Latinas in the United States Term Paper

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However, the most common, and often most explosive, clash occurs between the Latina and her parents. Living in such a restricted environment, when her peers are not, often leads to rebelliousness, culminating in exactly the Latina's parents' worst fears.

This restrictive culture stems from the virginity myth. The virginity myth states that only by remaining a virgin can a girl get a good husband that will take care of her.

The most fallacious part of this statement is that women can rely on men to take care of them, when in reality they cannot.

To combat this, young women should be taught to value themselves in other aspects then merely as sexual objects. They should be taught, through example, how to be loving and respectful without succumbing to the patriarchal legacies that keep women obedient and dependent on men and that sexualize their self-worth. This sexualized self-worth means simply that in the traditional Latino culture, a woman is highly defined by her sexuality. If she is not a virgin at the time of marriage, has sex with multiple men, enjoys sex, or is a lesbian she is valued less in the culture. This reflects on her own vision of her self-worth, and has nothing to do with the facets of her that should really matter, such as her kindness, her intelligence, her caring, or her hard work.

However, in traditional Latino culture, it is the idea of virginity that keeps females oppressed.

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By keeping Latinas virgins until the time that a man wishes to marry them, it gives the man power over the woman. This results in female oppression.

In order to help young Latina women find a balance between their old and new cultures, it's important to first recognize the values of each. Talk with her about the values that she sees as traditional Latino values and those that she sees are American. Then decide from the lists of both which are important to her personally, regardless of a preconceived notion by either culture.

Personally, I have experienced a similar struggle with bridging a cultural gap, when I was younger. My grandparents were quite important to me, but the generational cultural gap that divided us became more and more apparent as I grew older. They thought it was quite inappropriate and disrespectful that I had moved out, during college, and was living with my boyfriend. When I was finally married, they could not understand how we didn't want kids right away. To them, a woman's place was in the home, much like the Latino culture, raising children and keeping house. To forego family simply to further my career was selfish in their eyes. They knew times had changed from when they were young, however they were determined not to agree with it......

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