In this weeks readings we read the very interesting poem by Marcela Christine called, “Machismo Is Part of Our Culture”. It is something that personally hit home for me. Machismo is something that unfortunately it is engraved from generation to generation. Men are conditioned to be superior and the dominant gender. Woman are conditioned to be okay with being the submissive one. However, if at some point the woman thinks she can voice her opinion she is to be reminded by the man that she can’t. Gender roles are shoved down kids throats since the moment they are born. The man is always glorified for being a ladies man. It is okay to be a “macho” because that is the only way they can prove their masculinity.

I found an interesting article called  “Machismo and Sexual Identity” that goes into depth with the machismo nature. Something that caught my attention as I was reading it was a particular sentence was, “Machismo sexual behavior is a source of pride for males and men must prove their manliness by upholding their sexual dominance.” As a psychology major the word “behavior” caught my eye. Behavior is something that can be modified which means machismo is something that can be eliminated. Machismo still being present in our culture is solely our faults. It needs to be cut out because it brings nothing good to our culture. How Marcela poems says,” At home you’re no patron. your liberated gabacha has gotcha where she wants ya.”  This shows how it’s not in their nature, it is something that they want to believe they need to do. If a “macho” is with a woman who is not conditioned to be submissive they adapt quite well and do not exert that “machismo.” Our culture needs to make machismo irrelevant. La Raza should feel ashamed to still have machismo as one of character traits. I agree, that machismo is part of our culure, that poem is 100% true. I also believe that we need to start making real changes and modify the machismo behavior.

http://web.stanford.edu/group/womenscourage/Repro_Latin/ekobash_HIVmachismo_Latin.html

In the piece titled “El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan” there was an emphasis on “Organizational Goals” that are needed in order to achieve Chicana/o independence. There were seven goals in total but I will be linking the first set of goals and to Chicana feminism and the piece by Segura and Pierce “Chicana/o Family Structure and Gender Personality”.  The conceptualization of the Chicana/o family is the strong male figure as the head and the submissive woman on the side. As we saw in the film “Chicana” the Chicana/o movement of the 60s and 70s was resistant to accept Chicana feminist thought, women were expected to play the role of the submissive and self sacrificing mother. Men were considered the head of the house and therefore part of the public sphere whereas women were part of the private sphere and focused on the undervalued domestic work. Authors Segura and Pierce note that much like the public sphere controls the private sphere, men control women. However, the goals of “El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan” set forth to gain independence through unity, economic control and education. Although these goals are important to both men and women, these goals are able to make the most difference in the lives of Chicana mothers. One key aspect of the Chicana/o culture is the big extended families. Mothers, like those in the film “Chicana”, rely on the support of their families in order to accomplish the goals they set for themselves. Even more so mothers rely on family to help fulfill their roles as mothers, CSUDH has a record number of student mothers. Although we, for I myself am a mother of two, are no strangers to the demands of the second shift, we rely on grandmas, ninas, tias, and other strong men and women in our lives to provide our children with the care and mothering they need while we work and go to school. Education, is also an a goal for Chicana/o independence which resonates with Chicana mothers. Once again CSUDH has a large Chicana mother student population. Higher education is important not just for better earning potential, but also for growing a strong base of awareness of, and resistance to oppression. Lastly, I want to cover the importance of economic oppression in the lives of Chicana mothers, once again we need to be reminded that oppression of any kind can have devastating effects but it is the combined effects of patriarchy and racism that leave Chicana mothers most vulnerable. We see the construction of submissive and self sacrificing mother seems to justify the economic oppression of the Chicana mothers. Whether we are unemployed, underemployed, over worked and/or underpaid mothers are a highly exploited work force. Without economic stability Chicana mothers often stay in abusive relationships, struggle to get an education, and are left at the mercy of broken social safety nets. This is yet another reason why Chicana mothers rely heavily on the extended family in order to survive.

In the poem “Machismo is part of our culture” by Marcela Christine Lucero-Trujillo, argues that “machismo” is a form of privileged. “Machismo”- or sexism is embedded into the upbringing of Chicano men at an early age. Chicano boys enjoy the privileged of their gender since birth.  As there are certain gender roles that women and men must follow.  Boys are serve while young girls do the serving. “Machismo” is an excused to over powered women in society within our culture. Men are raised to be breadwinner of their family.  In her poem, Lucero-Trujillo reminds her “macho” Chicano man that she is being treated like his employee other than his significant other. She also mentions how the “gabacha” woman can have her way with him but expects to have his Chicana woman like the servant, when she should be the queen of his world.  Lucero-Trujillo compares herself to the white women to explain that the white woman can be “equal partners” with the Chicano men. The white women skin color and Chicano gender allow them to be equal partners.  While the Chicana cannot be equal partner with the Chicano men because her gender is insignificant- as less than in society. Lucero-Trujillo also clarifies that the Chicano men is just a follower who has been obeying orders since childhood instead of having their own mind. Men grow up socially and culturally thinking that their manhood is define by their ability to be a good provider.  While their wives or significant others are place in supportive roles.

I myself grew up in a house where “machismo” existed. My mom and I was supposed to listen and obey my dad’s orders.  It was not easy to find a good man with an open mind about feminism. But I found someone who understood the important reason why it was important for our daughter to carry both of our last names. In our household we are not constrict by traditional gender roles and we are often criticized because we do not adhere to traditional gender roles. My fiancée and I love each other and raise our daughter with an open mind because there is no such thing as machismo being part of anyone’s culture.

To what extend do gender roles limit the opportunities for women and men?

Citation: Link

http://citeatthecrossroads.net/chst40/resources/readings/poems-by-marecla-christine-lucero-trujillo/

After listening to the beginning of the podcast I began to look up articles of different family values and the one that kept coming back to me as I read other ones is this one: “The New Family Values” by Linda Rodgers.  This article gave a lot of new statistics on how people are raising their children in this generation. There were different but traditional categories that had been discussed such as: religion and rituals, diversity, and desirable character traits. Then, there were other categories that I believe are talked about more now such as: the importance of dinner, how even white lies can become a habit for children, and online safety. In this article parents had been asked if religion is important and most of them had said it is important to “establish a foundation”, it is tradition because of holidays that are celebrated and then it just becomes part of who you are. In Latino families I believe religion and faith is an immense topic, we have extremely traditional believers that strive to go to church at least once a week and then we have those who go only in celebrations and when they remember.

Diversity is not just different ethnicities becoming one family but same sex parents and the acceptance for those families and then others who will not discuss any of this with their child. From diversity they moved onto what parents would like their child to grow up to be and I find this important for family values because it says who you are as an individual as well as a family if a child is well mannered and honest other people are going to assume brother, sister, mom and dad are as well because that is the environment they were raised in. There were other topics that can be seen as traditional, probably depending on what your family values are. I grew up with dinner was always eaten as a family and in this article they kind of express the importance of it as well as those who make it a rule to eat together. I feel that this new generation might be losing sight of that because of how busy everybody’s schedule is but you see some families that are still holding onto this belief.

Towards the end they discuss how white lies can become habits for children and that they pick up everything you do. An extremely new family value that is being brought up in early ages now is the importance of online safety and social speaking. Because technology is advancing rapidly children are learning how to use iPads, phones, TVs, etc. ridiculously early but because technology is there families are trying to teach the importance of online safety and to not befriend a stranger, don’t go to random websites and to be aware of the negativity that can come through technology. But, they are also teaching that technology isn’t the only thing around us and are trying to keep their families social and involved within each other’s lives and the people around them. This article shows the traditional family values that most of us have grown up on as well as the new type of tradition that is forming because things are changing.

http://www.parenting.com/article/family-values

Mi Familia

Hey Class,

Sorry for “coming in” late to this course, I am currently a History major and it’s my senior year!!! I’ve taken a ridiculous amount of History classes at SMC prior to transferring to CSUDH and spoke with the Chicano Studies department about the requirements for a Chicano Studies minor. Lo and behold I had fulfilled half of the requirements with prior classes and decided to make it happen. I work and attend school both full-time, as a manager in a boutique in Beverly Hills, yet focused on graduating this Spring, it’s been a decade in the making !!!!!

I have always had an interest in Chicano Studies because I am third-generation Mexican-American on my mother’s side and first generation Mexican-American from my father’s side. My mother was a single parent, working two jobs, raising three children, yet she continuously exposed us to our Mexican culture by taking us to watch theatre performances at East LA theatres.

We were introduced to a local arts program that taught photography and other art at a young age and that outlet allowed us to display our “voices”. The image below was a project my sister did showing what it meant for her to be a Chicana.  Are there any other students who are Mexican-American but from different generations ?

“Best of Both Worlds” This is my sisters self portrait displaying both her Mexican and American roots dressed in her quince dress standing in front of the American Flag.

In the podcast Latino Perspectives, Cherrie Moraga offers insight on the importance of women participating in social movements across history. She states that women are the only entities that have the courage to talk about intimacy within the area of social justice, a subject that is incredibly sensitive but important in this field. She also clarifies how underrepresented communities are guilty of marginalizing women and not letting them express their identities in a safe space. This specific part in the podcast connected to the poem Beneath the Shadow of the Freeway by Lorna Dee Cervantes where she speaks on how patriarchal ideologies influence Latina women to feel guilty and/or cause guilt onto other women for trying to distance themselves from their culture’s traditions. Sometimes I feel like Latina women (specifically women in my family) know that this lifestyle could be very detrimental to their bodies and minds, but cannot seem to break away from the cycle. Similar to the poem, women in my family tend to shame each other for staying in unhealthy relationships especially when the man is being abusive. Instead of helping in the healing process, they make it worse by making the others feel stupid and weak. Do you think that Latina women are given the choice to follow this cycle or are they influenced into it? Is breaking this cycle really as difficult as it seems? What consequences do Latina women fear?

After reading, Beneath the Shadow of the Freeway by Lorna Dee Cervantes I couldn’t help by relate things to my own personal life. Which then led me to wonder if this happens to other people as well. The poem is about three distinct generations beginning with the grandmother being described as”wise” and being the “Innocent Queen.” Then, it is followed by the daughter who is described as the “swift night, fearless warrior.” Ending with the granddaughter who doesn’t have specific word for herself but we know she has developed masculine traits. As the poem progresses we know there was a male figure who even though was physically there, his presence was useless. Like the author says, ” we were a woman family:”. The granddaughter as the third generation who doesn’t have a male figure in her life has adapted to doing what would traditionally be a “mans job.”  The grandmother built her home once the husband left so she is her granddaughters role model. It is obvious these women had to take the male role as well through out their life’s, can they do both “gender roles” and still succeed finding their sexual identity? A “traditional Chicano family is usually accompanied by a mans machismo which naturally distributes everyone’s gender roles. However, what happens when that machismo is taken out of the equation?

I think this is rather interesting because my parents got divorced in my early teens so the head of the household was my mom and I was the oldest sibling so I right away started to take more work at home. I was fixing stuff, cleaning the yard, fixing things that broke down, and started working right away. I spit the bills with my mom and turned more strict on my baby brothers since my mom was way more softer on them. I grew up to be so independent that my brother now jokingly says I am man. Sometimes I get offended but I remind myself that I am not. He says I am way to strong and act to manly. Sometimes I am not even sure what he means by that. Is this something that happens in a home that is run by just woman?

Hello Class!! My name is Mayra Murillo I am a Child Development major I hope to go into Special Education or Speech Therapy after I receive my BA. The picture above is a picture of my first class that I ever worked with (they were my students for two years). I had already loved working with children because of the environment and being to teach them and vice versa but working with this class just sealed the deal with me wanting to fully commit to this field.  But anyways, I am in this class because I have found my past Chicano classes interesting and intriguing and I pondered the idea of possibly having Chicano Studies as a minor. I hope to learn more this semester and look forward to learning about you all as well.