The Role of Women in Colonial Latin America
In colonial Latin America marriage was often considered a means of bindingthe social and economic interests of families as well as a tool for"expressing class or group objectives rather than personal emotions."[i] Awoman's role related to her husband was related to her responsibility tohonor her partner. Women traditionally were assigned the role ofprotecting not only their honor but also that of their family and husbandby remaining faithful and bearing legitimate children.[ii] Bearinglegitimate children during a marriage became and essential survivalelement, critical to sustaining the "socio-economic position of theLavrin also points out however that honor was at times difficult to defineduring the colonial era in Latin America, saying that honor was in fact, "amental construct expressed through a complex set of behavioral codesregulating personal and social conduct."[iv]Women were also expected to be virginal; virginity for women was considered"emblematic of a chaste life" as well as a means for demonstrating respecttoward the church[v]. Women were expected to be virginal at the time ofmarriage to ensure a union free of past intrusions or contaminants[vi].
Generally nonwhite women enjoying suchluxuries lived in more flourishing and less poor area. According to Zepeda (2000),"the history of early colonial Latin America reveals an era of strictgender ideologies that perpetuated the patriarchal control of women. Anydeviation from this standard was considered dishonorable. Women and men did coordinate economicactivities. Women's role related to honor was directly tied to theirsexual conduct and activity. One manner in which to examine women's roles in early Latin America is bycomparing the role of women to that of man. Women were involved in economic activities out of necessityprimarily. Irene Silverblatt depicts rural women living in colonial Peru as sufferingfrom many ills including sexual abuse, political disenfranchisement andeconomic discrimination; this pattern was noted among native women and poorwomen most severely, rather than free women[xxvi]. [xxxv]Alternatively, unmarried women had to obtain the permission of theirfather's before engaging in any of these activities, unless they were overtwenty five years of age, at which time they were considered"emancipated. [xvii]" "Masculine primacy" dominated farmore than femininity during early colonial times. This is exemplified by a woman by the name of LaMalinche/Dona Marina, who was an indigenous slave in the new world, yet sherose to become Cortes' translator, mistress and ultimately "the mostpowerful woman in colonial New Spain. In colonial Latin American society, class position and race wee related;many menial roles and jobs held by women were performed by nonwhite andnative women[xli]. Women were ultimately judged on their ability to do so.
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