Patriarchic society instills this self-hatred into Chicanas by embedding their worthlessness into the foundation of society itself. “Chicanas’ negative perceptions of ourselves as sexual persons and our consequential betrayal of each other find their roots in a four-hundred-year-long Mexican history and mythology” (39). This self-hatred is institutionalized by the creation of a myth that justifies the…
The Magic Lantern published in 1886 and written by José Tomás de Cuéllar (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) is a novella about nineteenth century Mexico. He wrote this book to express his thoughts and ideas about the way men and women treated each other during this time. Cuéllar believed Mexico was wrong for the standards that were set and thoroughly expresses these thoughts through the short story, Having a Ball. He believed that men should look for more substance in women, other than there beauty. This novella is written about Cuéllars views and the French customs in Mexico City during the 1900’s.…
In “Los de Abajo”, Anzuela provides a powerful description of the revolutionary movement but also, the extreme poverty for the majority of Mexico. Following a part of Demetrio Mancias’ journey, the author explores issues like literacy, community health, substandard housing, machismo and gender roles. One repetitive topic is how much the men in Demetrio’s group really understood about the Revolution, and how the ideologies behind a bigger movement can be reduce to their minimum expression depending…
In Cofer’s essay “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Cofer uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to portray Latina stereotypes as harmful and inaccurate.…
Being born as a man in a Mexican family means that working and supporting his family…
The film “Mujeres Adelante” focuses primarily on the role of Mexican-American women, throughout major historical events (from the beginning of the Spanish conquest to the end of the 20th century). Women have been major contributors to maintaining a functional society. Throughout the film some themes that arose were in regards to the United States oppressing Mexicans, and the lack of portrayal of women as intelligent activist.…
In the Dominican Republic, men had absolute authority over everything in the early 1900’s. They were considered dominant and almighty, while women were expected to be elegant and inferior. Men were able to live whatever lifestyle they wanted to live in. What mattered was, as long as men were able to make their family’s income, they could do whatever they desired. On the other hand, women had to run errands and take care of their husbands and children. This was the common system at the time. However, These traditions and attitudes did not stop the Mirabal sisters from standing up for what they believed in. For instance, the sisters proved to their society that that the dictatorship was a horrible thing. The Mariposas were fully committed to abolish the regime of Trujillo, even though they knew that they could be killed. They gave up many things to gain their freedom. The Mirabal sisters made a huge impact in the Dominican Republic.…
In the story, the author is getting pulled in various directions. Rodriguez wants to stay true to his Mexican culture for his parents' sake claiming they, “...grow distant, apart, no longer speak,” but also wants to belong in American culture where his education has driven him to a position not many Mexicans get to or have to opportunity to be (Rodriguez 105). This story confronts the idea that anyone can succeed as long as they are willing to sacrifice their cultural identity in the process.…
What does it mean to be a “man?” Unfortunately, in American culture this is all too important of a question. According to sociologist, Michael Kimmel, being a (white) man entails having much anger, violence, and entitlement, which he describes further in his book: Angry White Men. These actions are also displayed in the 2007 film, The Departed, which follows the story of two white men on their journey to take on the Irish Mob along with the Massachusetts State Police Department. But, where do these actions come from? In this paper, I will be arguing that men in today’s society act out while trying to fulfill the ideal masculine role that is shaped by American society’s social expectations and social institutions including the family,…
“It was the women who shouldered the double burden of racial and gender discrimination” (Vargas, pg. 336). Machismo is a strong attribution to being a Chicano, hence when woman comes into the picture it disrupts the “balance. “ Chicano power figured in the shaping of the Chicana liberation movement and radical feminism; particularly the refusal of many pointedly sexist male leaders to consider women or women’s interests”, hence sparking the Chicana movement during the civil rights movement (Vargas, pg 308). Chicanas was often attacked for not being “obedient” while at the same time criticized for not indulging in freedom. An example of this is “Chicanas suffered guilt at not contributing to the household income of their families and social pressures to get married” (Blackwell, pg.62) Many Chicanas wanted to be their own independent person before being joined in marriage while others did not want to at all. When Chicana feminism started during the civil rights movement, they strove for equal rights, child care for those actively participating, reproductive health care and higher education (Romero, Nov 16th). By not including Chicana feminism to being Chicano, gave the opportunity for men to believe themselves superior to women. “They organized themselves as a direct result of blatant contradictions between male leadership and women’s secondary…
Exploring the construction of hegemonic masculinity, we go through a contradicting state of the definition of manhood. Although contradictions appear, it is socially adapted and able to reside without conflict. Take manhood as this, “We think of manhood as a transcendent tangible property that each man must manifest in the world” (Kimmel, 1994). Meaning that manhood is merely an idea which is drilled into a man’s head by society, “Gender, we said, was an achieved status” (West and Zimmerman, 2015) in other terms, manhood is a socially agreed upon idealization of how men should act or who they should be. In West and Zimmerman’s “Doing Gender”, Hegemonic masculinity is accomplished by the unavoidable categories of sex and gender and ways we act upon them; collaborating together in a socially constructed standard of how to be.…
While this is a book about women’s reproductive rights, a recurring theme in the book is machismo: the idea of a strong, manly, alpha male. The ideals that lay beyond the term of machismo…
During the eighteenth century, one of the utmost aspects to have in life for the Spanish in colonial New Mexico for men was honor, this was the very center of their moral system.(pg.177) Having honor was those who colonized New Mexico and conquered the Indians forcing them to submit.(pg.177) In order for one to achieve getting that respect it meant that they had to prove it to everyone and they had to see it with their own eyes, basically needing their approval. Not only did they fight for honor, but they also had to fight to maintain it depending on “brute force”.(pg.177) This essay will explore Ramon A. Gutierrez’s discussion on manhood and honor on two different levels, one of status and one of virtue.(pg.177)…
Traditional gender roles still prevail in varying degrees. Mexican men may hold on to the concept of male machismo, or being "macho," while women are often taught to play up their femininity in the hope of attracting a potential mate. Many men and women still believe the man should be the dominant partner in a relationship. Depending on the stage of the relationship, things differ from stage to stage.…
Kristin Hoganson has a very interesting idea, which she defends very well with a lot of evidence. Hoganson argues that gender politics played a major role in forcing American into the Spanish American and Philippine wars. She makes many great points throughout her book, Fighting for American Manhood, which perfectly back up her main argument.…