German and Mexican Hegemonic Constructions of Masculinities and Femininities in 19th Century and Its Relevance in Mexico’s Twenty-First Century’s feminicidio and genocidio

Author(s)

Patricia Zuckerhut

Abstract

Nineteenth-century European dualistic gender models
and their relevance for the newly created nation-states are
outlined. It is shown that there were close connections between
the perceptions of the male and female body as well as sexuality
and the sociological concepts of verletzungsmächtig (being capable
of violation) and verletzungsoffen (being open to violation).
The second part is dedicated to Mexico and how statesmen there
adopted the European concepts of “nation” and the (national)
“citizen” for their own ends. Symbolic figures such as Malinche,
the Virgin of Guadalupe as well as the stereotypes of the Mexican
macho and of the related caudillo were created and propagated
in order to document Mexico’s distinctiveness in comparison
with Europe and the USA. The resulting clichéd gender
relations provide the basis for contemporary struggles to uphold
hegemony that utilize human bodies to send powerful messages
to Mexican men and women. With reference to the responsibility
of the state for sexualized and other forms of violence against
women and indigenous peoples in Mexico as a vehicle to keep
them subordinate and accepting of neoliberal exploitation of the
resources in their territories, an intersection of feminicidio and
genocidio is determined.

Organisation(s)

Department of Development Studies, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Journal

Anthropos : internationale Zeitschrift für Völker- u. Sprachenkunde

Volume

113

Pages

525-542

ISSN

0003-5572

Publication date

2018

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504017 Cultural anthropology

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/german-and-mexican-hegemonic-constructions-of-masculinities-and-femininities-in-19th-century-and-its-relevance-in-mexicos-twentyfirst-centurys-feminicidio-and-genocidio(1ad7830a-3849-4665-8526-d362748a4013).html