Mexican Women

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at Mexican women and how gender equality evolved. According to the paper, the traditional depiction of Mexican women was very restrictive. The paper goes on to say that women were consumed by their family life, their marriages and the Catholic Church. The paper reports that legal, social and cultural constraints were placed upon women to prevent them from gaining full acceptance and rights in society. The paper also takes a look at the role of the Soldaderas during the time of the Mexican Revolution.

From the Paper:

"The ability to view the Mexican Revolution not only as an idealized cause against the abuses of the Diaz regime, but also as a method to escape the problems at home, created a new era of possibility for women. Women joined the army as young teenagers in order to escape from forced marriages and physical abuse, thus they joined without the permission of their families. The inevitable break from tradition of the Mexican Revolution shattered many of the stigmas and "traditional cultural" attachments of gender roles because women defied their families. At the same time, the promotion of equality within the army allowed the Soldadera a familiarization with the concept of equality. One captain of the Revolutionaries explained, "In the war, it's all equal. Now we cook the food and wash the clothes together, we fight the war together" (Ross, 289). The direct result of these actions was that social stigmas associated with women pursuing nontraditional roles was no longer promoted and systematically preserved. Instead they were allowed to explore a new frontier that involved the provision of different social roles. This was extremely important in the establishment of a strong feminist presence that was not afraid to confront the patriarchal system."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arrizon, Alicia. "Soldaderas and the Staging of the Mexican Revolution." The Dream Review. 42.1 (1998). 90-113.
• Azuela, Mariano. The Underdogs. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992.
• Katzenberger, Elaine (ed.). First World, Ha Ha Ha! The Zapatista Challenge. San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1995.
• Macias, Anna. "Women and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920." The Americas 37, 1 (July 1980).
• Resendez Fuentes, Andres. "Battleground Women: Soldaderas and Female Soldiers in the Mexican Revolution." The Americas 51, 4 (April 1995).

More papers on Mexican Women:

• Essay # 49585 : "Mexican Women"
• Case Study # 132063 : "Interview with a Black-Mexican Woman"
• Term Paper # 109670 : "The Mexican Revolution and Women"

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