Changes and inequality in Latin American families

Poised for Emerging Adulthood in Latin America: A Pleasure for the Privileged

“…Latin American families have changed factually (more women in the workforce and more female‐headed households) and symbolically (new conceptions of families and relationships, along with criticism of traditional gender roles). Nevertheless, in most Latin American countries, family law reflects the patriarchal family structure with clear distinctions between private and public domains and sharp gender‐based divisions of labor (Arriagada, 2006). Both the private and the public domains of life provide very different socialization contexts for men and women to explore their identities, with implications for whether and how emerging adulthood is experienced.…”

“…As noted, there are currently pockets of privileged youth in Latin America who look like emerging adults, but statistics at the country level (e.g., age at first marriage) do not necessarily support a period of emerging adulthood for the majority. In Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, views about sexual, marital, and reproductive behaviors that are widespread in developed countries are being adopted by higher income and more educated social groups (Arriagada, 2006). Demographic trends may begin to mirror such views.…”

Traditional and Modern Cohabitation in Latin America: A Comparative Typology

“…The control over female sexuality was intensified by ethnic and class differences. Historically, while women from the upper classes needed to submit themselves to arranged marriages, men were allowed to have relationships with women from different social and ethnic groups, following different rationalities and moral codes (Arriagada 2002). Traditionally, women from the same (upper) social class and ethnicity (white) were 'to be married to', although extra-marital relationships (concubinage) with women from lower social classes and different ethnic groups were common (Caulfield 2001;Fernández-Aceves 2007).…”

“…The problem with this 'solution' is that in most cases it does not improve the socioeconomic situation of these women. Contrarily, in cases of separation, women are often responsible not only for their livelihood but also for the care for their children (Arriagada 2002). This situation contributes to the incidence of households headed by women in Latin America.…”

“…This situation contributes to the incidence of households headed by women in Latin America. These types of household have been related to the feminization of poverty in the region (Arriagada 2002; García and de Oliveira 2011). Greene and Rao (1995) used Brazilian data beginning in the 1960s and going into the 1980s to analyze the increasing incidence of cohabitation, the chances of living in cohabitation instead of being married, and the likelihood of choosing marriage or cohabitation instead of remaining single.…”