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The Female in Ibero-America: An Essay on Research Bibliography and Research Directions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2022

Ann Pescatello
Ann Pescatello*
Affiliation:
Florida International University
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“Woman has always been for man the ‘other,‘ his opposite and complement.”

Scholars of Latin America Have Recently Concerned Themselves With socially-oriented studies—not merely of structures, institutions, or groups, but about the individuals who comprise those entities. Despite analyses of political and military elites, students, peasants, blacks, and immigrants, little scholarly work has been undertaken on man's “other,” the female. Only now are studies on the largest single sub-grouping in society beginning to appear, and these are primarily the work of women scholars. The undertaking is rife with problems, not the least of which is the lack of any comprehensive guide to sources or research directions. Few major subjects suffer such a lack of core bibliography, methodological apparati, or thematic models as does the subject of the female. In an attempt to redress the balance and to encourage the study of man's “opposite and complement,” I present here an essay dealing with research directions and a core of works on the female in Ibero-America.

Information

Type
Topical Review
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , Summer 1972, pp. 125 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © 1972 by the University of Texas Press

References

Background References and General Latin American Works

Aguirre, Marta 1947 Influencia de la mujer en ibero-america, ensayo. n.p.Google Scholar
Boxer, Charles R. 1973 Women in Iberian Expansion Overseas: Some Facts, Fancies, and Personalities, 1415-1825. Publication of the Mary Flexner Lectures at Byrn Mawr. Oxford.Google Scholar
Calderón de la Barca, Frances 1842 Life in Mexico. London.Google Scholar
Campoalange, Campoalange Maria la 1964 La mujer en España. Cien años de su historia 1860-1960. Madrid. Campoalange's study is a good basic reference to Iberian cultural patterns influential in Spanish American development.Google Scholar
Catálogo 1940-46 Catálogo de pasajeros á Indias. Seville. Its six volumes provide us basic information on the female in Iberian colonization in the Americas.Google Scholar
Cruz, Eloida 1937 Los políticos de la mujer en Mexico. Mexico City.Google Scholar
Duró, Cesareo Fernández 1902 La mujer espanola en Indias. Madrid. One of the few early commentaries in which an author devoted attention to the female experience.Google Scholar
Furlong, Guillermo 1945 La cultura feminina en la época colonial. Buenos Aires.Google Scholar
Grey, Vicente 1910 Las mujeres de la independencia. Santiago.Google Scholar
Guy, Henry 1968 Women in the Caribbean. Jamaica.Google Scholar
Von Hagen, Victor W. 1952 The Four Seasons of Manuela: A Biography. New York. This biography of Simon Bolivar's lover is one of the best of its genre.Google Scholar
Konetzke, Richard 1945 La emigración de las mujeres españolas a América durante la época colonial. Revista Internacional de Sociología.Google Scholar
Lavalle Urbina, M. 1964 Situación de la mujer en el derecho de familia latino americano. Bogotá.Google Scholar
Navarrete, Ifegenia de 1969 La mujer y los derechos sociales. Mexico City. Navarrete explores the extent to which the position of women in Latin America contributes to their minimal participation in economically-productive endeavors.Google Scholar
Organization of American States Inter-American Commission of Women 1967 The Economic Activity of Women in Latin America. Washington, D. C. This is a good reference work prepared by Murray Gendell and Guillermo Rossell. It provides basic economic data for analyzing the economic participation of latinas.Google Scholar
Organization of American States Inter-American Commission of Women 1969 Important Women in Public and Professional Life in Latin America. Washington, D. C. This useful statistical and descriptive examination of middle and upper class Latin American women demonstrates areas of their influence or lack of it in economic*** political, and cultural activities.Google Scholar
Pereyra, Carlos n.d. Las huellas de los conquistadores. Madrid.Google Scholar
Schurz, William 1954 This New World. New York. Schurz contributes a good survey chapter on Latin American women.Google Scholar
Villafane Casal, Maria Teresa 1958 La mujer en la pampa siglos XVIII y XIX. La Plata.Google Scholar

Selected Bibliography by Geographical Sections: Brazil

Azevedo, Thales De 1962 Social Change in Brazil. University of Florida School of Inter-American Studies Monograph 22. Gainesville.Google Scholar
Azevedo provides a good introduction to bases for changes and continuity in women's roles in Brazilian society.Google Scholar
Expilly, Charles 1963 Les femmes et les moeurs du Brésil. Paris. This latest edition of a nineteenth-century classic affords us the most detailed descriptions of female life in that time period.Google Scholar
Landes, Ruth 1967 A cidade das mulheres. Rio de Janeiro. A Portuguese translation of The City of Women (1947), Landes' book is a good description of ordinary Brazilian life and especially reflects on women's position in society and her influence on the development of sexual relations and social attitudes. It is particularly concerned with the Afro-Brazilian milieu.Google Scholar
Maria de Jesus, Carolina 1962 Child of the Dark. New York. Her moving account of one woman's life and struggles within the world of Brazilian favelas reflects the exploitation of women but within the context of exploitation of the masses.Google Scholar
Muraro, Rose Marie 1967 A mulher na construção do mundo futuro. Petropolis. The deaconess of Brazil's women liberationists presents a detailed argument for the female's position in the construction of a new society.Google Scholar
Pereira Rodriguez, Leda Maria 1962 A instrução femenina em Sao Paulo. SaoPaulo. This is a useful model for future studies with some good information on woman's education in Brazil's most progressive state.Google Scholar

Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay

Carranza, Adolfo P. 1910 Patricias Argentinas. Buenos Aires. Here is an old-style but useful biographical account of the role women played in Argentina's war of liberation.Google Scholar
Deveali de Landin, Gabriela 1967 El trabajo de las mujeres. Buenos Aires. This book is a useful account of working women and their contributions to the Argentine economy.Google Scholar
Flores, Maria 1952 The Woman with the Whip: Eva Perón. New York. Although the commentary is biased and strident it provides another perspective on Argentina's most famous female, one valuable for its irreverent treatment of a woman exiled by the Peróns.Google Scholar
Lynch, Marta 1965 Al vencedor. Buenos Aires.Google Scholar
Lynch, Marta 1966 La alfombra roja. Buenos Aires.Google Scholar
Lynch, Marta 1967 La señora Ordoñez. Buenos Aires. These three novels by one of Argentina's best young writers provide insights and incisive criticisms on the social structure of Argentina and, of course, the position of Argentine women.Google Scholar
Mafud, Julio 1966 La revolución sexual argentina. Buenos Aires. In one of the better works on transformation of Argentine society, Mafud speaks in terms of change for women and its possible effects on national life.Google Scholar
Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social, Departamento de la Mujer 1965 Evolución de la mujer en las profesiones liberales en Argentina—años 1900-1960. Buenos Aires. (Mimeographed)Google Scholar
This milestone in data-gathering is one of the best sources on educated females in Argentina.Google Scholar
Moreau de Justo, Alicia 1945 La mujer en la democracia. Buenos Aires. The doyen of Argentina's feminist cause and possessor of one of the finest personal libraries on the female in Latin America, Moreau de Justo utilized her experience in suffragettism to report on the role women have played in Argentine history.Google Scholar
Perón, Eva Duarte de 1951 La razón de mi vida. Buenos Aires. Essentially propagandistic, it affords insight into Evita's role in helping Perón to power and also provides information on her views of rights for the masses. Eva*** “gave” women the vote for she realized the effect lower class women would have at the polls.Google Scholar
Schultz de Mantovani, Fryda 1960 La mujer en la vida nacional. Buenos Aires. The first head of the Argentine Women's Bureau gives a superficial account of women in Argentine literature and history.Google Scholar
Stabile, Blanca 1961 La mujer en el desarrollo nacional. Buenos Aires. The author documents her very good summary of female contribution to Argentine development by providing the reader with good statistical and other data.Google Scholar
Subsecretaria de Información de la Presidencia de la Nación 1950 The Writings of Eva Peron. Buenos Aires. This collection of the late First Lady of Argentina includes her speeches and articles on the rights, roles, and responsibilities of Argentine women. It is a good primary source.Google Scholar
Vittone, Luis 1968 La mujer paraguaya en la vida nacional. Asunción. It is one of the very few works available on Paraguayan women and is a basic reference for investigation on female life and work in that country.Google Scholar

Chile

Arce de Vásquez, Margo 1964 Gabriela Mistral: The Poet and Her Work. New York. This biography is valuable for its insights into Chilean society and also into the life of one of Latin America's most famous writers.Google Scholar
Klimpel Alvarado, Felícitas 1962 La mujer chilena: el aporte femenino al progreso de Chile, 1910-1960. Santiago. An examination of Chilean law codes adds to a solid study of the progress of women in obtaining their civil rights.Google Scholar
Labarca Hubertson, Amanda 1952 Women and Education in Chile. Paris. The education of Chilean women is treated with good historical documentation by Chile's most famous female educator.Google Scholar
Mattelart, Armand and Michele, 1968 La mujer chilena en una nueva sociedad. Santiago. This excellent and well-documented work studies attitudes and roles of Chilean women.Google Scholar
Paul, Catherine Manny 1966 Amanda Labarca H.: Educator to the Women of Chile. (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, New York University).Google Scholar
Paul's is a very good study of an individual woman's contribution to her society's institutional processes.Google Scholar
Veliz, Brunilda 1964 Women's Political Behavior in Chile. (Unpublished Master's Thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley).Google Scholar
A solid analysis of voting patterns of middle and upper class women also explains why, despite women's “rightist” tendencies, there was more polarization between right and left among lower-class women.Google Scholar

Northern Spanish America

(Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela)Google Scholar
Arias Robalino, August 1935 Mujeres de Quito. America (Quito). This article provides a brief survey of Ecuadorian women from colonial times and one of our relatively few sources on the subject.Google Scholar
García y García, Elvira n.d. La mujer peruana a través de los siglos. Lima. The two-volume reference work is useful for identifying important female figures in Peruvian life and also lends some insights into their influence, if any, on their society.Google Scholar
Gutiérez de Pineda, Virginia 1962 La familia en Colombia. Bogotá.Google Scholar
Gutiérez de Pineda, Virginia 1968 Familia y cultura en Colombia. Bogotá. These two volumes constitute the best sources for family life and the role of the female in Colombian culture. It is a must for any student of Colombian women.Google Scholar
Hispana, Lirica 1953 Breve antología de mujeres poetas de Venezuela y guia de autores. Caracas. One good reference to the cultural aspect of Venezuelan life, and it is valuable for its compilation of information on female intellectuals.Google Scholar
Lockhart, James 1968 Spanish Peru, 1532-1560. Madison, Wisconsin. This excellent study of a colonial society includes an invaluable chapter on “Spanish women and the Second Generation.” Lockhart carefully documents the contributions made by all classes of women in the formation of Peruvian culture.Google Scholar
Patch, Richard W. 1970 Attitudes Towards Sex, Reproduction and Contraception in Bolivia and Peru. American University Field Staff, West Coast South America Series, 17:11.Google Scholar
Patch's valuable survey of female attitudes and position in Bolivian and Peruvian societies aids our understanding of the future role of women in these two nations.Google Scholar
Patrón Faura, Pedro 1955 Legislación de la mujer peruana. Lima. The author examines legal rights and equality (or lack of it) in education and employment of Peruvian women.Google Scholar
Portal, Magda 1933 El aprismo y la mujer. Lima. In an early study by Peruvian novelist, poet, and leader of Apra's woman's wing, Portal argued that only working and thinking women should be given the vote to avoid the election of reactionary men.Google Scholar
Portal, Magda 1946 La trampa. Lima. This self-portrait in a novel is written by an insider of the Aprista party. Here Portal describes her relationships with the male-dominated executive councils and her frustrations in attempting to assert female influence in Peruvian political decisions.Google Scholar
Sanders, Thomas G. 1971 Family Planning in Ecuador. American University Field Staff, West Coast South America Series, 18: 3.Google Scholar
Sanders' study is very useful as a basic reference to female positions and attitudes in Ecuador and promises for their future.Google Scholar

The Caribbean

Biesanz, John and Biesanz, Mavis 1955 The People of Panama. New York. It provides a good reference for investigating female life in Panama.Google Scholar
Hill, Reuben, Stycos, J. Mayone and Black, Kurt W. 1955 The Family and Population Control: A Puerto Rican Experiment in Social Change. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.Google Scholar
The title speaks for itself, for the book contains much information pertinent to women in a Spanish Caribbean society.Google Scholar
Jenness, Linda 1970 Women and the Cuban Revolution: Speeches by Fidel Castro; Articles by Linda Jenness. New York.Google Scholar
This basic source for policy and programs of contemporary Cuba concerns women and their role in the development of a new society.Google Scholar
Mujeres Magazine of the FMC (Cuban Women's Federation). The magazine publishes stories about women's contributions to education, economics, and culture and has a regular feature section and Gallery of Women, which gives brief biographies of exemplary women throughout the world.Google Scholar
Stycos, J. Mayone 1955 Family and Fertility in Puerto Rico. New York. This source is essentially similar to the Hill, Stycos, and Back book and provides a solid picture of female existence on that island.Google Scholar
Tejeira, Otilia A. de 1963 La mujer en la vida da panamena. Panama City. Tejeira provides a general survey of female activities in education, economics, and society in Panama.Google Scholar

Mexico

Bermudez, María Elvira 1955 La vida familiar del mexicano. Mexico City. Bermudez's general study of family life gives copious references to the role of women in Mexican society.Google Scholar
Brenner, Anita 1943 The Wind that Swept Mexico. New York. Brenner's book has a good description of female participation in the Revolution.Google Scholar
Instituto Mexicano de Estudios Sociales 1969 ¿Hacia donde va la mujer mexicana? Mexico City. This study provides useful materials about working-class women.Google Scholar
Lewis, Oscar 1959 Five Families. New York. Lewis's work affords insight into the life and attitudes of women in five differing class group families. See also:Google Scholar
Lewis, Oscar 1949 Husbands and Wives in a Mexican Village: A Study of Role Conflict. American Anthropologist. 51: 602–610.Google Scholar
Lewis, Oscar n.d. Six Women. New York. In progress, by Ms. Lewis.Google Scholar
Morton, Ward M. 1962 Woman Suffrage in Mexico. Gainesville. Florida. Here is a fine study of Mexico's feminist movement and could provide a model for future studies of other Latin American suffrage movements.Google Scholar
Nuevo, Mundo 1970 April issue. The April issue of this journal was devoted entirely to a critical examination of the topic “machismo y feminismo.” Of particular interest are the discussions on the relationship between women and Catholicism.Google Scholar

An addendum has been issued for this article:

Addendum