Culture Comparative Essay Child rearing and family structure within the Hispanic culture is noticeably different than what is present in the mainstream Western culture of today. One apparent difference is in gender roles. There exists a vastly different expectation in Hispanic culture for males and females. The male is considered to be the independent breadwinner, and the head of the household. Accordingly, the female role is one of submission and provider of childcare. In contrast, it is more than acceptable in Western culture for a female to maintain a non-traditional role. Hispanic culture additionally differs from Western culture in the traditional makeup of the family. Within Hispanic culture the extended family plays a huge role …show more content…
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, …show more content…
As a traditional, collectivistic cultural group, the Latino population is believed to adhere deeply to the value of familismo. (Arditti, 2006; Calzada, 2014). Familism is an emphasis on the importance of the family unit over values of autonomy and individualism”. (Santistaben, 2012). Family is considered to be the top priority in the Latino culture. Comparatively, at times, this isn’t true of our busy, work devoted western culture. In western culture we think of our family in a nuclear sense made up of a: mom, dad, and siblings. Conversely, Hispanic culture focuses on the whole extended family including aunts, uncles, grandparent, and cousins. Their culture believes having close connections with the entire extended family benefits the development of their children. The entire family helps the child by giving them differing levels of social and emotional support. (American Home Resolutions,
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.
The novel “The Color of Family Ties”, by Naomi Gerstel and Natalia Sarkisian, through their research they found out that the ratio of disorganized family for Black and Latino/a families are higher than White families. That white families are more nuclear, which means a couple with their dependent children. In contrast, Black and Latino/a families has a high ratio that they often live with their extended families (Naomi and Sarkisian 47). This novel ties in to the “Looking for Work” novel because Gerstel and Sarkisian shows a research regarding how Latino families are disorganized, and the way how Mexican families lives are just like Gary’s family, the extended family. We know that Gary’s family are disorganized, but nevertheless, Gary has extended families members who he lives together with. Gary’s family showed solidarity love by just help each other out and spending time together. “We ran home for my bike and when my sister found out that we were going swimming, she started to cry because she didn’t have fifteen cents but only an empty Coke bottle”(24 Soto). This is Gary’s cousin Debra who needs fifteen cents to go to the swimming pool, of course Gary and his friend helped Debra out. Other time that showed Gary’s family love is that Gary’s mother always let Gary’s play with his friends outside, not because she does not love Gary is because
This Mexican family is unique in that Rosario was a single mother. The culture of the Mexicans was very family oriented, and it was not common to have single parents among their culture during this time. According to Taylor the population of female headed household has steadily increased in the last decade but less appropriate in the Hispanic population (Taylor, p. 93). Her mother, apparently very ill too...
The Structure of families is sometimes based on gender. Gender roles in the Dominican Republic are similar to the roles that use to be the norm in America and that is still present in some households. The men are treated as superiors while women are seen as house wives. Women are the primary caregiver, either through divorce or widowhood or if the husband is working far away from home (“Roles of Women”). Also women are expected to be dedicated in being a mother and a daughter and by their late twenties to be married (“Dominican Republic Traditions and Etiquette”). It is interesting that they are expected to be married at a certain age. The men take on the role that is traditional which is being the one who enforces rules. The role of the men and women is also based on the social class they are in. The middle and upper class families are called patriarchal and the father is the norm (“Dominican Family Structure”). In the lower classes of the Dominican Republic the women are taking on the role of the men, which is to support the family. In the lower class families the structure is sometimes matriarchal because the father does not live in the house (“Dominican Family Structure”). It is interesting that depending on the social class it determines the structure of the household. Also the family structure can also depend on the oldest married couple or within their extended family the oldest male would holds authority....
Compare and Contrast Between Hispanic Culture and American Culture I. Introduction The Hispanic population has experienced incredible growth in the past decade in the United States of America. In 2006 it was estimated that the Hispanics cover 11% of the population in North America. Their origin is in Mexico and the few Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean. American culture is derived from people who originated from the European nations like Italy and the Great Britain.
As Kirst-Ashman and Hull Jr (2012, pp. 453-454) reminds us, “the family is central to Hispanic culture and is hierarchical in structure. That is the father is the primary authority figure (Devore & Schlesinger, 1996). Furthermore, scholars inform us that many Hispanic fathers appear somewhat aloof from the family, especially the children as it is the father’s role to pursue instrumental roles such as earning a living. Often, this results in the father being less likely to express emotional support (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., p. 454). Understanding these concepts of the Hernandez family culture as well as asking questions about their family members depicted on the genogram can aid me to become more informed. This can be a very positive step in the right direction in building a relationship of mutual respect and trust as in our respective roles as client and social work professional enhancing our ability to work together to determine the best intervention
The increase and changing demography in the United State today, with the disparities in the health status of people from different cultural backgrounds has been a challenge for health care professionals to consider cultural diversity as a priority. It is impossible for nurses and other healthcare professionals to learn and understand theses diversity in culture, but using other approaches like an interpreter is very helpful for both nurses and patients. In this paper of a culturally appropriate care planning, I will be discussing on the Hispanic American culture because, I had come across a lot of them in my career as a nurse. The Hispanic are very diverse in terms of communication and communities and include countries like Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South and Central America, and some of them speak and write English very well, some speaks but can’t write while some can’t communicate in English at all but Spanish.
Social problems include difficulties with family relationships, isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and pressures of social roles. The Latino culture tends to place a higher premium on the well-being of the family unit over that of any one family member, a concept termed familialism (Smith & Montilla, 2006). In general, familialism emphasizes interdependence and connectedness in the family, and often extends familial ties beyond the nuclear family (Falicov, 1998). Given these values, Latinos often describe depression in terms of social withdrawal and isolation (Letamendi, et al., 2013). Social roles also play an important role in mental health, traditional gender roles in particular are strongly enforced and can be a source of distress. In Latino culture, men and women are expected to fulfill the roles outlined in the traditions of Machismo and Marianismo respectively. Machismo indicates that the man is supposed to be strong and authoritative, while Marianismo designates the woman as the heart of the family both morally and emotionally (Dreby, 2006). Although there is little research on causal factors, adherence to these traditional gender roles can pose a psychological burden and has been found to be strong predictor of depression (Nuñez, et al., 2015). The centrality of social problems in the conceptualization of depression for Latinos may be reflective of the collectivistic values that are characteristic of the group. Although these values have the potential to contribute to depression, they also have the potential to serve as protective factors and promote mental health (Holleran & Waller, 2003). Therefore, it is imperative that the counselor carefully consider cultural values, both in terms of potential benefits and drawbacks, to provide appropriate counseling to the Latino
Furthermore, the roles in Mexican American culture are always changing, but it has one common structure. The traditional role of a mother is to clean, cook and care for the children, she is the “Heart of the Family”(Garcia). The spanish word to embody the job of the
Cultural value orientations are the, “basic and core beliefs of a culture; that have to deal with one’s relationship with one another and the world” (McCarty & Hattwick, 1992). All cultures may encounter challenges with the media and society of how their beliefs and values are represented. There are several factors that resemble how cultural values influence a culture, more specifically the Hispanic culture in Yuma, AZ. Some of those factors are, the expression of their individual and collective identity through communication, cultures identity expressed though the mass media channels, examples of the value orientations that influence the groups communications behaviors, and one of the major events that challenged Hispanics identities.
Often viewed in several different ways, the division of labor of the home is never easy to assign. Willingly taking on their assigned roles, numerous families abide by these assignments, still; other marriages want equality in this division of household chores. Countless of these tasks can be strenuous and demanding. The responsibilities that come with these daily routines can also be life threatening if not carefully performed. A few of the duties in the day-to-day trade of maintaining a household include tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. Division of labor among races is also different. These cultures influence how family roles come about and transpire. First, traditional Mexican American women undertake the
Latin American society places a great deal of importance on the family as a support network; it is not uncommon for several generations to reside in the same house. This emphasis is called familismo, and the mother in the family is usually the most important figure. She “is seen as the primary nurturer and caregiver in the family…[and] plays a critical role in preservation of the family as a unit, as well as in...
The term Hispanic is used to describe Spanish speaking natives. Spanish is one of the fastest expanding languages in the world and accounts for 21 different countries as their official language. About half of Hispanics originate in Mexico, and there is a lot diversity within the 21 Hispanics countries, therefore even their own traditions and heritages will be specific to them. It is also important to remember that most Hispanics do not like to be referred to as Hispanic but instead from where they reside; for example, Mexican American and Puerto Rican. Hispanics are very family oriented and they consider the oldest male to be the figure of authority, although when it comes to important decisions, the whole family contributes. Other important
Latinos have struggled to discover their place inside of a white America for too many years. Past stereotypes and across racism they have fought to belong. Still America is unwilling to open her arms to them. Instead she demands assimilation. With her pot full of stew she asks, "What flavor will you add to this brew?" Some question, some rebel, and others climb in. I argue that it is not the Latino who willingly agreed to partake in this stew. It is America who forced her ideals upon them through mass media and stale history. However her effort has failed, for they have refused to melt.
Both cultures accept childhood as a natural and wonderful part of life. In Mexican society, motherhood is characterized by the tradition that "motherhood is the most culturally acceptable identity available to women" (Horowitz, 1983, p.71). In The Flats, women view "childbearing as a natural and highly desirable phenomenon" (Stack, 1974, p.48).