Patriarchy: The Undermining of Women in the Hispanic-American Culture

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Women have to face a lot of oppression from the patriarchal world we live in, and are treated like object by the male dominance, especially if you are women raise in a Latino culture. A journal article, “Domestic Violence in Hispanics in southeastern United States: A survey and Need Analysis”, by Carolyn Murdaugh, Salena Hunt, Richard Sowell, and Irma Santana states the high domestic violence occurrences in the Hispanic community. The article states, “Latina in the US, with 54.9% reporting violent victimization” (Murdaugh, etc. 107). In almost every culture, patriarchy exists, expecting that female existence to be inferior, and more like an object than an equal. All women in their lives have face oppression, abuse, or harassment because they are women. A woman is not supposed to be an independent persons, they are expected to be a servant for male dominance. When women break away from these sexist norms, they are prosecuted as a whore or are beaten as a punishment. In the traditional Hispanic culture, if you do not take the role of the virgin, mother, or wife, you are judged and criticized of being a whore. Hispanic mothers and fathers have been telling their little girls and women that they must obey their husband. Also, men have been learning throughout their whole life is to be superior and abusive in order to maintain discipline in the household. It is a Hispanic tradition, so it not completely fault of men that women are being treated this; it is society and it is hard to break away from it. Society has portrayed women or the feminine role to be weak and inferior to the male dominance. People believe because of the feminine side, women should be discipline and treated as object with only sexual purposes. I believe that Latinas should have the rights to live their lives, without being criticized of what they done. First, if a women does not want to take the wife role, their option is stay a virgin. From the text, Borderlands la Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldua talks about the virgin role for a women in Hispanic culture. A patriarchal thinking, “If a woman remains a virgen until she marries, she is a good woman” (Anzaldua 38). This means that if you do nott want get marry, or consider as a whore, you have to stay pure until you find your partner.

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