Latin American Studies Resources

A press release from the World Health Organization highlights the need for stronger Sexual Education in Latin America and the Carribean. The press release talks about the statistics of contracting HIV, and how programs can be implemented to cut down on the number of transmissions. One of the highlighted vulnerable groups for contracting HIV is sex workers and "men who have sex with men", the latter being connected strongly with the first chapter of "Fixing Men".

This article depicts women in Latin America who are involved with the current day social movements. It provides us with information regarding the leading participants in the social movements and exactly what the social movements are. Some of them focus on human rights and collective consumption like the cost of living.

This article presents the approximate levels of induced abortion in six Latin American countries- Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru. Through calculated data on the hospitalization of women's abortion complications, an estimated 550,000 women are hospitalized a year. To read more about the complications and calculations go here!

An audio clip of a woman telling her story of her illegal abortion and the repercussions it had on her body and her presence within her society. Again, we see the struggle between the religion of Mexico and the push for women's rights.

Bold move for Mexico due to its strong, cultural foundation in the Roman Catholic Church. Here, we watch as the religious opposes the social and vice versa. It's women's rights vs. Roman Catholic doctrine.

The video presents stories and images of the great poverty characterizing Haiti today. Issues of child extortion, abuse and slavery are addressed, and while Haiti may not necessarily be considered a part of Latin America by all, it is worth noting how such great poverty affects a culture, similar to countries such as Mexico and Guatemala.

The video addresses issues of violence both inside and outside the prisons, suggesting that the inside of the prisons are simply a reflection of the outside culture. Notions of machismo and what it means to be a man can also be drawn from certain images in the video, but other images suggest the crossover between genders when male drug addicts are shown doing handicrafts as therapy to help them overcome such addictions.

The Mexican economy's dependence on the United States' economy is discussed in this article, along with a discussion of other financial sources of present-day Mexico. While Mexico's poverty is addressed in Fixing Men, one can see from reading this article that such poverty is by no means decreasing, but rather poverty rates are, in fact, increasing and will only continue to do so.

This actually takes a different perspective of the meaning and purpose of "machismo". Here, it is described as being knowingly accepted by both Latino men and Latina women. It describes the exaggerated manliness that we often think of as "machismo" instead as male chauvinism. Here, the word "machismo" is described to be a counter action towards unmanly or "sissy" acts, (such as crying).

This small excerpt describes how masculinity in Latin America is affirmed through the concepts of "machismo". It speaks of the man's dominant role, both inside and outside of the home. It also briefly states the roles of Latin American women. The "machismo" culture does not allow for women to have much of a choice. It sets boundaries for women.

This excerpt attempts to define the word "machismo" in the Latin American culture. It goes on to describe how "machismo" is a main influence in making a man a "real man". A survey is taken in two different locations, reaffirming the idea of a machismo male-dominated society.

This article discusses family planning laws being enforced in Guatemala and the Catholic churches response to it. Birth control methods would be available to the public and sexual education would be incorporated into schools. Even though the Catholic Church is fighting against the law, many are happy because it will decrease abortion, poverty, and maternal mortality rates. As we continue to read Fixing Men, we can look at reproductive health reformations in other Latin American countries and see how people respond to them.

This article discusses how abortion has not only become an issue of "maternal morality, but maternal mortality". Since many women have denied permission to get abortions, they find others to give them the abortion or they will even do it themselves, putting their lives at risk. In this article, we see the consequences of the absence of sexual education, reproductive health resources, and family planning organizations for women.

This article contains statistics about AIDS/HIV in the world but particularly focuses on the people of Latin America because of the high rates of the disease in these areas. It talks about how Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are all countries where it is well known that men are having sex with other men, and this increases the spread of the disease. In countries like Bolivia and Peru in particular, the spread of the disease is linked to the vast amounts of unprotected sex and the use of intravenous drugs. The article also mentions that there are many misconceptions with AIDS/HIV in regards to how it is spread and through whom and by whom, and that many people are prejudiced into a certain way of thinking.

This article is about poorer women in Peru dealing with the conflicting issues of whether birth control is right or wrong. It gives a specific example of a woman who killed 2 of her 6 children because she could not afford to take care of them anymore. The poorer people who are also Catholic are having to deal with the large amounts of children and the small amount of money. Some women are up for going to non-natural birth control meathods, but some say their husbands are afraid this will make them more promiscuous.

Several countries throughout Latin America have been fighting to end the continual violent attacks. "The More Guns, the more Violence" is one of the measures which will be discussed at the upcoming conference for NGO's. Over seven million rifles are produced each year and many of them are sent to Latin American countries.

Mexico has always been recognized for its high crime and this article emphasizes the notion that despite increased security measures throughout the country, crime rates continue to flourish. In 2006, after numerous attacks of violence and gang crime, security measures were advanced. However, despite Felipe Calderon's fight to end the attacks, it is noted that currently, organized crime violence in Mexico is accountable for approximately 20 deaths per day.

This is article is especially relevant to the discussion we had in class earlier today about sex education in Latin America. At the beginning of August, Heath and Education ministers from different Latin American countries, joined together and discussed the notion of sexual education. They concluded that providing comprehensive sexual education courses throughout schools, will actually serve as prevention towards HIV/AIDS.

AIDS among men throws Mexico for a loop.

Mexico City bus system promotes gender inequality,