period, when Spain conquered the Aztec civilization and then cruelly enslaved other indigenous peoples. Dominated by the patriarchal Roman Catholic Church, the conquistadors imposed a vertical structure upon the region that differentiated Mexicans along racial and national lines: at the bottom, Indians, then the mixed-blood "mestizos," ruled over by Mexican-born "creoles" of pure European stock - all topped by Spanish-born overlords. There was a repeated "defeat" of anyone of Mexican origin - from which a peculiar form of sexism emerged:
It seems that the greater the need to recapture masculine dignity because of social, economic and political defeat, the greater the curse on the female members of the group.
...the inferiority complex of the Mexican... the "pelado," a universally familiar social type in Mexico, and the distrust so predominant in the Mexican psyche... the pelado (is) a result of Mexican history, which gives the Mexican a feeling of insignificance. Because of this feeling, the Mexican seeks power in the only suggestive force assessable to him - that of the male animal. When a Mexican compares his void with the character of a civilized foreigner, he consoles himself in the following way: "but... we are very manly."
This "pelado" form of subjugation results in the Mexican man granting himself more rights than duties - and doing the opposite with the woman, who, instructed by the Church, accepts it.
The social stratification of Japanese and Mexican society leads to immense pressure upon their women.
In Japan, the woman is expected to be both subservient to the man - and supportive - whether as sister, daughter, wife or mother. The practical application of this mode of thought requires women to bind themselves to their familial male's situation, restricting themselves to that immediate milieu. Japanese males, meanwhile, are free to engage in outside social and professional activities.
Iro...