Puerto Rican and Dominican Women

Paper Summary:

This paper examines cases studies of Puerto Rican and Dominican migrant women, and how their cultural identity is maintained or changed through various expressions, paying particular attention to the way migration and culture effect gender and vice versa.

From the Paper:

"While biological differences between the sexes are apparent, most academics agree that gender is socially constructed. Most fields of study concur that gender roles are determined by the society in which they are created. The field of migration studies has been integral in exposing the ways in which these roles are transformed and molded when migrants move from one society to the next. Hasia Diner, in her lecture at Montclair State University points out that merely asking "how does gender impact migration, and how does migration impact gender" (Hasia Diner lecture 3/29) has lead to fascinating discoveries in the formation and recreation of gender roles amongst migrants. Ginetta Candelario's article "Hair Race-ing Dominican Beauty Culture and Identity Production", and Elizabeth Crespo's "Puerto Rican Migration and Changes in Gender Roles" both explore the ways in which migration has impacted Dominican and Puerto Rican (respectively) female immigrants. Through the examination of the relationship between gender and identity, both writers expose the ways culture and race help to reinforce, complicate, or change gender roles when women arrive in their destination country."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Candelario, Ginetta. "Hair Race-ing: Dominican Beauty Culture and Identity Production". Meridians (Fall 2000, 1:1) : 128-156.
• Crespo, Elizabeth. "Puerto Rican Women: Migration and Changes in Gender Roles". International Yearbook of Oral History and Life Stories. VII. Eds. Rina Benmayor and Andor Skotnes (Oxford, 1994) : 137-150.

More papers on Puerto Rican and Dominican Women:

• Comparison Essay # 16306 : "Gender Issues of Korean and Puerto Rican Immigrants"
• Essay # 52564 : "Puerto Rican Music"
• Book Review # 49412 : "When I Was Puerto Rican"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: