Chicana and Chicano Mental Health: Alma, Mente y Corazón

5. Sexualities

5 Sexualities S exuality encompasses an individual’s sex, gender identity and expression , and sexual orientation (American Psychological Association 2010). How a person comes of age sexually in terms of these factors is greatly influenced by his or her cultural upbringing. As discussed in earlier chapters, Latino men and women often receive different messages and rules about sexuality and sexual expression. From childhood, gender and sexuality are interconnected, such that girls tend to receive stronger pronouncements about modesty, virginity, and proper conduct than do boys (Zavella 1997). Patricia Zavella’s 2003 study of Mexicanas and Chicanas in Santa Cruz, California, highlights the impact of such messages on women’s adult sexuality and sexual behavior. She found that despite nativity, both immigrant and US-born Mexican-origin women often were shamed by their parents, particularly their mothers, for their sexual inquisitiveness. Parents rarely spoke to them about sex or directly expressed their expectations about “proper conduct.” Often the messages were indirect and conveyed through innuendo and moralejas, stories about the negative outcomes of undesired behaviors. Furthermore, the women interviewed received strong messages of what Caridad Souza (2001) refers to as “that puta thing that just doesn’t go away.” “Specific gender and gender ideologies governed my behavior as a young girl and adolescent in this community . The label puta (whore) was used in this Latino community for girls and young women to uphold the rigid lines of sexual propriety” (Souza 2001, 119). What does it mean to be a woman, to be a man in contemporary Mexican/ Chicano families? How do stereotyping and cultural ideals influence the embodiment of gender and sexuality among Mexican/Chicano men and women? What is the impact of such “rigid lines of sexual propriety” on the emotional, psychological, and physical well-being of Chicanas? How does the freedom to explore and come to terms with their sexuality influence Chicanos’ well-being? This chapter explores these questions and highlights the limited research available on these topics. Sexualities 101 problematizing Latina/o Sexuality Most of the social and psychological literature on Latina sexuality focuses on their reproductive patterns, specifically the high rates of teen pregnancy and the high fertility of Mexican and Mexican-origin women. Therefore, Chicana sexuality is cast as intrinsically problematic and invariably is associated with reproductive health issues (Biggs et al. 2010). Teen pregnancy is indeed an important public health concern, given the association of early pregnancy with poverty and multiple health disparities, including increased risk for substance use and abuse by adolescent sons of singleparenting women who were teen mothers (Gil and Vega 2010). Moreover, while Latina teen pregnancy rates decreased slightly in the past decade, Latina (and especially Chicana) teen pregnancy rates remain the highest of all ethnic groups. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2006, cited in Biggs et al. 2010), 51 percent of Latinas will have at least one pregnancy during their adolescence, and one in five sexually active Latino adolescent males will cause a pregnancy. Furthermore, the age of first sexual activity has become younger among Latino and Latina teens, with boys reporting sixteen and a half as the average age for first intercourse. However, 11 percent of Latino boys reported having sex prior to age thirteen (Aguirre-Molina and Betancourt 2010). Biggs and colleagues also found that most Latino males described their first sexual experience as desired; Latinas did not. For many young women, the first sexual encounter is one where they often feel coerced by their boyfriends or partners (Biggs et al. 2010; Flores 2006). The sexual behavior of Latina/os also becomes a public health concern due to their low rates of contraceptive use, in particular the low frequency of condom use by males during their first intercourse, which is predictive of later condomuse(Biggsetal.2010).Likewise,theriskofsexuallytransmittedinfections (STIs), and HIV/AIDS in particular, is associated with lack of condom use. While adolescent Latino HIV/AIDS data are limited, the disproportionate rates of HIV infection among Latinos calls for increased education regarding reproductive health among the youth. Existing HIV/AIDS data indicate that HIV transmission patterns vary by national origin, birthplace, and geographic location. US-born Latinos account for 41 percent of the estimated AIDS cases among this population; those born in Puerto Rico and Mexico each constitute 22 percent of cases. The majority of Latinos living with AIDS reside in California, New York, and Puerto Rico (Biggs et al. 2010). Chicana...