Women in Latin American societies

Lecture 7

How did the ideas about women and femininity change after the wars of independence?

They did not change greatly after the wars. Some leaders did recognize the contributions of women publicly but they were still ideally expected to be pious, humble and obediente. More importantly, the work of building a new state and society should be left to men.

Even if they contributed during the wars, after they should return to their normal/natural roles. It was still considered improper for women to be involved in politics.

How were women’s rights after the wars of independence?

They didn’t have political rights nor marital inheritance rights, which made women have all sorts of jobs such as domestic workers.

After the beginning of the 20th century, what changes from the economy were made, and how did that affect women’s job prospects?

Firstly there was a growth of public education for women, and many became heads of households. In terms of job availability, many passed from the informal and domestic economy to the formal wage force. This included low-paying jobs like sewing, washing, detail-work and packing.

What is a downside of economic modernization?

Even if it gave women opportunities to gain money and skills outside the home, it exposed them to exploitation and sexism in the workplace.

What were some important areas of activism during the gender reforms of the early 20th century?

Equality in marriage, divorce, parental rights, labour protections, and welfare.

What changes happened in Colombia in the 1990s in regards to women and their rights?

Due to the new 1991 Constitution, women were recognized to their full political and legal rights. They were now professionals, politicians, social workers, students, wives, mothers and even guerrilleras.

A new law passed that stated that 30% of the government had to be composed of women.

Due to the creation of many social movements, Santos’ administration had to acknowledge the impact of violence against women and compelled the government to take action to protect them.

Indigenous gender values and norms:

There was a lot of variation and diversity behind the label of indigenous women. There weren’t masculity stereotypes, a belief not one gender is superior to the other.

What is an example that illustrates the indigenous gender values and norms?

Chacha-Warmi. In the Andean indigenous cosmovision there is no differences between men and women.

Iberian gender norms and values:

• Marianismo

• Women are supposed to show the values of modersty and purity.

• There is a relation between high class women and religion.

Afro-American gender norms and values:

• Spanish patrón and black slave women having a child → mulato.

• Sense of community.

• Women as heads of the households as well.

Describe Marianismo.

It is when Virgin Mary is the role model for women. There is an importance of motherhood (example ‘madres locas’ protests for the disappearance and urder of children during the dictatorship), marriage (example the ‘Damas de Blanco’ protests against the incarceration of their husbands in the 1990s), and the moral superiority of women.

Describe Machismo.

It is the iberian cult of virility focused on male power, a strong male and violent figure.

What do the welfare states believe?

They believe that care for children, elderly and sick is something that the family needs to take care of. Most of this responsibility is place on women.

How did the welfare state reproduce the ideas of machismo?

Instead of creating new forms of social protection that don’t put all of the responsibility on women, the welfare state encourages this ideals.

What is horizontal segregation?

The separation between sectos: low paying sectors are where women are place, not high paying sectors since they are male dominated fields.

What is vertical segregation?

Even if they are in an undervalued sector, women still hold the lowest paying jobs.

Descriptive vs substantive representation.

Descriptive means that the people in power are reflecting the society. This means that is half of the population is female, half of the people in power should be women. Nevertheless, it can happen that only one type of women is represented, so they do not necessarily understand the other women’s needs (substantive).

What aspects are represented in women unionism?

• Legal contracts

• regulatioin of working hours and free time.

• Health care

• Vacation

• Pension schemes

• Educational opportunities.

Cheap ‘female’ labour:

Increased levels of prostitution, supplement factory work with informal economy.

Explain the larger picture of women’s profile and women’s position in the cheap workforce.

Women from the South are in the lowest position in global production chains. They expect Mexican women to be docile, available, and dispensable. They are the producer and product of cheap labour.

Explain the situation regarding femicide that is happening in Ciudad Juárez.

There are high homicide and feminicide rates. It is a border city, next to the US meaning that it is a transition city where migrants would go to reach to US. It is a free trade zone for drug trafficking. There are women resistance movements.

Explain the ‘maquila’ industry.

80%-90% of the workers are women. The maquilas are factories that are sub-contracted by US companies, they mostly produce tech products. They hire more women because they are more docile and easier to suppress.