Feminism in Mexico is the philosophy and activity aimed at creating, defining, and protecting political, economic, cultural, and social equality in women's rights and opportunities for Mexican women. Rooted in liberal thought, the term feminism came into use in late nineteenth-century Mexico and in common parlance among elites in the early twentieth century.Cano, Gabriela. "Feminism" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, p. 480.
The history of feminism in Mexico can be divided chronologically into a number of periods with issues. For the conquest and colonial eras, some figures have been re-evaluated in the modern era and can be considered part of the history of feminism in Mexico. At the time of independence in the early nineteenth century, there were demands that women be defined as citizens. The late nineteenth century saw the explicit development of feminism as an ideology. Liberalism advocated secular education for both girls and boys as part of a modernizing project, and women entered the workforce as teachers. Those women were at the forefront of feminism, forming groups that critiqued existing treatment of women in the realms of legal status, access to education, and economic and political power.Miller, Francesca, "Feminism and Feminist Organizations" in Encyclopedia of Latin America History and Culture, vol 2, pp. 549-50. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996. More scholarly attention is focused on the revolutionary period (1915–1925), although women's citizenship and legal equality were not explicitly issues for which the revolution was fought.Guy, Donna. "Gender and Sexuality in Latin America" in The Oxford Handbook of Latin American History, ed. José C. Moya. New York: Oxford University Press 2011, p. 369. The second wave (1968–1990, peaking in 1975–1985) and the post-1990 period have also received considerable scholarly attention.
Feminism has advocated for the equality of men and women, but middle-class women took the lead in the formation of feminist groups, the founding of journals to disseminate feminist thought, and other forms of activism. Working-class women in the modern era could advocate within their unions or political parties. The participants in the Mexico 68 clashes who went on to form that generation's feminist movement were predominantly students and educators. The advisers who established themselves within the unions after the 1985 earthquakes were educated women who understood the legal and political aspects of organized labor. What they realized was that to form a sustained movement and attract working-class women to what was a largely middle-class movement, they needed to utilize workers' expertise and knowledge of their jobs to meld a practical, working system.Foweraker (1990), p 220
In the 1990s, women's rights in indigenous communities became an issue, particularly in the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas.Cano, "Feminism" p.485 Reproductive rights remain an ongoing issue, particularly since 1991, when the Catholic Church in Mexico was no longer constitutionally restricted from being involved in politics.
Feminist theory in Mexico
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical fields.
Traditional stereotypes
In Mexico, most of these theories stem from postcolonialism and social constructionist ideologies. A postmodern approach to feminism highlights "the existence of multiple truths (rather than simply men and women's standpoints)," which plays out in the Mexican social perception, where the paternalistic machismo culture is neither clearly juxtaposed against a marianismo nor a malinchismo counterpart. In a particularly Mexican context, the traditional views of women have resided at polar opposite positions, wherein the pure, chaste, submissive, docile, giver-of-life marianistic woman, in the guise of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is at one end of the spectrum and the sinful, scheming, traitorous, deceptive, mestizo-producing, La Malinche is at the other. These stereotypes are further reinforced in popular culture via literature, art, theater, dance, film, television and commercials. Regardless of whether these portrayals are accurate, historically based, or were manipulated to serve vested interests, they have promoted three of the underlying themes of the female Mexican identity — Catholicism, Colonialism and Mestizo.
Until the latter part of the 19th century, the predominant images of women, whether in the arts or society as a whole, were those dictated by men and men's perceptions of women. After the Revolution the state created a new image of who was Mexican. Largely through the efforts of President Álvaro Obregón the cultural symbol became an indigenous Indian, usually a mestizo female, who represented a break with colonialism and Western imperialism.Morgan (2012) p 5, 10 While men's definitions of women and their sphere remained the "official" and predominant cultural model, beginning in the 1920s women demanded that they define their own sphere.Morgan (2012), p 12
In Mexico, some demands for women's equality stem from women's struggle between household commitments and underpaid jobs. Upper and middle-class families employ domestic help, allowing some women of means to be more accepting of traditional gender roles.
Changing perceptions
Women's depictions of themselves in art, novels, and photography were in opposition to their objectification and portrayal as subjects of art. By creating their own art, in the post-Revolutionary period, artists could claim their own identity and interpretation of femininity.Morgan (2012), p 148 While the female artists of the immediate period following the revolution tried in their own ways to redefine their personal perceptions of body and its imagery in new ways,Morgan (2012), pp 141-143 they did not typically champion social change. It was the feminists who came after, looking back at their work, who began to characterize it as revolutionary in sparking social change. In the 1950s, a group of Mexican writers called "Generation of '50" were influential in questioning the values of Mexican society. Rosario Castellanos was one of the first to bring attention to the complicity of middle-class women in their own oppression and stated, "with the disappearance of the last servant will the first angry rebel appear". Castellanos sought to question caste and privilege, oppression, racism, and sexism through her writing. Her voice was joined by Elena Poniatowska, whose journalism, novels and short stories philosophically analyzed and evaluated the roles of women, those who had no empowerment, and the greater society.
Up until the 1980s, most discussion of feminism centered on the relationships between men and women, child-centric spheres, and wages. After that time period, bodies, personal needs, and sexuality emerged. Some feminist scholars since the 1980s have evaluated the historic record on women and shown that they were participants in shaping in the history of the country. In 1987, Julia Tuñón Pablos wrote Mujeres en la historia de México (Women in the History of Mexico), which was the first comprehensive account of women's historical contributions to Mexico from prehistory through the Twentieth Century. Since that time, extensive studies have shown that women were involved all areas of Mexican life. From the 1990s, gender perspective has increasingly become a focus for academic study.
History Women have played a pivotal role in Mexico's political struggles throughout its history, yet their service to the country did not result in political rights until the middle of the twentieth century, when women gained the right to vote.Morton, Ward M. Woman Suffrage in Mexico. Gainesville: University of Florida Press 1962.Manzanera del Campo, Maria Elena. La igualdad de derechos políticos. Mexico DF: 1953, p. 143.
Conquest era, 1519–21
The most famous indigenous woman is Doña Marina, also known as La Malinche, whose role in the conquest of Mexico as cultural translator of Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés depicted her as a traitor to her race and to Mexico. There are many colonial-era depictions of Malinche in indigenous manuscripts, showing her as the central figure, often larger than Cortés. In recent years, feminist scholars and writers have re-evaluated her role, showing sympathy for the choices she faced.Karttunen, Frances. "La Malinche and Malinchismo" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 775-78Karttunen, Frances. "Rethinking Maliche" in Indian Women: Gender Differentiation and Identity in Early Mexico. Eds. Susan Schroeder et al. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1996.Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin's Choices. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006 However, the attempt to rescue her historical image from that as a traitor has not found popular support. President José López Portillo commissioned a sculpture of the first mixed-race family, Cortés, Doña Marina, and their mixed-race son Martín, which when he left office was removed from in front of Cortés house in Coyoacan, to an obscure location, the Jardín Xicoténcatl, Barrio de San Diego Churubusco, Mexico City."It is time to stop vilifying the 'Spanish father of Mexico'", Los Angeles Times, accessed 10 June 2019
Colonial era, 1521–1810
There were customary practices and legal structures that regulated society and women's roles in colonial Mexico. The Spanish crown divided the colonial population into two legal categories, the Republic of Indians (República de indios) and Republic of Spaniards (Republica de españoles), that comprised all non-indigenous individuals, including Afro-Mexicans and those of mixed-race. Racial status had a strong determinant on women's legal and social standing.Schroeder, Susan, "Women's Status and Occupation: Indian Women in New Spain" in Encyclopedia of Mexico, Fitzroy Dearborn 1997: 1618Lipsett-Rivera, Sonya, "Women's Status and Occupation: Spanish Women in New Spain" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 1619-1621 Women were under the authority of men: fathers over daughters, husbands over wives. Widows were able to have fuller control over their lives and property. Women from families of financial means were provided a dowry, which remained the property of the wife. A husband gave his wife at marriage funds (arras) that were under her control, protected from his bankruptcy or other financial difficulty. A widow received a specified share of her husband's estate. Wealthy women were expected to uphold their family's honor by chaste and modest behavior. Despite restrictions, women were active in the economy, buying, selling property, and bequeathing property. Women also participated in the workforce, often forced by circumstances such as poverty or widowhood to do so.Lipsett-Rivera, pp. 1620-21
In colonial Mexico, the vast majority of population was illiterate and entirely unschooled, and there was no priority for the education of girls. A few girls in cities attended schools run by cloistered nuns. Some entered convent schools at around age eight, "to remain cloistered for the rest of their lives."Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru, "Education: Colonial" in Encyclopedia of Mexico, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 435-37 Private tutors educated girls from wealthy families, but generally only enough so that they could oversee a household. There were few opportunities for mixed-race boys or girls. "Education was, in short, highly selective as befits a stratified society, and the possibilities of self-realization were a lottery of birth rather than talent."Aizpuru, "Education: Colonial," p. 438.