Womanhood In The Latin American Culture

Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them

All birthdays are special. Birthdays celebrate life and the passing of time. In a young Mexican girl life, there is no birthday more important then her quinceañera. The quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s journey into womanhood. The story of my fifteenth birthday is contributed for a better understanding of how special it is to celebrate a girl’s transformation into a lady, and how it differs from any other birthday she celebrates.

In colonial Latin America, one aspect of life that was constantly under attack and had to be guarded at all costs was the ideal of one's Honour. Women in colonial Latin America had to especially be on their guard to protect their honour, as an unanswered attack to their honour could ruin a family's honour. But if a woman's honour was attacked there were ways for her to protect it. The honour women possessed at the time was said to be not as important as the honour of a man, but it is, in fact, more important then the man's. By using Richard Boyer's document Catarina Maria Complains That Juan Teioa Forcibly Deflowered Her and Sonya Lipsett-Rivera's document Scandal at the Church: Jose de Alfaro Accuses Dona Theresa Bravo and Others of

Obtaining a well suitable job is essential to having an enjoyable life. In Latin America, the struggle to achieve this ambitious goal is difficult especially for women. Traditional values and cultural beliefs in Latin American society often explain why women face higher unemployment rates and less job prospects. Additionally, as the global economy becomes advanced due in part to technological innovations, women are often left out as education is seen more important for men. Nonetheless, it is possible for Latin American women to find employment in either formal and informal sector jobs. The difference between working in these sectors is that the working conditions for women are greatly varied in the

During the Cold War period in Latin America, there were many civil wars and armed conflicts involving state conflict and corruption. In a time where the United States and the Soviet Union were attempting to create new spheres of influence in South America, as well as corrupt dictators fighting guerrilla uprisings, Latin America was a very difficult spot to be. Through the period, the peasantry classes and the government’s in charge had large political differences. With violence happening all around the continent, women suffered in many different varieties. Specifically, this paper will focus on the roles of women and women based organizations in the countries of Argentina, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and the sacrifices they gave to create a more democratic government. The goal of these countries

Latin American countries are American countries that were colonized by the Spanish and people speak Spanish, Portuguese, and French. These are all languages that are derived from the Latin language and are known as romance languages. Latin American countries consist of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and more. Culture is a very broad topic to discuss, especially for these countries with how many traditions and arts they have. Latin American countries are known for expressing in creative ways what is important to them. They do this with a passion and love.

Women's reproductive health is a debated and complex issue in today's society. Nowhere is its severity more prevalent than in areas of extreme poverty such as south and Central America. The resolution to these problems is far from simple. Yet, women are increasingly taking control of their lives and forming groups to combat many of the prejudices that hold them back. However highly debated some tactics for resolution may be it is hard to miss the shear urgency with which the issues of women's rights and health call us. The fight for gender equality cannot overlook the importance of equality in health care and control over one's own body. Women's health is an issue that

I thought that the arguments of Iglesias in the reading “Maternal Power and the Deconstruction of Male Supremacy” were very interesting when compared to the “Marianismo: The Other Face of Machismo in Latin America” by Stevens. Both women talked about the same issues of women in Latin American society, but I think that they had different attitudes towards the subject. Stevens states that the role of the women is passive, but does provide reasons why the women would willingly continue in a lower position. On the other hand, Iglesias feels that women are actually empowered by the roles. Like Neil said in class, I think that there might be some bias there because the name Stevens sounds Caucasian while Iglesias

Even though some areas of Latin America are underprivileged, women are empowering themselves at both the micro and macro levels. These women are utilizing their own will and desire to seek for change by changing policies and social systems to build a global response to violence against women. In an article titled “The Struggle for Women’s Equality in Latin America” the author, Donna Goodman, states Approximately one in three women in Latin America and the Caribbean has been a victim of sexual, physical, or psychological violence at the hands of intimate partners”. The issue of violence against women has always been a serious problem not just in Latin America but the rest of the world as well. “When countries are not experiencing active conflict,

Over the course of the semester, we have examined a multitude of issues facing women across Latin America. The complex struggles are diverse and vary greatly throughout the region, however parallels can often be drawn based on shared historical roots and influences. The access to full sexual and reproductive health and rights, is one of these parallel-presenting instances – and is the issue confronted in Gideon, Leite and Minte’s article titled “What is hindering progress? The marginalization of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights in Brazil and Chile.” Along with summarising the nature of this specific issue as described in the article, this paper will be connecting the phenomenon to other occurrences and realities that we have

As she gracefully walked down the aisle dressed in a gold tulle ball gown, her mother shed tears of joy and her father beamed. This was their baby all grown up. September 24, 2016 was the day Sophia Brooke Kahl transitioned from a girl to a young woman; it was her Quinceañera. Similar to a “Sweet 16” party in American culture, a Quinceañera is a Latin American celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday and her transition into womanhood. During the course of the day, the Quinceanera (Birthday Girl) renews her baptismal promises in front of her family and community, and attends a large party in her honor. I attended Sophia’s Quinceañera as a guest of the family to share in their celebration, serving both as choreographer for the attendant’s

The first primary source in this chapter 5 is an essay by Alejandro E. Bunge from Argentina. He was a concerned about women’s growing involvement in the workplace. He discussed many ideas of women’s participation in the nations paid labor force but his feeling towards female who works outside the house are heavily influenced by conservative ideals.

Latin America is home to many unique and diverse cultures who express their traditions in a variety of ways. In the early 1600s to late 1800s, Latin America hosted to a plethora of artistic expressions unique to each country, including dance, art and literature. Some of these distinct art forms include capoeira, a dance/fighting style unique to those in Brazil of African descent, and paintings such as Jose Posada’s, which were influenced directly by Mexican culture. These countries also had individual views on the “outside” world, as suggested by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez in A Hundred Years of Solitude. As is evident through history, Latin American countries did share some similarities - a search for identity and individualism,

The literature on gender and democratization documents the crucial role that women’s mobilizations play in bringing about many transitions (Britton 2005). In Latin America, women protestors often strategically incorporated authoritarian regimes’ gendered discourse of women as devout, self-sacrificing mothers into the framing of their own claims against the state. This left authoritarian regimes in the uncomfortable position of justifying the authoritarianism of grieving women’s to local and international audiences (Alvarez 1990, Okeke-Ihejirika and Franceschet 2002). With democratization, however, new political players on both the left and the right used women’s own framing of distinctive gender differences to encourage women’s return to the home (Chinchilla

Being part of a minority as being a female Latina, I have learned that many people still try to feel superior to others especially those that are part of a majority group. I have often felt like I am less or inferior to others because of where I come from, my olive skin tone, and my gender. However, I want to be a role model to others that sometimes feel the way I do, especially females from minority groups, and show them that sometimes we just have to try harder than everyone else around us that makes us feel inferior, so that we can one day prove to them that we can accomplish what they can, and we can be whoever we want to be. I want to be an orthodontist, and I know that I will get there because I am determine to represent the minorities