My final paper is centered on the high rates of femicide in Mexico and the feminist mobilizations that have developed in response. It is important to acknowledge how gender inequality is strongly correlated with gender-based violence to grasp the mechanisms that have fostered such conditions.
Throughout history, a number of factors have contributed to the culture of gender-based violence in Mexico. The rape of Indigenous women by Spanish colonizers is often cited as the root of such culture. During La Conquista, Spanish colonizers arrived and created mestizos, people of mixed Indigenous and Spanish descent. In many cases, this was the result of the rape of Indigenous women. Furthermore, European colonization led to sexism through the spread of their values, which were evident in the practice of raping women who they viewed as inferior. Many aspects of Mexican law were based on the French Civil Code. In blatantly sexist terms, the French Civil Code classified women as dependent on men in all areas of their lives. Mexican culture was heavily influenced, and it is from this style of thinking that “machismo” emerged.
Like toxic masculinity, machismo is an ideology in which men are perceived as superior to women (De la Morena 2020). Segrest, Romero and Domke-Damonte (2003) portray it as, “a patriarchal social system that legitimizes masculinist behavior and reinforces it through cultural values and norms” (p. 16). They state that there are both good and bad elements to machismo such as, “self-respect and responsibility to the family as a provider, as well as negative elements such as affiliate obedience, virginity, consent, fear of authority, and culture rigidity” (p.17). Thus, men are the dominant members of society, displaying very little vulnerability, and taking care of those who are disadvantaged, primarily through the control of women. Men are viewed as being naturally inclined to think independently and act independently. On the contrary, the ideology places women as dependent on men. As a result, women have been traditionally cast into roles subservient to men. They are typically the nurturers, the caregivers, the ones responsible for nurturing their families and taking care of their children. Due to these factors, women have historically played subordinate roles in Mexican society. Thus, “Machismo” has created the conditions for the systematic discrimination of women, which leads to gender inequalities in all aspects of life from education to employment (De la Morena 2020).
De La Morena, Ines. 2020. “Gender Violence in Mexico: Machismo, Femicides, and Child’s Play.” Harvard International Review 41(3):14-17.
Segrest, Sharon L., Eric J. Romero and Darla Domke-Damonte. 2003. “Exploring the Role of Machismo in Gender Discrimination: A Comparison of Mexico and the U.S.” Equal Opportunities International 22(1):13-31.