Gender roles in Mesoamerica

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In many societies, gender roles are established from birth. For example, boys are given toys to play with that establish their future masculine roles while the girls get toys that relate to grinding and other activities women are expected to perform. Francie R. Chassen-Lopez, author of “Cheaper Than Machines,” describes the gender roles that many Mexican societies try to establish from birth. Chassen-Lopez notes that “at birth, newborn boys are given a machete by their fathers, and girls receive a metate and malacate (the stone instrument used to grind maize and the spinning whorl) from their mothers, representing their future economic roles” (1994:27). The goal behind Chassen-Lopez’s article is to propose that the stereotype that women play a minimal role in the family is far from accurate. Chassen-Lopez notes that although women’s roles in agriculture have been underestimated, if it were not for the contributions of women in agriculture, the family would not survive.

Women also hold a variety of roles within the family. These range from harvesting the grains and preparing the food for the family, to taking care of the domesticated animals. When examining the role women play in planting and harvesting, one notices that this area still holds some stereotypes with how the women aid their husbands. In some societies women are responsible for sowing and harvesting the crops but are restricted from ploughing. Colin Sage, author of “Deconstructing the Household,” notes the roles shared between men and women in agriculture in Santa Rosa,Yucatan. Sage mentions, “although women are allocated such tasks as sowing, with all its association with fertility, they are rigidly excluded from ploughing” (1993:245). The significance of not allowing women to plough is related to human reproduction. The common belief is that women should not be able to plough because it invades on the male’s role in human reproduction. Sage states, “Thus, men are able to carry out all stages of the agriculture cycle, including the planting of the seed, while women-- even in their role as head of the household-- are sanctioned to rely upon men for particular tasks”(1993:245). The reasoning behind limiting women’s roles with production of the crops is directly related to reproduction, as Sage proposes. Women rely on men for some tasks when planting crops, just as women need the assistance of the men in reproduction.

Aside from producing food, another important task that women carry out is food preparation, which demands the most attention because the women must sit by the hearth for long periods of time. The article “Women in Ancient Mesoamerica,” written by Andrea J. Stone, discusses the role women have in the preparation of maize. After the grains have been harvested, the next step is to process them so the family can consume them. Stone states, “Apart from childbearing and childrearing, one of the women’s foremost duties was the processing of dried corn into maize flour. After being boiled with lime, softened maize kernels were ground with a tubular hand stone on a flat grinding stone (metate) into maize dough” (Stone 299). Once the dough is formed, a variety of food items can be made. Here one can see how the metate plays an important role in the processing of maize, the staple crop of the culture. I find it interesting that metates are given to newborn girls to play with.

The last major role women hold in a society relates to animals. Many households have corrals for their domestic animals, and this is another area that women are responsible for. When discussing the roles women play with domestic animals, we turn to Raquel Rubio Goldsmith and her article “Seasons, Seeds, and Souls.” Goldsmith states that the corral is very important to the women of the household and is another area where they spend a great deal of their time. Goldsmith comments, “Here she spent a good part of her time, taking care of the animals…caring for the chickens, cleaning the dovecote, feeding the mule, rabbits…here in the corral one eats from one’s work” (1994:145). Goldsmith’s quote reiterates the point that women play an important role in the survival of their families because the family survives from the work they perform in the corral.

[edit] Bibliography

• Chassen-Lopez, Francie R. "Cheaper Than Machines." Women of the Mexican Countryside, 1850-1990. Ed. Heather Fowler-Salamini and Mary Kay Vaughan. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1994. Pp. 27-30.
• Goldsmith, Raquel Rubio. "Seasons, Seeds and Souls." Women of the Mexican Countryside, 1850-1990. Ed. Heather Fowler-::Salamini and Mary Kay Vaughan. Tucson: The University of Arizona ::Press, 1994. Pp. 140-45.
• Roosevelt, A.C. “Gender in Human Evolution." Pursuit of Gender: Worldwide Archaeological Approaches. Ed. Sarah Milledge and Myriam Rosen-Ayalon. Oxford: Alta Mira Press,2002. Pp. 355-61.
• Sage, Colin. "Deconstructing the Household." Different Places, Different Voices. Ed. Janet Henshall Momsen and Vivian Kinnaird. London: Routledge, 1993. Pp. 243-46.
• Stone, Andrea J. "Women in Ancient Mesoamerica." Women’s Role in Ancient Civilizations. Ed. Bella Vivante. London:  ::Greenwood Press, 1999. Pp.293-300.

[edit] See also

Mesoamerica