Latin American Gender Roles

Gender and Religion in Colonial Latin America Women make up half of the world’s population today, however the role of women in history has been limited. It has been noted that Latin American women in colonial times experienced more rights compared to other women in the world. Although these women had more rights there were still gender restrictions. Women in colonial Latin America had the option of choosing two roles. These roles were to become a married woman or to become a nun. The two primary sources of Santa Rosa of Lima, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, help explain the role and perception of nuns during this time. Santa Rosa of Lima was a nun who was canonized during the seventeenth century. The primary source is a testimony of Santa Rosa’s life from a witness that housed her. At a young age, Santa Rosa
devoted her life to God, and vowed chastity, modesty, and to maintain a pure life. This would result in Santa Rosa’s participation in “fasts, scourges, and other ‘self-inflicted’ sufferings…” that would lead to detrimental health conditions. Santa Rosa was truly devoted to her religion as despite the chronic stomach pains, she would continue to pursue this lifestyle. Santa Rosa believed that the pain she suffered from was a reward from the Lord, an experience she claimed to be unworthy of. This primary source helps demonstrate the amount of devotion nuns have for their religion along with the amount of admiration the society has for them after their death. Although Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was not given sainthood, she was still considered to be an influential figure in colonial Latin America.
This primary source was a letter to Filotea. Sor Juana’s letter demonstrates how she had the ability to become very knowledgeable on countless subjects. Sor Juana stated that attaining such knowledge was punishable, yet she continued to pursue her studies in the name of God. Sor Juana stated that she had even begged her mother to dress her in male attire so she would have the opportunity to pursue an education. This document serves to explain that as a nun, Sor Juana was given more rights than a marriage would have granted her. In Sor Juana’s letter she spoke out and addressed the need for education for women as she states “Had Aristotle cooked, he would have written a great deal more.” This would be considered highly controversial since Sor Juana was so outspoken. Sor Juana’s outspokenness could be the reason why she did not receive sainthood. Nonetheless, Sor Juana’s source contributes to offer an understanding of women in colonial times, and why some choose to become nuns, and what rights they had and did not
have. These two primary sources offer insight on not only the role of women in colonial Latin America, but the role of women in religion as well. Another source that helps demonstrate the role of religion in Latin America is the sermon of Padre Antônio Vieira. In these sermons, Padre Antônio used his position to denounce the inhuman mistreatment of the African slaves. This can also be seen in Sor Juana’s letter as she also uses her position as a nun to speak against what she finds to be unjust in society. Padre Antônio’s sources does not contribute to the role of women in Latin America, however this source exhibits how gender does play a differences in religious roles.