Introduction:

In regards to street sexuality, I am mostly curious as to what the people here in México think about it and less about whether or not they themselves (those who I will be interviewing) engage in it.  Is it as strange for them as it is for me?  Never have I ever walked down a street in Vermont and seen such an abundance of people kissing, holding, or cooing with their lover.  Here, however, it is commonplace.  Not a day has gone by that did not include witnessing this.  I won’t say, however, that something similar to this does not occur in Vermont, for I have made my way down Church Street and seen a few people together, also doing things in similar manners.  They are much more limited, though, and, at least from my experience, not looked upon in too great of a light.  In Vermont it is much less common to express your sexuality openly with a partner outdoors and it is much more common to have a negative view of those who do.  This makes me wonder, is there a certain stereotype that goes along with people expressing their sexuality on the street?  How do people my age versus people my parents’ age view these people? 

Therefore, I am studying street sexuality because I want to find out what people think about it in order to understand if there are differences in perspectives between generations and (possibly) gender.

Background Information:

From the journal articles and websites that I have read, I have gathered a lot of preliminary background information on these two aspects of the culture of México.  Catholicism typically promotes abstinence until marriage, which is one reason as to why I have been having a more difficult time understanding the abundance of premarital expression of sexuality.  The rate of Catholicism in México was around 90% in the early 2000s, but has since dropped to about 80% (Catholics For a Free Choice).  Many people of this generation, those raising the children of my generation, were very sexually repressed as young children.  Sexual curiosity was permitted, but not sexual expression.  The Church strictly prohibited any form of sexuality before marriage, regardless of the age of the involved persons.  This was carried on and expressed in the upbringing of the current generation, but only minimally.  Parents are much more informed about the importance of sexual curiosity and expression and typically are more tolerant than their parents were (Rubio).  Although it seems as though parents' are still against more mature (yet still unwed) expression of sexuality, I have heard that they seem to limit their restrictions to ‘none in the homestead’ (Interview, Man #2; Interview, Man #6; Interview, Man #7; Interview, Man #8; Interview, Woman #1).  To understand more fully why this may be the case, as well as why things may be changing, it is important to understand the collectivist nature of México.  This ties in why the homestead could possibly play a crucial role in the phenomenon of street sexuality.

In México, many generations of the family often live in the same household, and all of them typically abide by the same rules.  Acting upon one's own personal desires can be seen as anti-collectivistic, or individualistic, which is not highly desirable by the community (Hatfield).  Extended families will currently still live together quite frequently, and kids sometimes live with their parents until they are wed.  The collectivist theme is due not only to cultural history and comfort, but also due to the economic crisis that México began facing in 1994 (Watkins).  It simply is far too expensive for teenagers to move out of their parents’ house at 18 like is popular in America.  People typically stay living with their parents through university, if they attend, and work to earn enough money to move out eventually.

A collectivist culture also is a culture that holds a lot of respect for family members and elders (Delgado-Gaitan).  Living with one’s family for the majority of his or her 20’s is not seen as such a burden as it may be seen as by people in America.  Continuing to live with a family is beneficial in the sense that parents continue caring for and teaching their children.  From an interview that I held with a mid 20-year-old Oaxaqueño who still lives with his parents, it was made clear that those being supported by their parents typically understand that they are helping them a great deal by giving them a place to live that was rent-free.  With this understanding came respect for parents and parents’ rules.  Parents of these mid-twenty-year-olds typically still enforce the Church's rules prohibiting premarital sexuality.  For the children living at home, this means no romantic affection in the house.  The respect that people have for their parents is great enough to abide by these rules at least most of the time.  Their ability to continue living in their parents' house, saving money for their future and being cared for, is of greater importance.  So, instead of expressing their sexuality within the house, they go outside (Interview, Man #2; Interview, Man #6; Interview, Man #7; Interview, Man #8; Interview, Woman #1; Rubio). 

This will give me a good base of information to relate to the information that I gather through the interviews that I will conduct.

Research Plan:

I feel as though I have gathered sufficient article information on Catholicism, sexuality, and collectivism to begin focusing more intensely on interviews.  Due to the fact that my question is very much opinion based, interviews are key!  I have discussed my topic with a handful of people my age and one person a couple decades older, so I should start collecting information from some of the parents and grandparents now.

My interviews are listed at the bottom of this page.  My goal is now to collect data from 5+ people of my parents' generation to get an even amount of information from each group of people.  I also would like to collect data from more women to even out the genders of the sample.

Reflection & Discovery:

The information that I gathered from the interviews was very, very interesting.  I was not expecting how similar the responses were not only from person to person, but from age group to age group.  Some responses met my understanding of the situation that I was investigating, but a lot of other details were brought to my attention.  Throughout the interview process my topic certainly expanded.  I originally was most interested in better understanding the levels of comfort behind all aspects of street sexuality- partaking, watching, whatever else may exist...  I ended up focusing mostly on some of the possible reasons behind expressing these sorts of 'sentiments' in public.

None of the people aged 16-27 (the 'younger generation') reported being bothered by seeing couples engaging in sexual behaviours on the street, neither bothered by other people seeing them.  They said that it is completely normal and understandable; everybody does it.  "Understandable".  What did they mean by that?  My interviewees proceeded to explain to me that they all go to the streets to be with their partners for roughly the same reasons:  parental rules and culture.  Parents of everyone of the younger generation that I interviewed did not allow partners in the house.  This was for a multitude of reasons, but primarily for the fear of teenage pregnancy.  Apparently teenage pregnancy has been on the rise here in México, and parents fear greatly for their daughters.  It was made very obvious to me from the girls that I talked with that their parents were not to know when they were dating someone.  The boys, however, said that sometimes their parents were aware that they had a partner, but didn't usually meet them.  In regards to the cultural aspect, several of the people that I talked with said that they had grown up seeing this sort of behaviour and that it wasn't anything strange or new.  One thing that I find particularly interesting about this, however, is that it was never mentioned by anyone older than 21 years.  This perhaps shows a change over time.

In regards to the people whose ages fell between 49 and 72 (the 'older generation'), I got relatively similar results.  There were, however, mixed opinions in regards to whether or not it was bothersome to express this sort of affection (kissing, cuddling) in public.  Four people said that, although they did not grow up with this sort of outdoor sexual expression, it didn't bother them at all and that it was completely normal, while two of them (the oldest two) were very bothered by the freedom that the younger generation was exhibiting.  Everyone that I interviewed in this group did seem to understand why people might be engaging in street sexuality.  The most common response was the same as that of the younger generation:  no partners in the house.  There was a lot more understanding of this rule, however.  The main reason was that that was the way that the culture worked.  Several people gave me examples of how when they were younger they weren't allowed to have their partner over to the house.  Houses were for the family, and partners could be in the same house when they were married.  This culture was passed down from their generation to the next, keeping these rules strong today.  The strong fear of teen pregnancy was also brought up frequently.

Through this interview process I found that largely people were not bothered by open sexual expression outside of the home.  I also found that historically partnerships have been seen as a big deal.  People didn't used to (and often still don't) introduce partners to their family without some intent to marry.  This lack of interaction between partners and parents has been passed on through generations, changing slightly through time.  Although it is still a very big event to introduce one's partner to his/her parents, the secrecy of dating may now be due more to parental fear of pregnancy.  The lack of place to be affectionate was the most widely reported and emphasized reason for the existence of street sexuality.

Sources:

Catholics for a Free Choice.  A World View: Catholic Attitudes on Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health. Washington, DC:  Catholics for a Free Choice, 2004.

Delgado-Gaitan, Concha. "Parenting in Two Generations of Mexican American Families." International Journal of Behavioral Development 16 (1993): 409-27.

Hatfield, E. & Raspón, R. L. "Passionate love and sexual desire: cross-cultural and historical perspectives." Stability and Change in Relationships: 306-24.

Rubio, E. "Estados Unidos Mexicanos." The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. Web.  <http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/mexico.html>.

Watkins, Thayer.  "The Mexican Peso Crisis of 1994-1995."  San José State University.  Web.  <http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/mexico95.htm>

Interviews:

Man #1, 23 years, 18 January 2012

Man #2, 26 years, 27 January 2012

Man #3, 27 years, 27 January 2012

Man #4, 27 years, 27 January 2012

Man #5, 49 years, 18 February 2012

Man #6, 20 years, 6 March 2012

Man #7, 16 years, 2 April 2012

Man #8, 17 years, 2 April 2012

Man #9, 17 years, 2 April 2012

Man #10, 20 years, 7 April 2012

Man #11, 65 years, 8 April 2012

Woman #1, 21 years, 11 February 2012

Woman #2, 57 years, 2 April 2012

Woman #3, 49 years, 2 April 2012

Woman #4, 22 years, 2 April 2012

Woman #5, 60 years, 7 April 2012

Woman #6, 72 years, 7 April 2012