For example, Gomberg-Muñoz noticed that the relationship between a father and his children in Chicago mirrored those of families in Léon. They are very active in their children’s lives, interacting with the children at all stages of life, whether they are infants or young adults. However, they still maintain an idea of gender roles that designate the father as the provider, not someone who changes diapers and limits the father to playing and interacting more with sons than daughters. Because of the separation of families, though, these gender roles are not as rigid in households that find the father in another country working. For the mothers in Mexico, the responsibility of caring for the children is up to them entirely, with only money and perhaps moral support coming from the father because of the separation (p.…
Gender Roles in Esmeralda Santiago’s When I Was Puerto Rican Culture is an important part of life for Puerto Ricans living both on the Island and in the United States. This culture includes the gender roles that are deeply engrained in each and every Puerto Rican. From a young age, most Puerto Ricans learn the responsibilities that are expected of their respective gender.…
Gender roles and expectations change depending on the community, what may be considered to be feminine or masculine in one community may not be in a different community. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, juxtaposed to the previous writers, conveys her argument through the use of personal anecdote. Cofer narrates her experience as a Latin girl growing up in America. Through the appeal of ethos she explains how as a teenager she was taught to behave as a “proper senorita” (Cofer, 371) encouraged to look and act like a women. This made her feminine in the eyes of her community, however her Anglo friend and mothers found them too “mature”(Cofer, 371) for their age.…
“Yolanda” and “Mrs. Perez,” the two chapters in Oscar Casares’ Brownsville, present a distinct perspective on the machismo persona of Mexican-American men along with its negative impact on male/female relationships. Frank and Agustin, the entitled characters’ husbands, dictate their wives’ decisions by subjecting them to patriarchal beliefs rather than allowing them to be independent in their decisions. Patriarchal relationships create men as the center of relationships, which enforces control over women to stabilize this belief. The controlling and prideful characteristics in the characters of Frank and Agustin assert a male dominance that prevents women like Yolanda and Mrs. Perez from partaking in jobs or enjoyable activities, which in turn,…
Machismo and Marianismo in Latin American Telenovelas It started off like any other Saturday night. My father wasn’t working that day, which meant we would have our cherished family time. “Family time” meant that we’d all get comfortable on our couch, and catch up on all of the telenovelas that my parents were into. Usually, my mother was into the telenovelas that were produced in Turkey or Korea which were later translated into Spanish.…
Mothers are responsible of maintaining the household. Women in the Hispanic families encourage machismo. The husband is always in charge and is always called the “El hombre de la casa” which means “the man of the house”. However, the same story does not happen for the women in American families, because most white folks believe in equality for all, both ideologist have their place. There’s more working women in the American families than the Latino families due to Hispanic men encouraging the women to stay home and take care of the home and the kids while he works.…
This is a subject that hits closer to home as I am sure it may for a few of my other classmates. Cancer is rising in all aspects and in all races; the Hispanic/Latin culture is one of them having cancer surpass heart disease as one of the leading amongst the culture. Although the percentages have slightly dropped they are still higher than any other chronic disease, I have had to deal with this in my own life having my father fall ill to two of the four common (brain and lung) forms of it and know and understand more about this generational scourge. Most of the disparities are as common in the Hispanic culture as they are in any other such as lack of quality health care, location, affordability or even being able to obtain proper insurance.…
The Puerto Rican society deals with “machismo” and it strongly enforces its patriarchal views that were used decades ago. Its resistance to change comes from the vast amount of conservative people and how they can directly affect each person’s own views by influencing them since childhood. Adults are also affected by it, even without them being aware of it, and can change their perspective. The generalized other can be presented on different platforms, like social media, therefore altering the opinion of each individual. These issues have been addressed and feminist groups continue to fight for equality, nevertheless the generalized other still have a long way to go.…
The inequality between men and women in Honduras largely disadvantages women, stretching far beyond the issue of a 25% wage gap (Nuga and O’kane). However, my parents, consistently involved in social justice causes, always encouraged me to beat the statistics. By the time I was 18 years old, my boyfriend and I had been together for five (5) years; we started dating when he was fifteen (15) and I was fourteen (14). My whole family loved him; in fact, despite of my parents’ religious and conservative views, they allowed me to date him when I was very young. Even though both my grandmother and my mother had to get married when they were 18 and 20, respectively, because they got pregnant due to the “lack of sexual knowledge” (as my mom likes to…
This sketch is a vivid representation of how Latin Americans used race and gender as categories for which to organize society and to perpetrate honor. These social constructs shaped the experiences of men and women of different ethnic and socioeconomic…
According to Becerra, “The traditional Mexican familia (“family”) meant an extended, multigenerational group within which specific social roles were ascribed to specific persons.” Which is by dividing the functions and responsibilities among different generations of family members, “la familia was able to perform all the economic and social support chores necessary for survival in the relatively Spartan life circumstances of the rural Mexican environment” (Becerra). Mexican American families usually work and live in ethnic homogenous settings, being influenced by Anglo American culture. Additionally, Mexican Americans family structures were also practiced in rural Mexico (Becerra). In the family, the male is the role of the authority figure and head of the household, then the female has the role of child bearer and nurturer, they practice traditional family roles.…
The group I chose to research was the Hispanic culture. I do not know much about the Hispanic culture nor have had much experience working with this culture. Sometimes it can be hard to work with or surround yourself with people when your cultures are not the same, therefore getting to better know the values and customs of a Hispanic will help me to make sure my clients get the most from me Knowing more about the people that I am dealing with is the best way to ensure a good client to counselor relationship. The Hispanic culture is one of the fastest growing cultural groups in the United States. The U.S. Census data indicates that Hispanics will be the largest minority group by the year 2050 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992).…
Gender inequality is a problem in the Latina world and with this article we can see how females are treated within their family. Within the Latina family boys are treated differently from girls. Girls are expected to grow up and find a husband and if they do not accomplish this task then they are a disappointment to the family. As we see in the passage how Cisneros’s dad was disappointed when she left college without a…
She would keep me in her room and we would watch movies together until I felt tired and fell asleep. When I would wake up, she would have soup prepared for me so that I at least would be able to eat something. My mom was so caring that it touches my heart every time I remember that moment. She’s always there trying…
My family cultural background is Hispanic. I will give a brief history on my parent’s childhood and how they strived to make my life a better experience than they had. I am saddened by the memories that have been shared with me, but if gave me a better understanding of why my parents did what they did during my childhood. Now as an adult I understand why my parents strived to give me experiences they never had that were both positive and nurtuing.…