Women live under the social controls of the community and the cultural conditions

dictated by the models of Machismo and Marianismo, in which men dominate and women suffer,

largely because they are encouraged to emulate the Virgin Mary. In this model of gender

relations, espoused in Stevens (1973), women are believed to be spiritually stronger than men

and must therefore endure years of men's abuse, irresponsible behavior, and extramarital affairs

in order to establish themselves as true women. Men are considered to be weak, and are thus

unable to refrain from the temptations of drink and illicit sex. And women can prove their

womanhood only by tolerating the transgressions of men over a period of many years, during

which time they must produce viable heirs. Only then will a woman be considered a repuand

accepcommunity member. One Ladina woman described Pinula men and their treatment of

women:

 el hombre de aqui estd mal civilizado, por eso es bonito que el hombre reciba consejos,
 que vaya a encuentros matrimoniales, que los aconsejen, porque el hombre de aqui es muy
 machista, quiere tener a la mujer como esclavay todo eso.

 The men from here are not civilized. It's good when men accept advice and go to marriage
 counseling, let people console them, because the men from here are very machista and
 want to have their women as slaves and all that.

 Another woman says:

 Men can't control themselves and their jealous behavior. Their behavior is carried in their
 blood (lleva la sangre) and they can't help but explode. I suffer when my husband does
 unforgivable things, but later he says he doesn't know what came over him and that he is
 sorry. Men can't help but be that way.

 Research by Bossen (1984) and Ehlers (1991) explains the model of Machismo and

Marianismo by looking at the economic situation and material conditions of Latin American

society. Their research posits that women tolerated abusive behavior because of the sexual

division of labor, women's economic contribution to the household, and the community's

relation to capitalist forces. They believed that Maya women experienced more egalitarian