War on Drugs, War on Women Violence against women in third world societies is by and large more common opposed to more economically developed nations. Mexico is no exception to this rule. Historically, there have been several reasons that contribute to this problem. Mexican society still embraces the institution of rigid gender roles that have cultural, social and economic roots. Violence against women has always been an issue in Mexico – however, one could argue that the recent “War on Drugs” initiated by president Felipe Calderon has inflamed this issue – causing violence against women to reach unprecedented rates. In fact, a considerable increase of violence against women has been documented that directly corresponds to increased regulations …show more content…
In Mexico, violence against women has cultural roots that are derived from a patriarchal order in which two expressions are commonly used, the “Machismo” and “Marianismo.” Machismo symbolizes the male power and aggression, and it implies that men are to control the home and the workplace. On the other hand, Marianismo symbolizes the pre-supposed domestic nature of women as mothers and wives. Women are expected to center their lives on taking care of their family and providing more nurturing roles in society. It also emphasizes attributes like “Purity and Morality.” Stevens Evelyn P. writes In The Other Face of Machismo in Latin America (p.123) “Marianismo teaches that women are semi divine, by being morally superior to and spiritually stronger than men." These ideals reinforce the belief that women should be impeccable in character whereas men are traditionally accepted as acting in accordance to the lower instincts -- which includes sexual prowess and violence. The societal blueprint for both women and men in Mexico is problematic because it dismisses one’s behavior based on predestined behavior based on …show more content…
A number of inequalities such as lack of resources, limits on freedom, exploitation, harassment and mental and physical abuse derive from the cultural belief that men are superior to women. For example, a man may feel that it is perfectively fine to use physical force if a woman does not act according to her submissive and obedient role. Because the Mexican culture supports an environment of male chauvinist identity, and sees women as inferior and weak, men are often authoritarian, aggressive and violent against women. These attitudes have forced women to be in subordinate relationships with males within the family and society as a whole.
Violence against women has always existed in Mexico. The causes of violence result from deep cultural patriarchal beliefs and practices that empower men and disadvantage women. It results also from a perceived economic dependence, although close to forty percent of women are employed, an environment of subordination to men still persists. The departure from traditional roles of Machismo and Marianismo also creates an identity conflict in men. As they see their dominant identity compromised, some men respond with aggression towards
In the Documentary “Mexico’s Drug Cartel War”, it displays a systematic approach of drugs and violence. The Drug War has been going on since the United States had a devastating impact on Mexico after the recession where it nearly doubled its interest payments. Mexico could not afford the interest payments but did have many agricultural imports. This created the trade between the United States and the land owned by the two million farmers. It spread the slums to Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez to work in maquiladoras (assembly plants just across the border) (Jacobin, 2015). This paper will focus on explaining how drugs are related to violence in Mexico, how drug enforcement policies influence the relationship between drugs and violence, and how battle for control in their own country.
"Violence against women-it's a men's issue." Jackson Katz:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Femicide is violence and hate towards women due to the extreme aggressive machismo, gender inequalities and discrimination, and economic disempowerment embedded in Latino culture (Prieto-Carron, 26). To put differently, femicide is an epidemic that has occurred for years in Latino countries, but is more prevalent today due to the systematic corruption in society and media coverage. For instance, in the poem this issue is expressed when I assert “I watch for my sisters. I grieve for those who have been raped and killed, only to be forgotten and marginalized” (Line 15-16). To clarify, many women in Central America are killed due to this gender-based violence that is historically linked to the colonial period, when the Europeans categorized women inferior to men. This patriarchal mentality is instituted to many systems that it becomes normalize and ignored. According Mariana Prieto-Carron, who analyzes femicide in Central American countries, states, “those in power, both in the household and in state institutions, can exert greater control over women’s behavior and mobility” (Prieto-Carron, 30). In other words, this is a form of social-control from the elite in order to regulate women and keep them from going against hegemonic patriarchal society. These social constructs are restraining women from social mobility and freedom. Correspondingly, when I
My readings suggest the Hispanic culture gender roles are very common and strict. Starting early in life children are taught to follow the strict guidelines of their gender (American Home Resources, 2010). There exists three common gender specific scripts in Hispanic culture; females can either be “Marianismo” or “Hembrismo”, and, males are classified as “Machismo”. The two female roles differ greatly; “Marianismo” defines behaviors of women as being obedient, dependent and caring for their children. The “Hembrismo” role stresses a female’s strength to persist through life’s difficulties; however, this role is not accepted widely in their culture. The “Machismo” role describes behaviors of men as being dominant and independent. This role views the man as being in charge of the family. (Peñalosa,
Hunnicutt illustrated that the concept of patriarchy is a useful tool in the theory of feminism. She also made use the concept of patriarchy to show how it can be employed to explain violence against women in society. Hunnicutt’s article presents an alternative way to understand violence against women by employing patriarchy as a core theoretical concept. Hunnicutt believed that in the society, women are typically oppressed and men also have been historically dominant over them, and most times it results to violence against these women. Hunnicutt stated that the theories of violence against women mostly focus on male power but via situating that power within a patriarchal order. This article is important to the topic of feminism because for its theoretical background to help ground my
Usually, the male is considered the head of the house and the authority figure. The reason why males generally have more authority in the Mexican-American culture is mostly related to the fact that they are usually the only economic provider in the household. Furthermore, the behavior of males can be greatly influenced by the machismo culture. Machismo is characterized by the behavior of males, which try to portray an image of superiority and dominance which is reinforced by society, culture, norms and values (Segrest, Romero, & Domke-Damonte, 2003). In other words, machismo represents the subordination to men. Some of the males of this culture like to have control and dominance over their family, especially over their wives. The display of machismo allows males to prove their masculinity to other males while proving their power over his family. Usually, young males while growing up do not play a role in the housework because it is considered something that is just for females. Granted that, young males are usually left to play with their toys or if required to help is usually with manly stuff such as helping the father fix the car or cut the house yard. Not only is the male the provider of the house, but he is also viewed as the protector of his family. Showing superiority and power is one of the main ideals of males in this
Since 1970, there has been an increasing and alarming rise 138 percent of violent crimes committed by women. Still, while the equivalent percentage compared to male violence is small 15 percent to 85 percent the fact that the numbers have elevated so drastically points to something changing in society.
Most Mexican families are extremely traditional, with the man as the head of the house hold, and the authority figure. Machismo (masculinity) in all latino countries is a huge problem, not only because women are being deprived of their freedom, but because men abuse their power. I asked five Mexican women how they felt about Machismo in Mexico. Two of the five women told me kind of the same thing; They believe that it is not a bad thing, but it depends on the man. The other three were very against it, and they ...
National data gives us an indication of the severity of this issue. When 1 in 5-woman report being victims of severe physical violence (NISVS, 2010), we must ask ourselves if enough is being done to prevent this from occurring. From a historical point, there has always almost been a distinction from men on woman violence. Based on the disparity of cases reported, male inflicted violence on females is much higher and prevalent. When the perpetrators of DV, and IPV are predominately males, we can no longer dismissed this issue as a cultural, or
The statistic that surprised me was the rapid increase in participation of Mexican American women in America’s workforce. The census reported that the number might be near that of American women. These statistics were surprising as they contradict the stereotype of Mexican machismo in Latino culture. The machismo emphasizes the man’s reluctance in asking for assistance. McGoldrick et al. suggest that therapists should view machismo as the father’s dedication to family and responsibility to the family wellbeing (2014). Research suggests that this acculturation towards more egalitarian gender relationships may create riffs within marriages as husbands response to the loss of economic power while wives are focused on economic empowerment (Flores et al., as cited by McGoldrick et al.,
In concluding this paper, domestic violence shared a lot about Colonial Latin American society. This society held honour and reputation in the highest regards, willing to do anything to protect their names. A damaged reputation not only effected the person, but the entire family. It was the role of the male to protect both his and his families honour, which was seem in controlling his family. If a husband thought his wife was a risk to his family’s honour, it was deemed socially acceptable to “correct” her through physical violence. Physical violence as a form of control was a part of Colonial Latin American life and society, it was the right of the patriarchal figure. Through the control of the family, social order could be maintained. Although
Today there are many cultures of Hispanic/Latino background that are affect by the social norms that have been constructed. It has become hard for Hispanics to hold the expectations that are set on them by our society. As of 2017 we are set to norms that men and women are expected to follow. Patriarchy plays a major role in how we uphold those standards. Before beginning, I would like to identify a key term that will be used many times throughout this paper. Patriarchy is best defined as a political-social system that implies that males are dominant, and superior to everything and everyone, especially females (Hook). Hook suggests that men are admired in society while females are to be inferior. Throughout this paper, I will be exploring the
It seems that hegemonic masculinity does a great deal in explaining male-perpetrated familicide, but it fails to explain female perpetrators. There is a great lack of gender symmetrical explanations of interpersonal violence. However, as the 21st century continues, and there is a continued strive for gender equality, there is good chance that there will be an increasing amount of gender based research on violence.
This paper examines Patriarchal Terrorism, a form of domestic violence against women. In the United States has being more prevalent among different races, social level, marital status, and educational level. The current increase of domestic violence rates globally have led researchers to study the importance of the rates in the United States for better methods of policy implementation. The theory that explains the causes of domestic violence is the Conflict Theory developed by Karl Marx. Conflict Theory explains how domestic violence emerged due to the result of gender inequality in patriarchal societies. In this societies, men were superior to women in the ability to obtain education, employment, financial income, creating law, and vote. As
The world has many different issues, and without them the world would be a perfect place. An issue that causes a lot of controversy is drug abuse. Though the world can never be a perfect place, humans still need to do our best to make in inhabitable as possible, and drugs cause a lot of harm towards humans. Therefore, it is my belief that the first thing that needs to be fixed should be drugs and their abuse. Many possible solutions to this problem exist.