9. Fear of
Domestic
Violence in
the School
or Work
Place
http://www.ovc.gov/pubs/existeayuda/tools/pdf/factsheet_
eng.pdf
http://www.wliw.org/programs/frontline/rape-in-the-fields/
29. Important Factors
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
30. Important Factors: Location of Origin
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
31. Important Factors: Marital Status
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
32. Important Factors: Years Of School
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
33. Important Factors: Economic Independence
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
34. Important Factors: Personal Independence
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
35. Important Factors: Machismo
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
36. Important Factors: New Found Freedom
Interview Origin Type
Marital
Status
School
Years
Family in
CA
Economic
Independence
Personal
Independence
New Found
Freedom
Change of
Lifestyle Machismo
1Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
2Jalisco
Small
Town Single 1 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
3Sonora
Small
Town Divorced 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
4
Michoacá
n
Small
Town Single 10-12 Yes High High High Yes Yes
5Veracruz
Small
Town Married 12 No High High High Yes Yes
6Oaxaca
Small
Town Married Unknown Yes High Low No Yes Yes
7Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 7-9 Yes High Moderate Moderate Yes Yes
8Oaxaca City Divorced 12+ No High High Low Yes Yes
9
Federal
District City Divorced 12+ Yes High High Low Yes Yes
10Oaxaca
Small
Town Married 10 Yes High High High Yes Yes
11
Guanajuat
o
Small
Town Married 12+ Yes High High High Yes Yes
38. The Interviewees,
Dr. James Keese,
Social Sciences Department,
CAPSLO,
Binational Center For The
Development Of The Indigenous
Oaxaca,
Catherine Trujillo,
And Many Others!
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Editor's Notes
As one of the women said, “Venir aquí significa muchos sacrificios en todos los aspectos…” Which means in English, “To come here means many sacrifices en every aspect.”
This quote gives us an idea of what the migrant experience is like for these women and how their life is changed.
But before we dive into topic, how did I become interested in this subject? Overall, I have always had an interest in gender roles and also, over these past few years I have had a growing interest for Latin America through my Spanish and Latin American courses.
But my personal interest towards the subject really didn’t blossom until I started to personally travel to Mexico. My boyfriend comes from Oaxaca and he currently lives in Mexico City, so I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Mexico City and Oaxaca 6 times alone this past year, and so through these trips, I’ve been able to experience and learn the culture more each time.
I’m from SM, a town here on the Central Coast, about 40 minutes south of San Luis Obispo, and Santa Maria is known for their high Hispanic population, especially the large Oaxacan community.
So after traveling to Mexico and learning more about the Mexican culture and the Oaxaca culture, I began to notice similarities and differences between the two Mexican population here and in Mexico. I became curious to know if Mexican migrants really do change when they come to the United States or if they continue with their same traditions.
And personally, whenever I was in Santa maria, I would see a woman pushing her baby in the stroller on the street, and I would wonder and imagine what her life was like. But what we don’t realize is that this population as a whole plays a vital role in our society through: agriculture, restaurant, domestic, construction, etc.
And for how much this population does for our society and economy, they are suffering, in particular undocumented women. These women often lack resources, and as a consequence they are being effected by critical, important issues that strongly need to be addressed.
Such as…
Girls are skipping school because they are afraid of sexual assault or rape occurring on the way or at school
“560.000 women work on the U.S. farms and many of them face harassment”
The hispanic pop makes up for 19% of people living with HIV and 21% of new HIV infection.
Although the rate of unintended pregnanices for Hispanic women are decreasing, they still are the racial group with the highest rates of unplanned pregnancies.
High rate of diabetes.
However, to further understand why Latinas face this inequality, we need to understand their cultural background and beliefs…
And obviously, these core beliefs stem from the traditional gender roles throughout Mexico, as well as other Latin American countries…
The term machismo is the traditional and stereotypical idea that men rule the domain outside of the home, that they are involved in work, socializing with other men, drinking, and cheating.
Yet since they normally provide money and food for the family that automatically puts them in the dominant position in the home.
Although, we may only associate machismo with Spanish speaking countries, it even exists here in the Hispanic population.
We hear a lot about machismo, but the traditional role for woman is is marianismo where the woman is morally and spiritually superior over the man. The term marianismo stems from the religious figure of Mary and her influence on LA women and their religious image as the moral figurehead of the family. Also, marianismo associates the woman to the home, as well as with certain “Mary like” characteristics such as purity, female passivity, selflessness, and sacrifice for the family.
TRANSITION:
So with an understanding of these traditional gender roles, my goal was to see if migration specifically alters Mexican migrant women’s gender roles or if the American culture has an impact on their beliefs and their roles.
So to answer these questions, I created a qualitative based methodology of in person interviews.
For my sample group, I was searching for a sample size of 10-15 women, in particular, first generation Mexican migrant women who are currently living on the Central Coast. Also, I wanted to talk with women who migrated at a age when they could remember the reasoning and the experience of migrating.
Before I went ahead with interviews, Cal Poly required me to fill out the Human Subject’s paperwork to ensure the protection of the women’s privacy, as well as create a consent form in English and Spanish for the women.
Also, I had to create and turn in a sample questionnaire in Spanish and in English, one that would form a well-rounded representation of the women’s past and present in reference to their gender roles.
Once my project was approved by the Human Subjects Committee, I reached out to 2 local organizations on the Central Coast, such as CAPSLO
And he directors of these organizations helped me to gain more insight about the topic, connect me with women to interview, and learn about services offered to these women.
So when it came time for the interviews, I interviewed the woman in the location of her choice…
Various locations where the interviews were held such as a childcare center
Various locations where the interviews were held such as the park
I didn’t take any photos for privacy concerns, especially since some of the participants were undocumented.
In the end, I interviewed a total of 11 women. The women came from a diversity of states in Mexico, such as Oaxaca, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Veracruz, Jalisco, and the Federal District, and their amount of time living here ranged from 3-30 years on the Central Coast.
Although the majority of the women currently worked in the agricultural sect, one woman worked in a Laundromat, another woman worked cleaned homes, and even one woman owned her own daycare business.
Themes (a slide for each one)
So what can we gather from all of this information?
Amongst the interviewees, these 10 factors were common indicators if the woman’s gender roles had changed and how they changed
I looked at Where they came from in Mexico, they type of area it was (a city or a small town), their marital status, the number of years of schooling they had accomplished,
If they had family in CA, their economic independence, their personal independence, New Found Freedom in CA, Change of Lifestyle, and if they believe in machismo.
I will be analyzing some of the main factors.
Where the women came from was a very strong indicator of the foundation of the women’s beliefs and perspectives towards gender roles
Obviously, women who came from pueblos were raised with the tradition of staying home, cleaning the house, and watching the kids and not working or having an education
Women who were from the city tended to have a more modern mindset, like one of the interviewees said, Mexican women from the city were very similar to American women. They also felt that they did NOT have as many opportunities here. So in actuality, they felt more hindered from their lack of economic opportunities here.
There was a variation of the marital status’:
3 single
3 divorced
5 married-marital status tends to hinder woman’s independence
The amount of schooling was positively correlated with the woman’s personal independence, but the women with the most schooling tended to be from the city.
When women migrate over to the United States, or in this case to California, the majority of women do experience independence and freedom to some extent due to working.
For example, one of the women that I interviewed felt independent and confident for being able to buy a car on her own without the help of her parents or a man, and she would have never been able to do that in Mexico.
There were some women who did gain personal independence from working, For example, one interviewee paid the down payment of her family’s home, which gained her husband’s respect and ultimately changed her life. But that is not always the case. Yes, the women may be contributing financially to the home now, but that does not mean the gender roles have switched . The majority of migrant women continue having to do other work at home after their full time jobs at the fields, an exhaustive job.
Also, known as the DOUBLE DAY WORKLOAD.
Personal Independence-Home life (on the contrary to econ. Ind. It wasn’t as free)
We see the overwhelming common belief that machismo still exists not only in Mexico, but here as well. For example, one of the women screamed yes! And said that of everything, make it known at my presentation that machismo still exists. This shows that traditional MALE gender roles stay fixed here, which can hinder female growth here. Again, we can see the connection between machismo and the double day work load, the male not wanting to participate in domestic work.
Double Day Work Load
And lastly, New Found Freedom. New Found Freedom gages if the woman feels she has an opportunity and feels confident that she can move forward, showing if their mindsets have changed since they have migrated here. For example, one of the participants worked in the strawberry fields, but she knew she had an opportunity here and one day, she wanted to be a makeup artist and a hair stylist.
So in a brief summary we do see that women migrate over in hope for more freedom, but the majority of cases shows that traditional gender stereotypes of machismo and marianismo hold back the women from full growth. In addition, it is these traditional gender roles and stereotypes towards this group of women that put them in danger here and in Mexico, but in the United States there is a lack of knowledge about these women and for that a lack services for them.
Q&A slide!
