On June 1, 1990, Bishop Rene H. Gracida of the Diocese of Corpus Christi issued a decree to director of Reproductive Services Inc., Rachel Vargas, banning her from receiving church sacraments such as communion, holy matrimony, and a Christian burial for her support of abortion. In the decree, Bishop Gracida explained, “Your [Vargas] cooperation in procuring abortions is a sin against God and humanity and against the laws of the Roman Catholic Church. The value of human life must always be protected in the Christian community and society at large.” Vargas responded by calling herself “a good Christian and a good Catholic” and stating, “…I’m just more committed to the issue of choice. What I believe does not guarantee me a place in hell.” …show more content…
Chicano men incorporated the church’s dominance over women into their life at home. Carmen M. del Río in her article “The Virgin of Guadalupe Revisited: Religion, Culture, Sexuality in the Works of Chicana/Latina Writers” details the entanglement of religion and culture, “These Chicana/Mexicana writers' devastating critique of the Catholic Church, of institutionalized religion, extends to their own Culture…as well as their experiential, popular culture, which fully embraced and internalized these beliefs and put them to full use in its pursuit of male supremacy and domination of women…Since the Church proved to be the institution par excellence to keep women in line, it is no wonder that many men in Chicana/Mexicana cultures have traditionally insisted that their women go to church, pray, be pious and reverent, even when they themselves may never step in a …show more content…
We seem afraid to talk of sex and womanly functions.” Del Río, in her article, also examines the dynamics of sexuality and religiosity by focusing on writer Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros, as a Catholic, faced the issue of a suppressed sexuality, “Religion and our culture, our culture and religion, helped create that blur, a vagueness about what went on "down there.” So ashamed was I about my own "down there" that until I was an adult I had no idea I had another orifice called the vagina. . . How could I acknowledge my sexuality, let alone enjoy sex, with so much guilt? In the guise of modesty my culture locked me in a double chastity belt of ignorance and vergüenza,
Sandra Cisneros once said “'Hispanic' is English for a person of Latino origin who wants to be accepted by the white status quo. ’Latino' is the word we have always used for ourselves.” In the novel I read, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros the main character a twelve-year-old Chicana (Mexican-American girl), Esperanza, saw self-definition as a struggle, this was a major theme in the novel through Esperanza’s actions and the ones around her. Esperanza tries to find identity in herself as a women as well as an artist throughout the novel through her encounters. Esperanza was able to provide the audience an image that was vivid of her surroundings by her diction and tone. Esperanza presents a series of stories that she deals with in her neighborhood as she is growing up. Esperanza arose from poverty and always dreamt of having a house of her own. Sandra Cisneros' strong cultural and gender values have a tremendous influence in The House on Mango Street. Cisneros feels that the Mexican-American community is very abusive towards the treatment of women because men are seen as the powerful, strong figure. Women are seen as failure and can’t strive without men in a Mexican-American community. In this novel you can see a cultural approach which examines a particular aspect of a culture and a gender studies approach which examines how literature either perpetuates or challenges gender stereotypes.
The traditions my parents instilled in me at a young age are important to me. They are part of my Latin culture and identity. One of the most important traditions that I value the most is our devotion to “La Virgen de Guadalupe” (The Virgin of Guadalupe), and although I don't go to church or share a specific a religion, I believe in La Virgen as a protector and a guardian figure and maintain her presence in my daily life.
The grandmother holds a special place in the family for that reason. Women organize feast days, celebrate rituals and offer prayers. The mother sets up the alter in the home where prayers are offered for the living and the dead. She makes the home a domestic church. Hispanic women are the evangelizers and teachers of values, yet their leadership has often gone unrecognized.
Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. .
For most of the people in the Spanish-speaking world, religion is a large part of daily life, and a large percentage of those people are Catholics. According to America Magazine, in 2010, the largest population of Catholics in the world resided in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mexico has the second-largest Catholic population of any country in the world, with 85 percent of its residents identifying themselves as practicing Catholicism (Catholic). One of the main beliefs of the Catholic faith is the sanctity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.
The Lady of Guadalupe is a huge part of the Mexican tradition, and how many people look up to her in a very godly way. She is important, because she reminds people of their appreciation for their own cultures, along with the other cultures that are all over the world. The Lady of Guadalupe is someone that is the exact replica of the Virgin Mary. But, the only difference is, is that the Virgin Mary is a saint that is represented in the European culture, and the Lady of Guadalupe in the Aztec and Native culture of Mexico. The lady of Guadalupe is a positive influence on different religions, especially Christianity.
Moraga, Cherrie. “Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe,” in The Color of Privilege 1996, ed Aida Hurtado. Ann Arbor: University Michigan Press, 1996.
The role of strong female roles in literature is both frightening to some and enlightening to others. Although times have changed, Sandra Cisneros’ stories about Mexican-American women provide a cultural division within itself that reflects in a recent time. The cultural themes in Cisneros’s stories highlight the struggle of women who identify with Mexican-American heritage and the struggle in terms of living up to Mexican culture – as a separate ethnic body. The women in Sandra Cisneros’ stories are struggling with living up to identities assigned to them, while trying to create their own as women without an ethnic landscape. In Sandra Cisneros’ stories “Woman Hollering Creek: and “Never Marry a Mexican” the role of female identities that are conflicted are highlighted, in that they have to straddle two worlds at once as Mexican-American women.
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
Gonzalez, Araceli. “Discussion #2.” Chicano Studies 10. University of California Davis. Wellman 229. 8 October 2013.
Catholicism glorifies and represents mothers as the main foundation of the family through the example of the passive and unconditional loving Mary, the mother of Jesus Crist. This idea of the mother as unconditional lover beings has been passed on and reproduced in the Chicana/o community. Gil Cuadros and Reyna Grande through their autobiographical work testify against this predominate idea of the mothers being caring and loving persons. Even though most mothers fall into the norm of a normal mother, normality is subjective, therefore Cuadros and Grande’s work represent the complexities of reality. Grande’s The Distance Between Us and Cuadro’s City of God are autobiographical narratives that incorporate reality as a form of testimonial of existence, an act of healing and resilience. Given that these author’s life experiences can be
Catholicism glorifies and portrays mothers as the main foundation of the family through the example of the passive and unconditional loving Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. This idea of mothers as unconditional loving beings has been passed on and reproduced in the Chicana/o community. Gil Cuadros and Reyna Grande, through their autobiographical work, testify against this predominate idea of mothers being always caring and loving persons. Even though most mothers fall into the norm of a normal mother, normality is subjective; therefore Cuadros and Grande’s work represent the complexities of reality. Grande’s The Distance Between Us and Cuadro’s City of God are autobiographical narratives that incorporate reality as a form of testimonial of existence, an act of healing and resilience.
Writing in the 20th century was great deal harder for a Chicano then it was for a typical American at this time. Although that did not stop this author, Sandra Cisneros. One of her famous novels, Woman Hollering Creek was a prime example of how a combined culture: Mexican-Americans, could show their pride and identity in this century. In conjunction, gave the opportunity for women to speak their voice and forever change the culture of Latino/a markets. Not only did it express identity/gender roles of women and relationships, but using these relationships to combine the cultures of Mexican and American into a hybrid breed. This novel, should have been a view-point for the future to show that there is more to life than just gender and race. Concluding this, the articles that helps define this is “The Latino/a Canon and the Emergence of Post-Sixties Literature” and “What is called Heaven”.
Sexuality has become one of the key determining factors in one’s gender. While many want to initially say that gender is solely based on sexual orientation fail to take in to account many cultural practices, which not only influence gender, but create certain gender roles. The initial creation of Mexican gender roles, as Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez suggests, is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church “over the course of almost five hundred years,” created beliefs that virgins are desirable and that a non-virgin is of a lower moral class (38). From this Mexican women began maintaining their virginity, not because of the moral implications, but because of social mobility. Virginity has been created to be something beautif...
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.