Gender and Family Structures
Relationship Power and the Presence of Father Figures
The low-income population of rural El Salvador, which inculcates the majority of the country, experiences an inordinately large amount of disadvantages within their social structure. The gender disparities within the culture itself exacerbate the already significant hazard of poverty, increasing the number of children without stable father figures. This causes economic and social distress and exaggerates the probability of long term harm. Gender disparity and informal consensual relationships between men and women decrease the stability of the family structure which results in poor educational and health outcomes for the children of such unions.
Salvadoran machismo and marianismo control woman's domestic role, especially with respect to choices regarding sexuality and contraception. Especially in Latin America, sexuality is traditionally seen as the domain of the male. Men are entitled to sex in relationships and not necessarily expected to remain monogamous. Females, on the other hand, respond to the needs of their husband and children following the Marian model of limitless and enduring self-denial, receiving, rather than winning love (Browner 2002). This “spiritual superiority” provides a social expectation to both tolerate the misdeeds of their partners and submit to their sexual needs in order to retain the label of a “good woman”. This means that women retain a traditionally domestic realm of influence, subordinate to their husbands. Women on the health care team in El Salvador often complained of male infidelity, and their frustration with the double standard between males and females. As relatively powerful women compared to the rural mothers we administered to, one can only imagine the situations which rural uneducated women to tolerate. During clinic, one mother told me of her frustration with her husband who was beating her and sleeping with several other women, yet she was always expected to welcome him home and care for his family. This double standard becomes even more important within the context of contraception, children, and family life.
Although men dominate the sexual realm, the responsibility of contraception belongs to the woman; when the female exercises little control in the relationship, contraceptive usage is much less pervasive (Bermudez. et. al. 2010). As the Latin American region demonstrates the highest rates of gender inequality and double standards in the world (Martinez-Franzoni 2011), Salvadoran women are especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, rural Salvadoran women with low levels of education are more likely to bear more offspring without a stable father figure within a formal marriage. This means that both they and their offspring are particularly sensitive to familial instability.
The common acompañada relationship means that women living in poverty and their children are more likely to live in unstable family situations. Research shows that the acompañada relationship in which the couple lives together and raises children often involves less commitment than a formal marriage (Desai). In rural El Salvador, due to expense and the prevalence of poverty, formal marriages are rare. The informal consensual union exacerbates the power differential between men and women, as women generally have a lower earning power, do not work, and take responsibility for the children of such unions. Without marriage, men do not have a formal obligation to their family which increases the ease of male abandonment, whether for another woman, to migrate to the United States, or for work-related reasons. For example, my friend Guillermo had fathered seven children, was living with another women and her two children, and had little to no contact with his previous offspring. This predisposition towards lack of a stable father figure in the acompañada relationship has serious repercussions for the well-being of children in such relationships.
Interestingly, although little research has been done on the effect of single motherhood on the family in Central/Latin America, it does show that the absence of a father figure has significant negative effects on children in the family. The lack of financial and emotional resources which is more prevalent in mother-only families is distinctly related to an increase in the likelihood of poverty, as well as its duration and severity. The poorer educational and health outcomes which are specific to mother-only families are related to many factors, including both financial poverty and decreased attention and supervision of the child (Desai 1992). In addition, the rates of child malnutrition are much higher when the children belong to consensual unions or large families. Moreso than other regions of the world, in the gender-biased area of Latin America, the absence of a male income for the family hurts their ability to survive (Desai 1992). My friend Rosalba, whose acompañada was kidnapped and murdered, leaving her as the sole supporter of two children without even a high school education, struggles to survive. As the healthcare promoter of my medical team, she travels four hours every day to and from work so that she can spend evenings with her children. With her low salary, as the only provider in her household of two children and her mother, she must pay for rent, electricity, her children's education, her continuing education, food, and transportation. I remember that she sometimes did not eat with the medical team because she could not afford to buy food that day while meeting all of her bills. She's lucky, though, in that she's very intelligent and that her aunt, a doctor, trained her in medical work. Although officially a healthcare promoter, she did all the work of a doctor, nurse, and nutritionist. Many single mothers in El Salvador do not have these options and are thus unable to support their families, leading to malnutrition and poor education which have long-term negative effects.
In rural El Salvador, machismo restricts woman's role in contraception and poverty drives consensual relationships which decrease their stability. Since acompañadas are more likely to dissolve than marriage, especially in situations where there is a great power differential between the man and the woman, the resultant children of these unions are more likely to grow up without a father figure. This means that malnutrition, and poor education and healthcare affects them at a higher rate than otherwise, which continually perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Therefore, it appears that through their relationship disempowerment, rural Salvadoran women and their families are even more likely to remain in poverty than if they had choices with regards to their family and the formality of their consensual union.
The low-income population of rural El Salvador, which inculcates the majority of the country, experiences an inordinately large amount of disadvantages within their social structure. The gender disparities within the culture itself exacerbate the already significant hazard of poverty, increasing the number of children without stable father figures. This causes economic and social distress and exaggerates the probability of long term harm. Gender disparity and informal consensual relationships between men and women decrease the stability of the family structure which results in poor educational and health outcomes for the children of such unions.
Salvadoran machismo and marianismo control woman's domestic role, especially with respect to choices regarding sexuality and contraception. Especially in Latin America, sexuality is traditionally seen as the domain of the male. Men are entitled to sex in relationships and not necessarily expected to remain monogamous. Females, on the other hand, respond to the needs of their husband and children following the Marian model of limitless and enduring self-denial, receiving, rather than winning love (Browner 2002). This “spiritual superiority” provides a social expectation to both tolerate the misdeeds of their partners and submit to their sexual needs in order to retain the label of a “good woman”. This means that women retain a traditionally domestic realm of influence, subordinate to their husbands. Women on the health care team in El Salvador often complained of male infidelity, and their frustration with the double standard between males and females. As relatively powerful women compared to the rural mothers we administered to, one can only imagine the situations which rural uneducated women to tolerate. During clinic, one mother told me of her frustration with her husband who was beating her and sleeping with several other women, yet she was always expected to welcome him home and care for his family. This double standard becomes even more important within the context of contraception, children, and family life.
Although men dominate the sexual realm, the responsibility of contraception belongs to the woman; when the female exercises little control in the relationship, contraceptive usage is much less pervasive (Bermudez. et. al. 2010). As the Latin American region demonstrates the highest rates of gender inequality and double standards in the world (Martinez-Franzoni 2011), Salvadoran women are especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, rural Salvadoran women with low levels of education are more likely to bear more offspring without a stable father figure within a formal marriage. This means that both they and their offspring are particularly sensitive to familial instability.
The common acompañada relationship means that women living in poverty and their children are more likely to live in unstable family situations. Research shows that the acompañada relationship in which the couple lives together and raises children often involves less commitment than a formal marriage (Desai). In rural El Salvador, due to expense and the prevalence of poverty, formal marriages are rare. The informal consensual union exacerbates the power differential between men and women, as women generally have a lower earning power, do not work, and take responsibility for the children of such unions. Without marriage, men do not have a formal obligation to their family which increases the ease of male abandonment, whether for another woman, to migrate to the United States, or for work-related reasons. For example, my friend Guillermo had fathered seven children, was living with another women and her two children, and had little to no contact with his previous offspring. This predisposition towards lack of a stable father figure in the acompañada relationship has serious repercussions for the well-being of children in such relationships.
Interestingly, although little research has been done on the effect of single motherhood on the family in Central/Latin America, it does show that the absence of a father figure has significant negative effects on children in the family. The lack of financial and emotional resources which is more prevalent in mother-only families is distinctly related to an increase in the likelihood of poverty, as well as its duration and severity. The poorer educational and health outcomes which are specific to mother-only families are related to many factors, including both financial poverty and decreased attention and supervision of the child (Desai 1992). In addition, the rates of child malnutrition are much higher when the children belong to consensual unions or large families. Moreso than other regions of the world, in the gender-biased area of Latin America, the absence of a male income for the family hurts their ability to survive (Desai 1992). My friend Rosalba, whose acompañada was kidnapped and murdered, leaving her as the sole supporter of two children without even a high school education, struggles to survive. As the healthcare promoter of my medical team, she travels four hours every day to and from work so that she can spend evenings with her children. With her low salary, as the only provider in her household of two children and her mother, she must pay for rent, electricity, her children's education, her continuing education, food, and transportation. I remember that she sometimes did not eat with the medical team because she could not afford to buy food that day while meeting all of her bills. She's lucky, though, in that she's very intelligent and that her aunt, a doctor, trained her in medical work. Although officially a healthcare promoter, she did all the work of a doctor, nurse, and nutritionist. Many single mothers in El Salvador do not have these options and are thus unable to support their families, leading to malnutrition and poor education which have long-term negative effects.
In rural El Salvador, machismo restricts woman's role in contraception and poverty drives consensual relationships which decrease their stability. Since acompañadas are more likely to dissolve than marriage, especially in situations where there is a great power differential between the man and the woman, the resultant children of these unions are more likely to grow up without a father figure. This means that malnutrition, and poor education and healthcare affects them at a higher rate than otherwise, which continually perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Therefore, it appears that through their relationship disempowerment, rural Salvadoran women and their families are even more likely to remain in poverty than if they had choices with regards to their family and the formality of their consensual union.