Photo Essay_RubyServin by Ruby Servin

rserv007 — 2024-05-20 04:46:52 UTC

In my house my family keeps this bulletin board up, it is a collection of photos my family took of my parents first home in California. These specific photos shows the progression of the home such as planting plants, finishing the garage, and building the pool. It helps me reflect and think about how it must have been for my parents not only as immigrants but as a young mexican man and woman raising children in a whole new culture compared to their own. It also helps me reflect on how the gender roles in two cultures I grew up affected our overall lifestyle. Such as patriarchal roles, machismo culture, and intersectionality.

rserv007 — 2024-05-20 05:47:20 UTC

This photo is a younger photo of my dad before he had a wife and children. Seeing how much he looks like my younger brothers and the difference in how they grow up I remember that at one point he was just a kid. Hearing how he grew up and noticing some of his ideals the machismo aspect of our culture is engrained in him. In "Borderlands La Frontera" by Gloria Anzaldúa she define machismo/macho through her experience with her father, which I was also able to relate to. Where a man's goal is to solely become a father and to be the main provider asserting dominance as head of the household. This type of culture is harmful because it puts a lot of pressure and expectations on the men. A other point made by Anzaldúa is that this toxic thinking can cause men to put down or brutalize woman.

rserv007 — 2024-05-20 05:50:45 UTC

In this photo I am in the middle next to my dad, with both of my older sisters next to me and my oldest sister is carrying my younger bother. My sisters and me are able to share the experience of being Mexican-American and the balance of two the two. A lot of the time never feeling Mexican or American enough. While reading Gloria Anzaldúa experience I was able to relate to a lot of what she said. My parents put their best efforts to assimilate to America. In certain ways such telling us not to stand in the sun so our skin wouldn't be that dark, or dressing up more so people didn't look down on us, or not speaking that much Spanish in public keeping it at home. It was also import to my parents that my sisters knew how to do specific household chores that my brothers never had to do, while also not following the stereotypes of getting pregnant at a early age.

rserv007 — 2024-05-20 06:09:01 UTC

This specific photo of my mom and me always reminds me of our different life paths and experiences. Today I am the same age she was when she had her first kid. Growing up in a small town in Mexico it was assumed for all the girls there to become mothers, so much that many of them didn't go past middle school and focused on being a homemaker. She though she had to submit to the patriarchy and sexist behavior. Coming from a very religious background that supported those ideals it would be told that women should have as many children as possible because they are all blessings. Placing that kind of biological clock on young woman almost can trap them into the mindset of motherhood. While today she has no regrets having a family she is able to recognize those past patterns and encourage my sister and me to make our own decisions that don't follow older ideals.

rserv007 — 2024-05-20 06:57:50 UTC

This photo has many memories for me because it was the day my aunt who I was close with got married. But unfortunately she had a divorce not long after and came out as gay to my family which I could not imagine how difficult it was for her. My family being catholic she experienced a very hard time getting a long with some of them after. It was also when gay marriage became legal. Eventually my family did come around but if it wasn't for the preconceived notions of gender she wouldnt have faced as many challenges. As well as these faith based institutions that place queer people in a underserving negative light.