ABSTRACT
GENDER RELATIONS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN are negotiated within specific historical, social, and economic circumstances. All too often when Latinos are under discussion, culturally deterministic models are used to describe gender norms and values. Among Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latinos, inclusive, exclusive, and controlling concepts of “machismo” and “marianismo” are used as descriptors. Although similar behaviors and patriachial characteristics are easily found in other cultures, machismo and marianismo are treated as exclusive Latino traits. There is a second cultural stereotype concerning Latino family life, that in “traditional” ethnic families women are full-time homemakers and mothers. However, unlike the married life of Lucy and Ricardo depicted in the “I Love Lucy” series in the 1950s, women in Latino households do engage in full-time employment outside the home. Working mothers are the norm rather than the exception. Women’s greater participation in the labor force has had significant impacts on gender relations and family life.
