Latin American Women and Inclusion in Public and Private Communities

Abstract

Gender relations in Latin America are based on long-standing, yet constantly- evolving cultural norms and social expectations. Those norms and expectations are unique to Latin America and do not always fit the concepts of feminism, individual rights, and marginalization that often dominate discussions of women’s issues, gender relations, and the notion of inclusive communities in other areas of the world (Guy, 1994; Abbassi & Lutjens, 2002). Women’s place within cultural gender expectations in Latin America is tied to centuries-old Iberian customs, a pervasive Catholic culture, and laws designed to preserve and protect those traditions. This chapter will historicize the role of culture, customs, religion and/or laws on inclusive communities through the lens of Latin American gender relations. Using examples primarily from Mexico and Argentina - two nations with a relatively well-developed scholarly literature on gender relations - I will trace colonial concepts of patriarchy and inclusivity within private and public communities through reforms to family laws in the nineteenth century. I will conclude by outlining new concepts of inclusivity in the public community through campaigns for suffrage and other political rights in the twentieth century.KeywordsPrivate CommunityCivil CodePublic CommunityMale HeadInclusive CommunityThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.