Tracking Down A Tradition By Julia Alvarez

To begin, the protagonist Clemencia is like a chameleon, who can blend into any social event and with any class of wealth when she says ““I’m amphibious. I’m a person who doesn’t belong to any class. The rich like to have me around because they envy my creativity; they know they can’t buy that. The poor don’t mind if I live in their neighborhood because they know I’m poor like they are, even if my education and the way I dress keeps us worlds apart”(Cisneros 71,72). Clemencia is a woman who knows how to talk and have a good time. By nature she is a very creative being who loves to impress by wearing the best clothes, and show off to anyone to make herself seem better than others. (Cisneros 71). Clemencia is poor and does not have much being that she works for the school system as a translator, and other various positions. But acts rich and very wealthy to all of her friends (Cisneros 72). This connects with the myth of La Malinche, of how the character is a bad woman who sleeps with lots of men.

La Quinceañera is a tradition birthday celebration for girls who turned 15 in Spanish speaking world. In Latino culture, most people make a big of deal for this celebration because of their religion. According to La Tradición de la Quinceañera, mothers celebrated their daughters turning 15th birthday in tradition ritual ways because this is when girls hit their maturity and their parents believed them to have good behaviors afterward. In this tradition, a lot of expensive clothing involved such as matching jewelries with their dresses. Also, their bouquet of flower represented being virgin like Virgin Mary.

Marked as a celebration of the transition from childhood to womanhood, quinceaneras have been a long-standing tradition among Latin American families. Though “quinceanera” literally means “fifteen year old girl,” the term has become more closely associated with the celebration itself, oftentimes by non-latinx people. Among Latin American families and culture, the celebration is often referred to as “fiesta de quince años” (fifteen year party) or simply a “quinces.” To avoid any confusion, I use “quinceanera” to refer to the celebration, rather than the individual, for the remainder of this paper. Historically, fifteen was seen as the age when Latina girls were ready for marriage, and the quinceanera celebrated that transition. While modern quinceaneras have drifted away from this initial intent, and now reflect more of a celebratory coming of age narrative, the marriage and wedding-related symbolism is still apparent.

A quinceanera is a religious celebration that is celebrated when a young girl turns fifteen. This is a time where the birthday girl is going from girlhood to womanhood. Quinceaneras are celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries and the United States. The elaborate celebration begins with a mass, and is followed by a party or reception. A mass is a memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. People who are invited to the mass is the girl, her family and her godparents. At the party portion of a quinceanera the girl's friends and family are invited. As the girl walks in she is accompanied by her “court” also known as her maids of honor. The party has lots of delicious food, and entertainment such as music and dancing.

Throughout history, most young girls have a Quinceanera which is a special occasion and traditional celebration of a young girl turning fifteen on her birthday and making a transition from child to adult. Reached maturity and eligibility for marriage, which has been custom in most countries. A Quinceanera is something that started many years ago when a Spanish conqueror brought the tradition to Mexico and other countries. Throughout most countries, parents don’t celebrate their daughter’s fifteenth birthday by having a Quinceanera; they celebrated daughter’s birthday differently from other countries. While in countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central, and South America are the only ones who celebrate their daughter’s

Deborah Tannen is a linguistics professor with a focus the communication between men and women. In her essay, “It Begins in the Beginning”, she has little credibility in on her stand concerning her stand social interactions between boys and girls. Although she is an educated women and her work regards males and females, she is not an expert in the development of the gender. Tannen gives claims to prove her main point, but does not have any sources to substantiate her claims. Tannen demonstrates stereotypes through her essay as evidence of claims such as, “Girls don’t give orders…”

The Quinceanera tradition started many years ago when the Spanish conquerors brought the tradition to Mexico and others say the tradition originated with the Aztecs. During the 1400s and early 1500s, young girls were considered marriage-ready at the

What is it going to take for people to be equal in this world? What is the point of putting men on such a high pedestal when they are no different than women? Why are women perceived as the “weaker” gender? All of these are questions that people have and want answers to. Its’ safe to say that Werhane, Posig, Gundry, Ofstein, and Powell were spot on when they mentioned that we live in a male dominated world. Anything that has to do with power is generally associated with a male figure. These instant thoughts that women are less likely to own a business, or are more likely to live in poverty need to come to an end.

A man’s ego is his best friend, as he gets to shape it based on the things he likes or not and could even use it at his advantage. If a man lacks discipline as the leader of the family, he is seen as less of a man, something that does not make sense. Men and women are both responsible for raising awareness concerning this type of behavior towards a specific group, and the sexism portrayed in their daily life should not be occuring. Instead, women are seen to follow orders and be doing housework and taking care of the children so the man of the household does not get upset over something he could have clearly done. How Dolores Barrios de la Chungara mentioned, “We are used to looking down on ourselves and undermining our own abilities” (p.348).

Our gender has an effect on every aspect of our lives, varying from how we view ourselves and other people to how we interact in social and civic life. It also impacts the way we set our goals in opportunity areas such as education, work, and recreation. Gender socialization starts at birth then manifests through family, education, peer groups, and mass media. Gender norms are automatically placed on us, where women should learn how to be nurturing, sensitive, emotional, passive, and always hold a man’s position higher than hers. On the other hand men should be overly confident, aggressive, dominant, and view women beneath them. This paper uses various readings to show how these gender norms are supported and challenged in today’s society.

“The difference between me and these daughters was that they saw me, because of my sex, as destined from birth to become like their fathers, and therefore as an enemy in their desires. ”(Sanders 136). The differences between males and females in society are an evident effect due to the cause of not fully understanding each

The roles that gender play in society are well affected by culture, physical abilities, religion, and even stereotypes. The characteristics one holds are molded and shaped by the beliefs that a gender can identify what one can or cannot do. From the day we are born we are judged and socialized to obey certain roles based on our sex. It is not only viewed as a controversial issue towards women rights but also men. The article A gender-equality club, run by men by Jena McGregor’s states how if both genders come together this worldwide issue can be eliminated and everyone can be viewed as one. Jena McGregor purpose is to advocate the right of gender-equality; she demonstrates it by her use of rhetorical strategies. Without the use of images or sound, she grasps the audience’s attention ethically, logically and emotionally. She mentions stats that give her article credibility, her word choice and even paragraph syntax

In today’s world, it’s easy to overlook the flaws of society, but this issue should never be overlooked. Mothers are treating their male sons differently from their female daughters. People are more concerned about their daughter’s waistline, and their son’s brain. These kind of things carry on throughout women’s lives. It’s easy to see women and men are treated differently even today, though most people think it’s wrong.

Today, women have more rights than ever before, but the belief of male has resulted in a never ending convention toward women. This leads to predetermined thought from younger girls that they must become inferior. Clifford states in her article, “Children look first to their own parents for examples and inspiration, therefore when a child see their mother living a life of inequality, the cycle often continues as girls feel there is no alternative for themselves.” When younger girls see their mother or any woman submitting to the standard, they feel they must do the same. An effect on men is that they have to live up to the

Throughout many decades women have been struggling to be equal to men, both at home and in the work place. Women have come a long way and are certainly fighting to gain that equality, but gender roles are very important in our society. They have become important in life from birth, and society continues to push these gender roles. The treatment of the male gender is very different from that of the female, and this issue has become very important to me, as a woman. As children we learn and adapt to specific gender roles, and as we grow they become more evident and more important to our role in a society. There is a lot of discrimination against the female gender. Carol Gilligan argued that