Social Science Stereotypes of the Mexican American Woman: Policy Implications for Research

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Abstract
The social sciences portray the Chicana or Mexican American woman almost exclusively as a submissive maternal figure. The tenacity with which the social sciences have perpetuated stereotypes about Chicanas appears to be related to an on-going trend to support studies of interpersonal or cultural characteristics of Chicanas and a resistance to undertake evaluations of systemic discrimination against Mexican American women. Given that the variables of sex, ethnicity, and social class as well as race continue to be confounded in much of the research on Mexican American families, an analysis of the existing stereotypic images of Chicanas generates policy recommendations to institutions of higher education and other organizations involved in bicultural research for the development of vigorous affirmative action programs to recruit and promote Mexican American women.