The Meanings Of Latina Transnational Motherhood

Arguably, my mother is my role mother. As a single mother, she struggled to provide for me in unimaginable ways. Being a woman and a single mother in the Dominican Republic played an important factor on her decay in class and economic status. As a result, it created a sense of awareness for me, to understand that as women we have to work twice as hard than men to accomplish half of what they have. This statement was true not only in the Dominican Republic in the 90’s but also today in America. Looking back at my mother’s struggles I cannot say that I have overcome half as much as she did. However, I can see how being a woman has been a disadvantage and an advantage at times. A disadvantage because as women in my society, we tend to be victims of sexism and harassment. Yet, it may also be an advantage because the same society that subject’s women, at times favors these in the labor market. For instance, when my mother passed away I was 16 years

To begin with, Sacrificing Families by Leisy J. Abrego, draws on the narratives of many Salvadorian families to tell the stories on how illegality and gender shape their lives. In Chapter five, Abrego accurately captures the gender roles of immigrant parents in transnational families. Abrego makes it clear that there are inequalities between genders, men have always been privileged individuals, and regardless of the work, they make more money when compared to women. Through her interviews Abrego provides evidence for the structural reality of gender-stratified opportunities and the gender roles that benefit men and constrain women. According to Abrego, “For women, the three most common occupational sectors were domestic, garment and hotel house-keeping work (102). With this we can see that how the occupations of women are tied to their gender roles. Women are supposed to stay at home, clean the house, and nurture.

Throughout the book, it is evident that predominantly only the observations and perspectives of Anglo-American males were presented rather than the ones belonging to native Latinos men which, arguably, can be problematic as the audience is only exposed to what Americans have to say on Mexican- American culture adaptation. This exclusion of the native voice can especially be seen at the section regarding targeting women as the crucial point in infiltrating the Mexican home with Americanized ideals. According to Sanchez, during 1915, there was a clear mindset that thought the “housekeeper creates the atmosphere” in the family and should “the female adopt American values, the rest of her family would follow” (Sanchez 99). Home teachers were told to teach women songs in English about the duty of women such as “…like to wash, to sew, to cook”. Yet, after six years, women stilled lacked behind men in English skills which, were seen as the a crucial part of Americanization. Unsurprisingly, the lack of success in the Americanization of women was perceived to be the “patriarchal nature of the Mexican Family”(Sanchez 101). Disappointingly, Sanchez did not include the Mexican female voice into this section, which could have provided more insights on how the women themselves felt about the Americanization programs and how they perceived the roles they played within their family, as he felt that professors such as Emory Bogardus (Sanchez 101) from University of Southern California has a more right to talk about Mexicano family structure than the Mexicans

In several cultures, women are seen as archetypes more than men. The proposition of women are instantly idealized and glorified and instantaneously ignore the true complexity of a woman. Countless of these superficial images can be seen across various cultures where the societies within these cultures define what it means to be a female and what type of behavior is and isn’t acceptable within those parameters. The persistent restatement of these stories throughout these generations reinforces the gender system. Women who step out of the norm in these societies are then held punishable for their actions. Alicia Gaspar de Alba pinpoints the three archetypal roles that are given to the women in the Mexican and Chicana cultures. These are,

The Progressive Era is generally applied to a variety of responses to the economic and social problems to rapid industrialization introduced in America. Although the era can be narrowed down to focus on the history of Mexican American women living in the Southwest and Midwest of the United States between 1890 and 1919. Some of the events involved within in the Mexican community during the time were a variety of processes including restriction, deportation or Americanizing immigrants from Mexico. Women and their children were especially involved in some of the American groups trying to assimilate large numbers of the Mexican community. The history of Mexican American Women in the Southwest and Midwest is mentioned in detail in Vicki L.

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

This large disparity in pay encourages the discerning idea that children living in the Third World might be better off without a mother physically with them. Survival is dependent on funds for necessities rather than love and affection. When mothers can’t provide both money and affection for their family simultaneously, they face reality and choose one. And while it may be sad, the obvious choice is that which will nourish their family more effectively, money. While these mothers choose to move to First world countries, no other wants to abandon their children, Hochschild says, “most [mothers] feel the separation acutely, expressing guilt and remorse to the researchers who interview them” (Hochschild 21). However, economic predicaments coerce these choices. Hochschild depicts these economically coerced choices by sharing the story Rowena Bautista a Filipino mother who left her own children to nanny two new children in the United States. By choosing to provide for her family Rowena has consequently missed watching her children grow up. She has even missed holidays with her children, and in turn, the bond between her and her children suffers. While First World mothers are returning to work to provide for their children, Third World immigrant caregivers are filling

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.

The story “Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros describes the lives of Mexicans in a Chicago neighborhood. She depicts the life that women endure as Latino wives through her portrayal of the protagonist, Cleofilas. For Cisneros being a Mexican-American has given her a chance to see life from two different cultures. In addition, Cisneros has written the story from a woman’s perspective, illustrating the types of conflicts many women face as Latino wives. This unique paradigm allows the reader to examine the events and characters using a feminist critical perspective.

The idea that a woman’s job is to be a wife and mother is old-fashioned, but not completely out of style. Though these roles require a great deal of talent, resilience, patience, love, and strength, to name a few, they are often underestimated or depicted as simple. Especially in modern times, many women in the United States who stay home to raise a family are viewed as anti-feminists, whereas women in Latin America are not criticized for similar actions. In recent decades, more Latin American women have started to break the mold, daring to be both sexy, and successful in the workforce, while remaining pillars of domestic life.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze to main questions. The first part of the paper will define transnational feminism and identify key factors within a transnational perspective. Another part will be discussing some transnational feminist critiques of mainstream “white/Western” feminism and will also give ideas that a transnational feminist would suggest in order to make positive changes for women. The second part of the paper will choose two concepts to define, as well as discuss how they relate to one another from a transnational perspective. In addition, the relation of how they related to gender or affect the political, social, and/or economic status of women in the world will be analyzed.

As a first-generation Latina in college, I could not be where I am without the help of multiple individuals. My parent’s sacrificed so much coming into this country. They left behind their family, their home, in order to one day provide a better future for me. Initially, my parents planned on staying in America for five years then they would go back to Ecuador. However plans changed once my mom became pregnant with me. The decision to stay in order to give me the best future possible greatly affected both my parents. They suffer greatly and lament leaving their family everyday. Only my mom has the slight possibly of returning to her home country but unfortunately, the only thing waiting her is her mother’s grave.

The construction of the good mother is a problematic label that has formed a specific ideal for all mothers to uphold. According to Goodwin and Huppatz (2006), “the good mother is known as that formidable social construct placing pressure on women to conform to particular standards and ideals, against which they are judged and judge themselves” (p.2). This means that mothers perform their role in society based on a particular set of beliefs. For example, mothers are judged and scrutinized if they do not breastfed; therefore, they may conform to this standard in fear of being judged and labeled an unfit mother. Motherhood is structured and organized in the prevailing gender system (Goodwin and Huppatz, 2006).

BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Bermudez, J. Z.-H. (2011). Experiences of Parenting Classes for Mexican American Mothers Parenting Alone; Offering Culturally Responsive Approaches. American Journal of Family Therapy, 360-364.

Maya Angelou said, “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow” (Wanderlust 1). The relationship a mother has with her child transcends all other relationships in complexity. Maternity largely contributes to the female identity in part because the ability to sexually reproduce is uniquely female. With this ability often comes an unparalleled feeling of responsibility. That is, mothers experience an inherent desire to protect their children from the world and guide them through life. Serving as a child’s protector then transforms a woman’s perspective, or the female gaze. While these protective instincts often arise naturally, they are also reinforced by the ideas society’s perpetuates about motherhood. Globally, women are expected to assume the roles of wives and mothers. The belief that motherhood is somewhat of a requirement assists in the subjugation of women and reinforces a plethora of gendered stereotypes. While some women enjoy the process of childrearing, others feel that having a family comes at an irreparable cost: losing sight of oneself. In response to the polarized views surrounding maternity, several authors have employed different writing techniques to illustrate the mother-child dynamic. Through the examination of three narratives, spanning fiction and non-fiction, one is able to better define maternity and the corresponding female gaze in both symbolic and universal terms.