Narratives of Assimilation, Divergence, and Hybridity: The Reproduction Decisions of College-Educated Mexican American Women

Autor/inn/en	Alvarado, Emmanuel; Nehring, Daniel
Titel	Narratives of Assimilation, Divergence, and Hybridity: The Reproduction Decisions of College-Educated Mexican American Women
Quelle	In: Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, 37 (2012) 2, S.73-94 (22 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0005-2604
Schlagwörter	Females; Family Size; Acculturation; Higher Education; Educational Attainment; Mexican Americans; Decision Making; Semi Structured Interviews; Incidence; Cultural Background; Attachment Behavior; Socioeconomic Status; Pregnancy + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Weibliches Geschlecht; Familiengröße; Akkulturation; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Hispanoamerikaner; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Vorkommen; Attachment; Bindungsverhalten; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Schwangerschaft
Abstract	Our study explored cultural understandings surrounding the reproductive decisions of US-born, college-educated Mexican American women through a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews. In considering the results, this article advances debates on Latina women's reproductive choices beyond the theoretical paradigms of "assimilation" and "divergence" prevalent in the academic literature. Analysis of emergent themes in the interviews identified cultural tension between a desire for family formation and expansion, motivated by a deep-seated attachment to family, and the socioeconomic constraints imposed by professional careers. We suggest that family size choices among educated Mexican American women result from the dynamic interaction between the history and cultural traditions of Mexican Americans, on the one hand, and the pressures of socioeconomic and cultural assimilation, on the other. We conclude that the cultural understandings surrounding the fertility choices of college-educated Mexican American women reflect the hybridity and difference found within their liminal space of American culture--not simply Mexican, not simply middle-class American, and certainly not simply "divergent" or "assimilationist." (Contains 2 figures and 10 notes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. 193 Haines Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544. Tel: 310-794-9380; Tel: 310-825-2642; Fax: 310-206-1784; e-mail: press@chicano.ucla.edu; Web site: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/press
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10