Social science stereotypes of the Mexican American woman: policy implications for research.

PIP: Reviewing the social science literature on the Chicana or Mexican American woman reveals a tenaciously perpetuated stereotype in which she appears almost exclusively as a submissive maternal figure. This may be related to an on-going trend to support studies of interpersonal or cultural characteristics of Chicanas and a resistance to undertake evaluations of systemic discrimination against Mexican American women. Almost all such studies investigated lower class samples, thus confounding ethnicity with socioeconomic status. The size and selection of many of the samples are questionable for purposes of generalizing to the entire population. Because many concepts are not defined in behavioral terms, they are seldom assessed empirically. The main concern is to what extent social scientists and the media are dictating norms to the Chicano family and to what extent are social planners and educators being influenced by these images. Examples from 3 distinct areas of research conclude with interpretations of Mexican American women that differ considerably from those with a heavy emphasis on cultural values: 1) demographic analyses of the 1970 Public Use Samples of the census that acknowledge the disadvantaged economic position of Mexican Americans; 2) studies that are beginning to measure empirically the family dynamics of Mexican Americans; and 3) family planning studies that attempt to examine the interaction between health care delivery systems and Mexican American contraceptive behavior. Trained and experienced Chicana researchers are needed to offset the male orientation and ethnocentrism that have characterized the social sciences.^ieng