“Serve me.”
Growing up, those two words have always left my stomach in knots and caused my eyebrows to come together in confusion. At the tender age of 8, family parties were meant to be fun and enjoyable, but whenever I heard an uncle or grandfather say those two words I was left in a state of discomfort without really knowing why.
“Serve me.”
In any Hispanic family, a few certain core values and traditions are kept up from generation to generation. A few of these values include being hospitable and showing respect, but there was always one value that was never explicitly stated that I could never really wrap my head around. That value was that women are to dedicate themselves to their husbands and assure that their husband is happy. In my mind, it partially made sense that in a marriage one is essentially “dedicating” themselves to their significant other
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There’s no way they would hire a woman over me.”
I didn’t really grasp the significance of what I overheard until later that night. The man’s tone infuriated me. Who was he to decide what a women can or cannot do with her life? I eventually realized what the phrase “serve me” implied. The phrase implied that women are nothing more than housemaids.
Ever since that night, I set my mind on proving to my family that women are more than homemakers and that’s what pushed me to apply for University High School when I was 13. I chose to apply and attend the school because I knew the college preparatory school would only push me to make the most out of my education. Every day of my life since has been dedicated to challenging the idea that women are nothing more than homemakers.
I am a girl and I am a hard worker. I am a girl and I am working hard to get a good education. I am a girl and I can be just as successful as any man out
"No man, no matter how wonderful, is to be put before a women's first loyalty, which is her family…. So understand you're no child, and you first loyalty is to your brother and sister and me-la familia", Dona Guadalupe saying this to Lupe (p. 42).
Growing up in a Hispanic household has shaped and built my values in life. At Appleton North High School, I am one out of the few Hispanic students. Knowing that my parents have migrated to America to give me a better future has motivated me to make it happen. Although, as a Mexican-American, I have felt out of place as a minority. However, with time I learned to accept my cultural differences. In fact, to this day, I thank my widowed father for the sacrifices and greater opportunities he has given me. My goal is to keep representing the few Hispanic students in college by working hard to achieve my career goals; not all Hispanics are fortunate enough to attend college. I also work to inspire young Hispanics to find their potential and follow
As a woman myself, it is hard to imagine a time when I would not have been allowed to attend college, let alone be writing this paper. As children most of us heard stories from our grandparent’s about what life was like they were young. I can remember laughing at the thought of “walking up hill both ways” to get to school. With the liberties American Women have today, it is easy to take for granted everything the women before us fought so hard for. It is easy to forget the treatment they suffered in their struggle to bring us to today. In this paper we will examine the lives, struggles, and small victories of women that have led us to
Growing up in a Hispanic household has taught me many things. I have learned to see things as an optimistic person, and that it doesn’t matter where you come from as long as you work hard for what you want anything is possible. My family has always implemented the values of life that lead me to perceive what it was about to throw at me.
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In 1958, men were naturally looked at as dominant. Because of this, the woman, Mary, was told by her mother in law and grandmother in law that she should drop out of school and work to support the husband. The mother and grandma made it very clear that school was not a necessity, “Unlike my in laws, who have not hesitated to tell me I should go work as a typist or waitress to support my husband…” (Clearman 45). This quote shows that although Mary had been working and had just completed her first year of college, her efforts were not needed as long as she had her husband.
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The word Latino conveys a racial idea, and Latinos practice patriarchal he social system. The man of the house hold the male's position of respect and authority in the family, although women’ role is redefining, women most of the time continue having a subordinate position.
Thank you for sharing the impact on your social worker practice, so your learning about the Hispanic culture has made you confident and competent with the Hispanic culture. Our social worker program has a great deal to offer social workers, individuals, families and communities. As essential first component in the process of becoming a culturally competent social worker is curiosity about oneself. This involves the study and examination of one’s own cultural background and family history (Zayas, Kyriakkakis &Torres, 2010). I know you remember doing that family geno-map and the eco-map. I am glad that you have gained empowerment and competency through your practice because your statement about your ethical dilemma is heart breaking, but as you
The American Dream for everyone alike is to prosper and succeed in a land that individuals are determined to call their own. Almost every immigrant that has entered the United States has done so in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and for their families. For most Hispanic-Americans, the goal was the same. Hispanic-Americans come from a variety of different Spanish-speaking countries. Just as the wave of immigrants from Europe came to the United States of America in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Hispanics came from places like Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. Although everyone came with the same goal in mind, to make sure their families would have a better life in a new environment, each subgroup within the Hispanic community faced different circumstances once they arrived in the United States and have different definitions of what it feels like to be an American.
Growing up in a Latino household is hard. My parents only spoke Spanish therefore my first language was Spanish. For the first few years of my life this was not really a problem, I enjoyed life as any normal little girl would. I got to talk to all of my cousins and all of the neighbor’s children. It wasn’t until I got to school that it became real that I was going to learn English. Don’t get me wrong I always knew I had to learn English my parents always talked to me about school and helped me as much as they could. It was also around this same time where I started to understand that it was not only hard for me it was hard for them as well. My parents had to live in this country not knowing the main language spoken.
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It was tiring, cleaning a house all day was just wasting precious time that could have been spent reading. Momma once scolded me for reading, because I was supposed to be cooking supper. Apparently, a lady was only supposed to clean the house and cook supper for the family. Instead, I was strongly compelled to rebel against such ways. I longed to be properly educated in such a way that I would be recognized for my brains and not for my cooking. Mother declared, that until she was able to get her a job in the factory, I wouldn’t be able to go to school. I always waited until she got her right to work her own job, but she died during the 1930s at age 50. It was deeply burdened me that she was never able to work in the factory,
In this satirical article, Brady expresses the difference between the roles of women and men in the 1970’s by stating men’s point of view on women and women’s roles in society. Throughout her article, Brady emphasizes the roles of women. For example, women could now “work and...takes care of the children when they are sick”. Comparing the 1880’s to the 1970’s, there has been a big improvement. Many women had jobs outside their home, but still were responsible for most housework and childcare while their husband’s only responsibility in a marriage was to go to work and earn money to support the family. Society’s expectations allowed women to work outside the home to support college education for husbands; however,women had to know how to balance their time between their children and their jobs, making sure that their husbands “cannot miss classes at school.” During the 1970’s, women were still oppressed in many ways and had to follow society's expectations in order to live up to the men’s view of women’s roles in society. Even though society’s expectations of women had improved since The Awakening, most of women’s roles had stayed the same. In the article, Brady specifies how once a husband is “through with school and has a job, [he expects the] wife to quit working and remain at home so that [she] can more fully and completely take
Long gone are the days when women were expected to stay at home and play “housewife”, cooking, cleaning, and making sure the kids got off to school, while their husbands worked a 9 to 5 in order to make ends meet. Today, women are no longer viewed as weak and incapable. A “superwoman” is the new woman. Men as the “breadwinners” have been replaced by “Ms. Independent.” The traditional male role has diminished as women fulfill bigger roles in society and exceed the expectations of their male counterparts in the household, workforce, and within social settings. We have abandoned old rules; no longer is it a “man’s world,” we now live in a shared world.