Being a woman in Mexico

Some months ago, someone I follow in instagram from Canada opened a question about what was it like living in Mexico as a girl/woman and what were our thoughts and feelings after the internatiinal and pitiful news on genre violence.

I cannot speak for all women, our experiences differ depending on social status, age, state, backgroung family values, etc. But I can speak for my self and these are my thoughts.

Starting with my background in general, I am an adult from a medium accomodated family, and all my life I’ve lived in the metropolitan area. My nuclear family has always been pending for me amd my parents have always been quite strict.

How I live it:

a) In my family

Since young age, I was usually not allowed to use dresses nor skinny jeans, nor anything that showed too much skin, no mini-skirts, nor tops nor strapples, otherwise I’d be told off by my dad. I shouldn’t use make-up until 18 and I’d rather not have boys as friends. This can say just that my parents were strict, but also it can be seen that this was a starting prevention as not to be provocative and care for my body and look.

b) In the street

When I started going to school alone by public transport, I’d always take the women-only cars in the subway, and tried to go with some men-friends if I took the bus, so they could protect me if something happened. I should avoid conglomerations specially if men and women were mixed.

Also, sometimes there were men who purposedly bothered girls and women physically and/or verbally in my presence or including me, most of the times you could just ignore them.

c) At School / Work

I rarely heard a man say that girls were dumbest than boys, but in the schools I attend, the majority were girls. But my sister whose school was mainly attended by boys (engineering faculty), girls’ intelligence was very often offended.

d) Genre discrimination

To be continued…