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Melissa Melendez

Professor Batty

English 28

13 December 2017

Culture Molds Women

You may have already noticed some of the gender inequality that happens around you but

its not just a problem that persists here in the United States. There are cross-cultural differences

around the world when it comes to understanding female sexuality, it has to do with gender

domination and things like family, marriage religion, etc. Women are treated differently in

different places, according to certain cultural practices; culture heavily affects ones

understanding of female sexuality, whether we like it or not, it shapes who we are and what we

can and cannot do in everyday life such as being able to work, having to stay home with the kids,

or even being able to go out and run errands alone. (For example: the Dominican Republic vs.

the U.S.)

You may ask yourself, What are the cross-cultural differences? Well, they have to do

with the different power/gender ratios and legal, moral, and religious restrictions on sexuality

from country to country and from culture to culture as well as with the possible relationship

between femininity, sexuality, and culture. The theory is that females are seen as having a

smaller role in society than men based on things like family, marriage, religion, education,

politics, tradition, and the economy. It also has to do with gender domination and certain

traditional practices. The definition of the suppression of female sexuality itself is the pattern of

cultural influence by which girls and women are induced to avoid feeling sexual desire and to

refrain from sexual behavior. (Baumeister and Twenge 167.) How the Garcia Girls Lost Their
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Accents is a novel about four girls who are forced to flee their home country the Dominican

Republic and move to the United States after their father is discovered trying to overthrow the

dictator. The four sisters (Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sophia) must adapt to the new language

and culture of the United Stated but they never did forget their roots, as they would go back to

visit their family in their home country. Author Julia Alvarez went through something similar

herself, having had to adapt to living in New York after migrating from the Dominican Republic.

For example, there is a quote that shows how the women are not allowed to go anywhere without

a male escort or a bodyguard. This is not the states, Tia Flor says, with a knowing smile. A

woman just doesnt travel alone in this country. Especially these days. (Alvarez, 9). This is an

example of one of the differences between how women are treated differently according to that

countrys cultural views on women; in this case the Dominican Republic vs the U.S.

Family is one of the cross-cultural differences that place a key role in the novel How the

Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is set in the sixties, at a time when small things like wearing

jeans and hoop earrings were considered [to be] political acts against the military-industrial

complex (Alvarez, 28). For example, there is a part in the book where the girls father says I

dont want loose women in the family, he had cautioned all his daughters. Warnings were

delivered communally, even though there was usually the offending daughter of the moment,

every womens character could use extra scolding. His daughters had had to put up with this kind

of attitude (Alvarez, 28). This quote really shows how family influences how they could act

and what they could do. The father is basically sharing his expectations of the girls behavior and

life choices by saying he doesnt want loose women in the family; this limits how the girls can

express their female sexuality just to comply with their familys expectations. It also says that his
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daughters had to put up with his attitude whether they wanted to or not, which goes to show how

family and culture will mold women, and there isnt anything women can really do about it.

Now, there are many different theories on what might cause the suppression of female

sexuality. Two of the theories are based on evolution, meaning that over time, peoples views on

female sexuality from cultural and social viewpoints have come to shape what are todays gender

practices are. Two other theories are based on the belief that gender itself is responsible for the

suppression of female sexuality. These theories discuss the probability that one gender, either

men or women in general, subconsciously work to restrain womens sexual behavior. These

theories are that based on evolution, peoples views on female sexuality from cultural and social

viewpoints have come to shape the gender practices of today and that gender itself plays a role in

the suppression of female sexuality whether each gender realizes it or not, they just work in a

way where a man comes off as more powerful than a woman. These theories are described in a

journal from the American Psychological Association that discusses a few theories on why there

isnt balance between the two genders, male and female. The APA is the largest professional

scientific association of psychologists in the United States and only publishes journals written by

top professionals in this field. The authors, Jean Twenge and Roy Baumeister have tons of

experience in this study with Twenge having written more than one hundred forty scientific

publications and Baumeister having been researching the connection between female sexuality

and machoism since 1989.

Men may say, Why should women be considered equal if men have always been the

head of the house. The 21st century brought a shift in the typical model family, as well as a

greater recognition for women in legislation to give women more equal rights, courts are

recognizing that women should have a bigger part in society that what society has been
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accustomed to for years. In these years, women have become far more independent

(economically and socially). Women make up a large percentage of the workforce and higher-

education graduates of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. However, there

is still a gap between the genders that is keeping them from becoming exactly equal. This gap is

caused by gender stereotypes from cultural and social viewpoints; which strongly influence how

we think men and women should behave. For example, according to the article Gender Roles in

Society- Masculinity and Femininity, people believe women should be stay-at-home mothers

who cook, clean, and care for their families while men are seen as having to work, protect their

families, and be head of the family.

Gender roles affect how women may develop their personality traits, domestic behaviors,

occupation, and their physical appearance. For example, in a male-dominated society, it isnt as

acceptable for a woman to earn more money than a man, and the idea of a stay-at-home dad

would most likely be frowned upon. Women wouldnt be seen as being as capable of achieving

things a man would achieve; women would be less-likely to work outside the home and get a

higher-education.

Although most people dont think theyre actually letting these stereotypes affect their

everyday lives, it all comes back to unconscious bias. Unconscious bias forms when these

specific assumptions, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations from the stereotypes stay in the back of

peoples minds. People then subconsciously let this affect their feelings and thoughts towards

mens and womens roles in society.

In conclusion, culture heavily affects ones understanding of female sexuality. Women

and men have much more different social roles in society in the United States than in the

Dominican Republic. In the United States, although there is still some gender inequality out
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there, women and men are seen to be roughly equal. Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic,

men definitely have more privilege and opportunities. In the novel, there is a strong sense of

machismo whereas women just have to act a certain way because of society or their familys

expectations. In the end, it all comes back to how your own culture views gender roles. Some

view women as having to be a housewife and the man is the head of the family who works and

protects the family, while others may see women as being equal to men- where they both have a

part in maintaining their children and home and both work to pay for expenses.
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Works Cited

Alvarez, Julia. How the Garca Girls Lost Their Accents. Chapel Hill, N.C:

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1991. Print.

Baumeister, R. F., & Twenge, J. M. (2002). Cultural suppression of female

sexuality. Review of General Psychology, 6(2), 166-203.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.487.3191&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Kambarami, Maureen. Femininity, Sexuality, and Culture: Patriarchy and Female

Subordination. 2006,

www.arsrc.org/downloads/uhsss/kmabarami.pdf.

(Planned Parenthood.) Gender Identity & Roles | Feminine Traits & Stereotypes.

www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender/gender gender-

identity/what-are-gender-roles-and-stereotypes.

Smit, Chris. Gender Roles in Society- Masculinity & Femininity. Culture Matters, 21

Oct. 2016,

culturematters.com/culture-and-gender-roles-in-society/.