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versity of Oklahoma Press.
EBER, CHRISTINE, and CHRISTINEKOVIC(eds.) 2003 Women
of Chiapas: Making History in Times of Struggle and
Hope.Austin: University of Texas Press.
GREEN, LINDA(1999) Fear as a Way of Life: Mayan Widows
in Rural Guatemala.New York: Columbia University
Press.
GUTMANN, MATTHEW1998 “The Meanings of Macho:
Changing Mexican Male Identities.” In Situated Lives:
Gender and Culture in Everyday Life,edited by Louise
Lamphere, Helena Ragoné, and Patricia Zavella, pp.
223–234. New York: Routledge.
JOYCE, ROSEMARYA. 2000 Gender and Power in Prehispanic
Mesomerica.Austin: University of Texas Press.
KAMPWIRTH, KAREN 2002 Women and Guerrilla Movements:
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba.University Park:
The Pennsylvania University Press.
KELLOG, SUSAN 2005 Weaving the Past: A History of Latin
America’s Indigenous Women from the Prehispanic Period
to the Present.New York: Oxford University Press.
MCLUSKY, LAURA 2001 “Here Our Culture Is Hard: Stories of
Domestic Violence from a Mayan Community in Belize.
Austin: University of Texas Press.
MENCHÚ, RIGOBERTA 1984 I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian
Woman in Guatemala,edited by Elizabeth Burgos-
Debray. London: Verso.
NASH, JUNE1993 Maya Household Production in the
World Market: The Potters of Amatenango del Valle,
Chiapas, Mexico. In Crafts in the World Market: The
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PAST, AMBAR, with XUNOKOTZand XPETRAERNÁNDEZ
2005 Incantations by Mayan Women.San Cristóbal de
Las Casas, Mexico: Taller Lenˇ ateros
SPEED, SHANNON, R. AIDAHERNANDEZCASTILLO, and LYNN
STEPHEN(eds.) 2006 Dissident Women: Gender and Cul-
tural Politics in Chiapas.Austin: University of Texas
Press.verse civil society organizations throughout Mexico. In these meetings, women—
who do not speak each others languages or know each others’ cultural traditions—
are creating new forms of discourse to articulate their common concerns and hopes
as indigenous women. Together they are inserting their demands for change, such
as changing aspects of their traditions that exclude or oppress them, into the na-
tional indigenous movement in Mexico (Speed, Hernández Castillo, and Stephen
2006). In the process these women are creating a new conception of cultural citi-
zenship that integrates ethnic and cultural rights with women’s rights. They break new
ground in Mesoamerican history by successfully adding their own claims as women
to the demands of a national indigenous movement.
In general, much needs to be done in Mesoamerican nations to make the social
systems more gender-equitable. Because of the military conflicts in Central America
and the devastating poverty of the majority of the population in the region, aware-
ness of gender inequality has been slow to develop. Neither men nor women have
viewed the effort to liberate women from the oppressive conditions imposed by pa-
triarchy as a priority. Nevertheless, the relative political stability and better economic
situation of a wider sector of the population in Mexico and Costa Rica have opened
windows for women and men to rethink patriarchal ideologies and practices. The ex-
amples of Rigoberta Menchú and Comandante Ester, indigenous women who dared
to challenge the established order, will unquestionably remain an inspiration to
Mesoamerican women for years to come.SUGGESTED READINGS