Cultural Influences- Femal Role
Gender roles often characterize the relationship between Puerto Rican men and women in Cleveland. Women are expected to fit the role of Marianismo which constitutes female inferiority, virginity, marital fidelity, and submissiveness (33). The gender roles forced upon women in the Latino community greatly affect both the distribution of information about sexual risks and the practice of safe sex. Many Puerto Rican women who were infected with HIV described being trapped to adhering to traditional gender roles. One stated “it’s not a Latina’s place to talk openly about sex.” Many women testified that the belief caused many Puerto Rican women to refrain from talking openly about sex with their partners (25). When studying Latina women infected with HIV, HIV determined the quality of their relationships between their partners and gave men an excuse to be controlling and domineering (25).
Being HIV positive affected the women’s self-esteem and sense of desirability, one woman described her situation: “It’s like I don’t feel clean” (25). In a different study of Puerto Rican women, sex role traditionalism was associated with lower assertiveness and higher susceptibility to depression (39), proving that women who are not infected with HIV have psychological problems due to the disparity of power in their relationships. Puerto Rican women who were infected with HIV/AIDS had a higher rate of depression and symptoms of depression which makes them more susceptible to abuse (11). A significant problem evolves when studying the lack of power given to Puerto Rican women in their relationships: women who that have a lower resource power than their male counterparts, which includes level of education and employment, relate to lower levels of condom use (11). It is evident that in order to prevent the spread of HIV to women who are in domineering relationships, the women need to be encouraged to gain power in the relationship by showing more self confidence.
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