Latina Women

Throughout history, women didn't always have the rights they have now. Today women go to college, graduate, get a career, and in some cases, if they want to start a family they do so, if not, no one tells them they should otherwise. This was not always the case for Latina women.  Latina women couldn't do half of the things they are “free” to do now. Getting an education was unheard of; marriage was the only option. The role Latina women played was one of not much importance; they were portrayed as the uneducated, behaved, caregivers. 

In the early 1900’s Latinas weren't expected to go to school. Men would grow up getting an education while women were the ones who stayed at home. The job of the female role in that family was to teach her daughters how to sew, cook, and clean. Latina women grew up with the idea that they were to get married, move in with their husband and start bearing him children. Once they had their children they would be the stay at home mom who would take care of the house, cook, and care for the children. Latina women never knew any different.

 Things have majorly changed since then, even though you still hear about young Latina women getting pregnant and having to drop out of school that really isn’t the case anymore. Education is a huge thing today. The plan is to start school at preschool, go onto elementary school, high school, graduate and get your Bachelor’s degree and then if you choose, go on to get your Masters. In today’s society if you don’t have an education then it is hard for you to get a decent job. The difference between now and back then is that if you’re a woman you are also expected to get an education. “Latinas who earn a degree are no longer the exception. In fact, more Latinas earn doctoral degrees today than their male counterparts”.

 I grew up knowing that I had to do well in school so when I graduated from high school I could attend a four year university. This was not the case with many other Latinas. If you go back 25 years, those women did not think of school like we do now. An education was not forced on them, it was an option, but it still didn't have the importance we see now. I have an aunt who emigrated here from Mexico, when she got here she attended high school but she soon dropped out and got married. Just like all the other women in my life, she tells me that “Education is the road to everything”. Latinas in Higher Education

Women have always been portrayed as calm and behaved. Expected to be the submissive ones in the relationship, they don’t question anything; they go with the flow and don’t say much about anything. “Calladita te ves mas bonita” this saying translates to “You look cuter quiet”.

 Latina women have always been considered the female of the house but how much say do they really have in that household? Sexism plays a huge role in Latin families. The men are the “machos” who are the man of the house and get the most say in everything. Machismo, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". He is the “breadwinner” therefore he gets to make all the rules. Since women just stay at home and care for the family they are to follow the rules that the man presents her with. It’s all part of the role that men are superior to women. An example of a Latin machismo action is the fact that men get served first to eat. From personal experience I have noticed that many men in my family, once the woman has finished cooking, get fed first. I would have thought women would feel the need to feed her children first but that is not the case. Being curious about this I asked my mother about this and she simply said that "this is what she is used to". Thankfully, things are changing. During the 1960's and early 1970's, Chicanos united and with that came the Chicano movement. Within that movement women were not being praised for what they were doing. They decided to take a stand and then came the Chicana movement.

 This was the turn for many Latinas. The Chicana movement “is about a desire to enhance the Latino community, improve the position of women, and [to] improve access to employment, opportunity and education”. Women got together and organized themselves to show the rest of the world that they too had a voice, they too had an opinion. Things didn't change over time, for women to come out and ask for a place in society was huge. Men didn't like the idea that women were speaking up. All of a sudden they were asking for rights and wanted to be equally represented like them. The men quickly reacted arguing whose side Latina women were on. This didn't stop them; they had a goal and they reached their goal.

 Women have always been the ones who were expected to stay at home and care for the house. They are the caregiver instead of the breadwinner. Things have changed. “Now a two-income family has become the norm in our society”. Women are huge contributors to the work force. They are out there competing for jobs that 2-3 decades ago they would have never thought possible. Latinas face the problem of being a double minority, female and Latina. They have to compete harder for the jobs they are applying for and when they get the job they are being paid less than men.  Even after this unfairness, when they get home they are still expected to do all the domestic work, the “second shift”. The second shift is when Latina women work an eight hour shift and still get home and take care of the household. Let’s not forget that they get home tired. "Latin American women have left for the workplace, but men haven't entered the kitchen”. Many Latino male haven’t changed their way of thinking. They still expect the women to do all the domestic work even though women have been at work for the same amount of time as men. This goes back to men being the “machos” they believe they are.

 They by no means feel the need to help the women out because they have never had to do so.  Latinas in the workplace also brings problems in their marriage. “The macho man then feels that he is inadequate because he is unable to provide for his family, "like a real man”. The “traditional” family is made up of the husband who works and the wife who stays at home. Once the wife starts to work and brings in the second check, men start to feel useless and inferior.

Latina women have had to face many hardships. They didn't always have all the opportunities they have now. Through a series of social change, and uprising collaboration, they have earned the freedom they obtain now. Even though things aren't at that point where we would like them to be, the day by day change will help us get to that point when we all experience full equality.