Sex Roles and Perceptions of Femininity and Masculinity of Hispanic Women: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This article evaluates the research conducted on sex roles and perceptions of femininity and masculinity of Hispanic women. It begins with a critical review of early social and anthropological studies in which the roles of Hispanic women before the advent of the women's movement in the 1960s are described. The paper continues with more recent psychosocial studies that question the traditional portrayal of male-female roles and allocation of power in Hispanic families. Finally, the studies on Hispanics that measure the psychological dimension of femininity and masculinity are reviewed and summarized in a table including authors, sample, methodology and results.