given the talk “you cannot go out, nor have a boyfriend.” I asked myself that question. Why can’t I go out with my friends nor have a boyfriend? I would always get upset. I would ask my parents that question and their response would always be “you’re too young to go out and it’s really dangerous for you outside.” So I understood by then, but when I was 16-years old I wanted to go out with my friends. My parents gave me the same excuse and I told them, “Why am I treated differently than my brother, why can he go out at an early age and have fun and not me and the same response. So since then, I understood, in our society as Chicana women we are being treated unequally. Chicanas don’t get to do things that men have the opportunity to do because they are men and we are women. There are tons of gender bias roles placed upon the Chicana women as a Chicana woman ever since Before the Common Era Chicanas also had family expectations, According to The Bible, we have been given the stereotypical role that brown Chicana women have to get married at an early age and obey our husbands. Chicana women in society are given the unfair and unrealistic expectations that are only suppose to be housewives and servants, nothing more.

The story illustrates the overlapping influences of women’s status and roles in Mexican culture, and the social institutions of family, religion, economics, education, and politics. In addition, issues of physical and mental/emotional health, social deviance and crime, and social and personal identity are

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."

While gender roles in Mexico are different from American’s. When migrant women step in to America they do not know what women can do. The migrant men shield the American gender roles away for their women. When entering America, border patrol does not help these women. According to huffingtonpost, “They also found that the U.S. immigration system is not designed to recognize immigrant women’s needs and circumstances. Additionally, they found that immigrant women are often presumed to be “dependents” while men are looked at as the primary breadwinners, which results in women and men having different experiences when they go through the legalization process.” Huffington post shows that even in American laws, immigrant’s dependents just like the children are. So, when entering America, they are labeled as just there with their men and not a co-provider for their children.’This Huffington post article provides information about how American laws treat immigrants’ men and women differently. As, soon as women enter America hoping for a changing, they are treated the same as they were in their country. So, Mexican women are view lower than the man who with her. Men are the main person, even though they are both going together doing the same thing. This gives the idea that women have no hope in changing and Mexican men are hoping it stays that way. Men hope during the

In the early 1940s, America was entering the second world war, and the female community was reaching new heights in the labor force. Millions of hard-working women filled men’s positions as men joined the military, operating complex machinery in factories, farms, and on the road. During this time, the opportunities and need for labor in the United States opened occupational opportunities for Mexican immigrants. Some Mexican families settled in the county of Los Angeles, making a home for their future generations. Many second generation, Mexican American youth, more specifically those known as zoot suiters and pachuco(a)s, refused to, “abide by the norms of segregation,” creating a new, rebellious identity that defied all social expectation, (Escobedo 136). The pachuca women of World War II challenged societies labels and their communities traditions, creating their own individual, outrageous and flamboyant ideas of beauty and lifestyle. These actions took Anglo and Mexican immigrant communities by shock. Because of the unfamiliarity of the pachuca lifestyle, they both responded negatively, each accusing the other for their outlandish behavior.

Women of Latin American culture have incessantly ensued the potent gender roles that have become a social construction of their society over innumerable decades. The profound author of Insurgent Mexico, John Reed, imparts his experiences with the revolutionary leaders of the Mexican Revolution, like Pancho Villa, and was able to witness their culture and more specifically the roles these Mexican women were forced to render by their chauvinistic counterparts. This period of revolution, started to grant women new mantles usually reserved only for men, like participating in fighting for the success of the revolution; any preeminent changes would soon approach, but in the meantime Mexican society run by men enjoyed the regulated traditional

In America, as well as other countries, many people face judgement because of gender roles. A gender role is explained as how man or woman is supposed to act; girls are supposed to be petite and cute while men get to act like animals and be exceptionally muscular. Oppositions to this status quo, especially in the past, were met by judgement and criticism. However, I firmly believe that equality is on the brink of finally coming about, but progress will not be made without action being taken.

Anzaldua discusses the obstacles that come with being a Mexican American woman, explaining the cultural tyranny in Mexican American communities, like those portrayed in Chayo’s letter. Anzaldua writes, “Culture is made by those in power- men. Males make the rules and laws; women transmit them” (1018). Deviating from the norms of society by neither being a wife or a mother leads to the degradation and isolation of women since they are expected to act a certain

In my household there were clearly defined gender roles. Perhaps it did not help that my mother was the only woman in my family, or that our culture was so traditional in their way of thinking. From what I can recall, my father was absent for a greater part of my childhood, leaving the task of raising me to my mother. While I never really had a male figure to directly push the male gender role identity into me, this identity found its way in via my mother. My mother raised me to fit the traditional gender role of most typical men in the Mexican culture. She never made my brothers and I do house chores. She always fed us first, and would eat by herself afterwards. She always put our needs above her own. In this regard my mother unconsciously pushed the notion of male privilege into my brothers and I to the point where I became to see this kind of behavior as natural. The fact that sexist behaviors that existed within my household became a natural reality to me is explained by Linda Brannon (2011) as she explains how male-dominated cultures still exist because both men and women establish master-subordinate roles that support the unequal system (p. 68). Since my mother grew up experiencing only one reality, that of subordination, she unconsciously kept the sexist discriminatory by raising us the way she did. I ultimately grew up being heavily dependent on my mother when it came