We have discussed how cultural differences tend to catch the eyes of Mexicans the most. As you might remember, we talked about otherness, and American women are the other to many Mexicans in the US. We mentioned that African American women were the exotic other. Peceptions of women in Mexico contrast with those of American women. In this chapter, we will talk about the things that strike the attention of Mexicans, who view American women. Their behavior and their appearance. Perceptions change over time. Mexican men are rife with opinions about American women in the 19th century. Interestingly, in the 20th century, they are not. But, let us clarify that, in the 19th century, Mexican women were culturally and socially subjugated by conservatism. Although not legally banned from attending school or owning property, the average woman was forced to be submissive, modest, and devoted to having children and taking care of the family. Even after the 1910 Revolution, and the modernization process that followed, Mexican woman would continue to play a marginal role in society. During the 19th century, Guillermo Prieto mentions how to the eyes of the foreign observer, American women benefit from unconditional respect of the nation. He finds, that in the public sphere, women, by being women enjoy the protection of men and of the law. In 1872, Manuel Valvontin notices that women of different ages, can come and go, elegantly dressed, on their own. To skate in Central Park or with their books, coming from school. Men were respectful of them, even if they were not in company of her guardian. Justo Sierra, in 1877, noted that girls could dance without any supervision other than the Statue of Liberty. Federico Gamboa, as a teenager in the summer of 1881, could not believe his eyes when he was at a swimming pool at Bath, Maine. When a group of young girls in swimming suits went to the pool. He gazed at them, thinking that they would be offended by his lack of shame. And instead, they greeted him politely. He was amazed by their athleticism. In 1903, as an adult, he said that American women were the perfect money spending machines, and somewhat shameless in their summer fashions. Querido Moheno comments on how in the American couple, women were becoming happier and youthful, as they were gaining independence with feminism. And men, were becoming sad and submissive. In the 1920s, Bishop Vera y Zuria said how even nuns in El Paso, were like the rest of American women. Independent, they drive, and they play ball and go on camping trips with their students. The beauty of American women mesmerized Mexican men. They even asserted that they had heard there were beautiful women, but they could just not believe how many they saw. What sparked their attention was that the features of these women matched the canon of western beauty. A form of beauty that was less common in Mexico, where the great majority of the women are mestizas. Guillermo Prieto in the mid 19th century raved about New York as the emporium of American beauty. Federico Gamboa felt that American women were all beautiful at all ages. He found the also known as literary women of Washington's intellectual circles somewhat annoying. But he was willing to overlook that given their breath taking beauty. Alfonso Reyes marveled at the girls from California who sold fruit in the road. They were a gift from heaven at a point in the journey, for the group with which he traveled, when they were tired and thirsty. The girls appeared as an illusion of Arabian magic. Dressed in some sort of ballet tunics. On their return, they passed the same road, but the girls were gone, as if their presence had been an act of magic. To summarize, on the topic of women, there were many opinions in the 19th century. But the topic lost importance among Mexican observers by the 20th century. It appears as though Mexican intellectuals became more used to the ways of American women. It could be that with cinema and other media, they ceased being the other. It could also be that Mexican women started having a more active participation in society. They adopted the fashions of American women. American women's dress, looks, and habits ceased being a topic in the narratives of these observers.
