The Marital Morality of Mexican Women: An Urban Study

The purpose of this paper is to examine marital morality from the perspective of lower-middle and working-class women in a large urban center south of Mexico City. Anthropologists have noted that a departure from the ideal of sexual fidelity is expected male behavior in Mexican communities, while in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of anthropological research 1986-07, Vol.42 (2), p.183-202
Main Authors: LeVine, Sarah Ethel, Correa, Clara Sunderland, F. Medardo Tapia Uribe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology
Children
Christianity
Contemporary period
Fathers
Females
General subjects
History and sciences of religions
Husbands
Infidelity
Marital Relations
Marriage
Men
Mexico
Moral theology
Mothers
Sex Role Attitudes
Sexual and family ethics
Social moral
Sons
Wives
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Summary:The purpose of this paper is to examine marital morality from the perspective of lower-middle and working-class women in a large urban center south of Mexico City. Anthropologists have noted that a departure from the ideal of sexual fidelity is expected male behavior in Mexican communities, while infidelity by the wife is much more negatively regarded. We examine the extent to which norms governing husband-wife relations and marital morality have been affected by the rapid socioeconomic changes of recent years. We show that, despite the persistence of a double standard of sexual morality, younger urban women with more formal education and access to contraception are beginning to challenge traditional notions of husband-wife relations rather than endure infidelity, physical violence, and other forms of abuse.
ISSN:0091-7710
2153-3806
DOI:10.1086/jar.42.2.3630487