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Stereotypical representation of Latina women in film
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Latina women are one of the minorities that integrate the American population. According to Women’s Bureau, United States Department of Labor, Latina women today are more probable to be in the labor force than 20 years ago and their participation is expected to exceed White non-Hispanic women. According to U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey 2016, there are 4.5 million of Latino mothers with children under 18 years old, who are singles, householders, and works full-time and year-round. According to the Census, most Latino women work in service occupations. They earn less and live below the poverty level since earning in these employments represent less than half of the wages of workers in professional and related activities. As …show more content…
a Latina Christian woman, I feel identified with the struggles against the oppression, injustice and marginalization of Latina women in the USA. For that reason, I will expose the main theologies and principles from the ethic, which reflect in the liberation and empowerment of Latina women and denounce and confronting racism, sexism, economic inequality, hyper-individualism and white privilege in the American society. I will formulate my thesis from my own experience as a facilitator in Lectura Popular de la Biblia facilitator in my country, Cuba, where I have worked to empower women through the theological and biblical studies and reflections. My claim emerges also from reflections in “Mujerista theology”. Ada Maria Iasi-Diaz coined the term “Mujerista theology” to call the attention about the struggles of Latino woman in the USA.
“Mujerista theology” focuses its reflection on the option for the oppressed, among which Latin women are an ethnoracial, minoritized, and marginalized group within the United States. Mujerista theology considers impossible to achieve justice and equity for women in the Western civilization without understanding and seeks liberation from structural change. Mujerista theology introduces the term “lo cotidiano” to refer everyday lives of Latinas women in the USA. “Lo cotidiano” is related with the simple reality of day to day, the immediacy and unpredictability. It calls attention to a fragile reality of Latinas women that often only counts as a resource with her own wisdom, resistance and creativity to survive themselves and their families. Mujerista theology highlight “lo cotidiano” have value and understands it as essential part of the option for the oppressed and as a key piece to achieve structural change in favor of Latina …show more content…
women. The biblical Mujerista’s hermeneutic interpretation of the Bible and the Latin America women’s liberationist theology also reflects in “lo cotidiano” through a participatory methodology to study biblical texts.
This methodology is grounded in Educación Popular y la Lectura Popular de la Biblia. Educación Popular starts in the sixties related with insights and struggles of Christians, religious and political leaders from America Latina as well as the Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire’s thinking. It is link to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Liberation Theology, the Soviet Union’s crisis and the Revolución Sandinista in
Nicaragua. Paulo Freire proposed an educational model linked to political practice. He raised education is in relation with values and projects that authenticate power relationship in the society. Education is not neutral rather it legitimates or questions the power relationships in society, either to stand in favor of domination or emancipation. Freire emphasized education is a tool to educators and students “read” and understand the reality in a critical way. To Freire, the education goal is people have the opportunity writing their own history and act to transform it. Freire highlight education is an “awareness exercise”. On the other hand, Lectura Popular de la Biblia was born as a reaction to the economic, political and social challenges that arose during the 20th century. In Latin America appear military dictatorships in the sixties and seventies and begin a political and social committee among several Christian groups. The "social gospel" concept by Albrecht Ritschl and Walter Rauschenbuch, the theological thought of Rudolph Bultmann on the "kerygma of the cross" and the F.C. Baur’s work, focused on a special interest in history, introduced the beginning of a series of historical studies applied to the Bible. As a result, several Christian groups in Latin America began a liberating reading of the biblical texts in favor of justice and life. The methodology of Lectura Popular de la Biblia is to go to the Scriptures to intentionally search for a text that addresses the problems and concerns of women and inspires them to share their stories and experiences. The selected texts should highlight the centrality of “lo cotidiano” and it should characterize women who take control of their lives and make their own decisions particularly when they go against power systems oppressive and unfair. This methodology also examines the context of the selected biblical text, specifically the economic and sociocultural context behind the text. One text that give lights about women reality is the Hagar's story. It is a story of ethnic prejudice intensified by economic and sexual exploitation. My experience from the Latin America women’s liberationist theology has been to facilitate popular Bible reading workshops in my native country, Cuba. Workshops promotes reflection and debate on biblical texts. They have been essential to empower women to take an active role in society and the church. Workshops follow the participatory methodology proposed by the Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire where knowledge is constructed collectively. My claim starts from my work experience with women and Freire’s thinking. I propose a biblical and theological education from the Educación Popular and Lectura Popular de la Biblia to achieve an integral women liberation from justice and equity. My proposal is raising awareness among Latino women about their situation of oppression and exclusion through a “participatory methodology”. It will allow become in protagonists of their struggles to attain structural change. This educational process will be a useful resource to empower our women and make aware the whole community. The final objective is reach spaces in the society where we can educate for the solidarity and empowerment of Latina women.
The story “Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros describes the lives of Mexicans in a Chicago neighborhood. She depicts the life that women endure as Latino wives through her portrayal of the protagonist, Cleofilas. For Cisneros being a Mexican-American has given her a chance to see life from two different cultures. In addition, Cisneros has written the story from a woman’s perspective, illustrating the types of conflicts many women face as Latino wives. This unique paradigm allows the reader to examine the events and characters using a feminist critical perspective.
Wanting to achieve a sense of fullness is arguably a goal that many, if not everyone, has. To live a life with meaning and transcendence is to live a life worth living; it is to have something that makes you see the beauty in the world and it is to have daily motivation. The Latinx community is a community that embodies this desire of having a meaningful life, and it is mostly evident in the community’s working class. As anthropological studies arise, scholars have also noticed this strong desire. However, they say that working class Latinxs ' longing of fullness stems off form the oppression and “trauma” that they have undergone. In other words, that desire is simply an outlet to escape from tension caused by unprecedented shifts in the lives
The Women of Colonial Latin America serves as a highly digestible and useful synthesis of the diverse life experiences of women in colonial Latin America while situating those experiences in a global context. Throughout, Socolow mediates the issue between the incoherence of independent facts and the ambiguity of over-generalization by illustrating both the restrictions to female behavior and the wide array of behavior within those restrictions. Readers of varied backgrounds will come away with a much deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that defined the lives of the diverse women of the New World ruled by Portugal and
Family is the most important social unit of Hispanic life. It is a close-knit entity that includes immediate and extended family members. Typically, the father is the head of the family and the mother rules the house (Clutter, n.d.). Vacations are usually taken to relatives’ houses to promote togetherness in celebration of birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, and communions. In times of need, the family is the first line of aid, and Hispanics typically live with their parents until marriage. While this deviates from American ideals for individuals aged 18-35, it actually provides young adults the opportunity for future success because so much money is saved from greatly reduced housing costs (Williams, 2009).
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most severely affected groups because the current immigration system disproportionally affects Latino/as. Recognizing how the experience of Latino/a immigrants have been both similar and different in the past from other immigrant groups and dispelling common misconceptions about Latino/as today bring an awareness how Latino/as are affected.
As the Latino population in the United States continues to grow, U.S. Census Bureau, 2001, increasing attention is being turned toward understanding the risk and protective factors of immigrant Latino and U.S.-born Latino children and families. The demographic data relating to Latinos in the United States estimate that one of every two people added to the U.S population was Latino, in July 2009 Latino population was the fastest growing minority group U.S Census Bureau, 2010. Despite the increased risk of growing the immigrant families are in lower risk of Social Economic Status, having parents with less education and limited with language and knowledge about education. Immigrating to one place to another is often the most stressful event
Immigration has always been an issue in the United States, which is often portrayed as harmful and as major threat to American culture. As a result, various anti immigration policies have been aimed against immigrants in order to prevent and preserve the miscegenation of American culture, such as English only policies. Among the largest minority groups in the U.S, are Latinos who currently compose of 15% of the U.S population (Delgado and Stefancic 3). Unfortunately, Latinos have been accused of taking American benefits, jobs, and have wrongfully been depicted as a result of not assimilating to American culture. Latinos are often accused of resisting assimilation, but what has failed to be acknowledged is that there are obstacles set in place that are preventing Latinos from completely assimilating. Among those greatest obstacles there is discrimination. Institutional as well as individual discrimination have prevented many Latinos from feeling a sense of belonging. As a result Latinos have been reluctant to assimilate. Another major component is proximity. Many Latinos are native to nearby countries which allows for easy communication with family members as well as their culture. Moreover, it also allows for a constant influx of immigrants that replenish and preserve Latino cultures and traditions in the U.S. Lastly, Latino movements are working diligently to promote unity among communities for the purpose of creating a sense of identity and pride amongst Latinos, such as the Chicano movement.
The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen
Unfortunately, when you evaluate Hispanic women most likely they did not go to college, or even graduate high school. There may be many factors that determine their circumstance. For instance, they get pregnant and drop out. There may be a lack of motivation to go to school. They might get married at an early age. Even the nature of the culture may play a role, like making it seem it is okay not to go to college or finish high school. Or sometimes they may not have a role model to encourage them to do better. All these factors may be the cause of this circumstance, but it doesn’t have to always be the excuse. As a high school senior, I have noticed more and more pregnant girls; most of them Hispanic. Many of thes...
The idea that a woman’s job is to be a wife and mother is old-fashioned, but not completely out of style. Though these roles require a great deal of talent, resilience, patience, love, and strength, to name a few, they are often underestimated or depicted as simple. Especially in modern times, many women in the United States who stay home to raise a family are viewed as anti-feminists, whereas women in Latin America are not criticized for similar actions. In recent decades, more Latin American women have started to break the mold, daring to be both sexy, and successful in the workforce, while remaining pillars of domestic life.
Craske, N. (1999). Women and Political Identity in Latin America. In Women and Politics in Latin America (First ed., pp. 9-25). N.p.: Rutgers University Press.
Latina women are suppressed through Hispanic culture with the ideology that a woman’s domain is within the walls of her own home. However, there has been a greater turnover rates in high school graduates amongst Latinas they are still falling behind due to lack of resources and the restricted patterns of opportunity perpetuated through transformative assets.
Suaréz, Lucia M. “Julia Alvarez And The Anxiety Of Latina Representation.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 5.1 (2004): 117-145. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar.2014.
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
Using both English and Spanish or Spanglish the author Gloria Anzaldua explores the physical, cultural, spiritual, sexual and psychological meaning of borderlands in her book Borderlands/La Frontera: A New Mestiza. As a Chicana lesbian feminist, Anzaldua grew up in an atmosphere of oppression and confusion. Anzaldua illustrates the meaning of being a “mestiza”. In order to define this, she examines herself, her homeland and language. Anzaldúa discusses the complexity of several themes having to do with borderlands, mestizaje, cultural identity, women in the traditional Mexican family, sexual orientation, la facultad and the Coatlicue state. Through these themes, she is able to give her readers a new way of discovering themselves. Anzaldua alerts us to a new understanding of the self and the world around us by using her personal experiences.