Feminine Authority And Migration: The Case of One Family From Mexico

Abstract

This article is based on fieldwork among Mexican immigrant families in San Jose, California, and their home of Mezquitic, Jalisco. As Mexican families are separated by political borders and the need for employment, women play a crucial role in relieving the social, emotional, and financial strains of immigration on the domestic unit, both at home and abroad. Beyond simply waiting for their men to return or passively following them to the U.S., Mexican women use various methods to maintain their sense of personal authority within their families and communities. They may wield this authority in more or less overt ways. Some of the reasons for women deciding to stay or to return to Mexico are presented within the framework of lives lived across two nations, two cultures, and two distinct realms of female power.