Our Story
Middle school is a rollercoaster of experiences and emotions. A period where identity formation and body development grow at a rapid pace, and emotions seem to fluctuate from one moment to the other. Girls begin to compare their bodies to one another and to the pop stars they see on television. Add social media to the mix, and it becomes the perfect storm.
When my daughter’s 5th grade class moved on to middle school many changes began to take place among the students, particularly girls. Little by little, girls who were friends in elementary school began to separate into small clicks. Girls measured their perception of teen-hood by the size of their developing breasts, who started their menstrual cycle, and (according to them) the ultimate signifier—the use of tampons. Those that had Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok, were perceived as the most popular, not to mention how many followers they had or the number of likes to their photos, videos, and posts. In my generation, peer disagreements and tensions among friends stayed at school. In this generation, such tensions follow students into the privacy of their homes. For this reason, her father and I decided that she would not have social media, but this was not enough to prevent her from being bullied.
Well into her first year of middle school, my daughter experienced social exclusion and body shaming from girls who were once her friends. Like most parents, my immediate reaction was anger and frustration. I worked as a college professor for many years, where I lectured, researched, read, and wrote about feminism and Latina cultural expectations, and here I was sitting with my daughter, feeling heartbroken as I listened to how she felt rejected.
The more she shared, the more my heart broke into million-and-one pieces. I immediately researched sources for Latina teens and their mothers. I wanted a resource that provided a nuanced explanation of the influence of race, class, gender, and sexuality on the social construction of Latina teen identity and offered strategies to caregivers to help girls develop a healthy self-concept. To my disappointment, I did not find any. It was at this moment when I decided that I needed to be proactive about this matter. How can I put into service my academic training as a sociologist to help female caregivers and girls come to a greater understanding of the social roots of teen peer pressure? I told my daughter, “You are not the only girl who is going through this experience; unfortunately, there are many more teens. Then I asked her, “How about you and I do something to help girls who might be feeling like you?” Her eyes lit up, and she went from being sad to feeling empowered because she could help other girls in similar circumstances, and we both founded Becoming Mujeres.
Becoming Mujeres is a firm that provides workshops and seminars to Latina teens and their female caregivers. My daughter and I co-facilitate the workshops. I bring my training as a sociologist with a focus on women, feminism, and LatinX cultural expectations, and my daughter shares her experiences and the strategies she uses to address the situations. Workshops and seminars are offered in English, Spanish, or bilingual.
Note: Besides workshops for Latina teens and their female caregivers, Becoming Mujeres has expanded to include additional workshops and seminars
Teen Social Pressures (Target audience: All teen girls and their female caregivers)
Teen dating and mental & physical abuse (Target audience: all teen girls 13-18 and their female caregivers)
Family Expectations, College Life, and Hookup Culture (Target audience: Young adult Latinas 18 and over)
Cultural and family expectations and adult Latina mental health (target audience: Latinas 18 and over)
Is college an option for me? (Target audience: 8th to 12th grade students)