[Wendy A-L]

I work with people of varied cultures and need some additional information about the Hispanic culture, particularly how family members tend to relate to one another. How is shame handled in the Hispanic family? Do difficult issues, such as sexuality and love, get addressed, or do Hispanics tend to avoid risky subjects? What about the prevalence of machismo, and the role of males, particularly eldest sons?

User Detail :  

Name : Wendy A-L, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Wittenberg, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : Therapist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[ACC24004]

I don't think you can uniformly say all Latinos (Hispanic is an outsider's label most of us don't care for) are one way. A lot would depend on how acculturated the family is and what particular background they were from. Mexicans have a lot of indigenous influence while those originally from Caribbean countries have enormous African influence. Shame, I think, tends to be a source of conflict for many depending on how strongly Catholic they are. As far as sex and love, most mothers are very open about discussing them, most fathers far less so. As for machismo, that's another stereotype and smear label put upon us by outsiders. Male chauvinism is not unique to us, or worse than in other cultures. I would say it's actually far less than I've seen in Anglo families. Traditionally it's the division of 'calle y casa', the street and the home. The mother generally runs the household and the father has little say in it. He only plays the role of boss outside the home. I'm not sure what you're heard about elder sons. I've never observed any differences in how they are treated.

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Name : ACC24004, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : W Lafayette, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Lucy-H22637]

Family tends to be the most important thing in a Hispanic person's life. Many hispanics live in extended family households. Kids often times grow up in the same house with their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. Of course, not every hispanic household is like this, but you asked for some generalizations. Gender roles tend to be very strong. Traditionally, women take care of the home and the children, and men work outside. For economic reasons many women work outside the home also, but their focus is their family. Of course, this is changing with the times. For example, on one side of my family, all of my girl cousins have gone to college so far, but on the other side of my family, I am the only one. Men are supposed to be very strong and macho. Women are revered, cherished and protected. Sensitive issues like sex are very taboo topics.

User Detail :  

Name : Lucy-H22637, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 24, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[A]

Just from experience, I can tlel you that men are very macho and will show bizarre reactions in order to hide feelings. Women are supposed to be passive and non-flirtatious and men can do whatever they want, without being questioned. Men are very possessive and jealous and after drinking, hispanic men have hard times handling the liquor and fights often break out.

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Name : A, City : Madison, State : WI Country : United States, 

[Marie]

Well, my friend, your question is too broad, I guessed that is why you did not receive too many answers. Latin/Hispanic people are so diverse but there are certain common tendencies, of course. Even in the same society, machismo, and how difficult issues are addressed prevail more in some groups than in others. How roles are defined can vary whithin social class, cities, countries, educational background, etc. The first thing that a person from your background should try to understand is that Latin people are not homogeneous. While some societies from developed countries tend to be homogeneus, Latin American societies are not. There are Latin people with a strong educational background as there are Latin people who does not know how to read and write. There are white Latin people, black, native, and so on. There are Latin families where those difficult issues are managed in the most pedagogic and open way and there some Latin families where those issues are seen in a more conservative approach. I think that the answer of how we manage all these issues is directly related to social and economic background, but again, I would not generalise. There are Latin/Hispanics families so well-educated who would never practice machismo and there are other families where women are seemed in a paternalist way. Generally, Latin culture is more conservative about sexual issues, but it does not mean that some Latin persons are not open-minded and have a good educational background. I am a Latin women that found I am more open-minded that some European people in some sexual matters. If you have more questions about Latin culture I will be happy answering them. Cheers

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Name : Marie, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, Age : 30, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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