Masculinity and patriarchy are known to be practiced by men. They use these ideologies to control women and remain ‘superior’ in our hierarchal society. The most dangerous part of these dominant beliefs is how women begin to internalize them towards themselves, their children, and other community members. When Latina/o women have been surrounded by controlling men for most of their lives, they carry the idea that their way of living is part of keeping their cultural values alive. They begin to teach their daughters that in order to be a considered a ‘good woman’ she has to watch over the men in the family and take care of their needs before she is able to acknowledge her own. In the dissertation “A Grounded Theory Approach to Exploring the Impact of Machismo on Second-Generation Latina Women’s Identity Formation,” author Marilyn Valenciano explores the way society and culture contribute to the mental development of Latina women. Valenciano goes on to quote Dr. Abalos: “Machismo is a sacred story that can and does possess us and takes us over even when we rebel against it, the rebellion still dominates our consciousness and thereby prevents us from creating an alternative transforming self that is both feminine and masculine”(9). In other words, Valenciano tries to explain how the lives of Latina women revolve around either surviving the machismo in their culture or trying to combat it. Latina women also tend to  be torn from being ‘respectful’ to their culture by obeying and being submissive to men and trying to be independent by breaking the detrimental cycle. The most difficult part of being around machismo is not letting it be internalized and in the novel The Rain God, it can be seen how Nina tries to express her spirituality to her family and both the men and women either ignore her or deem her as crazy. She tries her best to not let it get to her but the reader can sense the solitude she feels from time to time by being treated as an outcast by her family.

No matter how difficult it may be, women within the Latina/o culture need to come together and combat the patriarchy in their people together; as one united force, anything can be accomplished. Tearing each other down and perpetuating this idea of a submissive ‘good woman’ will only cause each other more harm…passing down this behavior only gives power to men and that needs to end. No healthy tradition or culture would allow someone to feel as though their existence is not enough for the world. Listen to your fellow mujeres without judgment. Watch over them. Defend them. Accept them. Hug them. Love them. We are all we’ve got. It may be difficult, but we are strong enough to fight off beliefs that are trying to control us.

http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=edissertations_sp2