as teamsters, wagon drivers, miners, and farm workers. Over a period of time, more and more women who were heads of households were forced into the work force, further changing the expected roles of women (Griswold del Castillo, 1994).Patriarchal values did not disappear under the impact of economic and political changes. Mexican American men continued to expect women to be submissive, but in this respect, they were no different from other men. Family life became a mixture of the old and the new values regarding paternal authority and the proper role of women. Increasing poverty and economic insecurity intensified the pressures on Mexican American nuclear families and led to increased matriarchy and more working, single mothers. As a result, the ideology of patriarchy found less confirmation in everyday life. As a system of values and beliefs, however, the ideology of patriarchy continues to exist.SEX AND AGE GRADINGComplementing the concept of male dominance is the concept of sex and age subordination, which holds that females are subordinate to males and the young to the old. In this schema, females are viewed as submissive, naive, and somewhat childlike. The older are viewed as wise, knowledgeable, and deserving of respect.To some degree, these designations were derived from division of labor. Women as child bearers and child bearers did not perform the so-called more physically difficult jobs and therefore needed to be more protected by the man. If the women needed protection, the man took the role of overseeing the family. Yet, the power of the male was more apparent than real. Respect for the breadwinner and protector rather than dominance was more key to the family. Roles within the family system were stressed so that the constellation of the mini-system operated to the betterment of the individual and the family system (Mirande, 1995).In the isolated rural areas where many of the Mexican American families lived, the...
