Gender Studies and General Studies of Costa RicaThe Experience of 2006

Kirsten Wood22 September 2006

Wood

Kirsten WoodCosta Rica Final Report22 September 2006

Gender Studies and General Studies of Costa RicaI. Introduction

Costa Rica, translated to “rich coast” is exactly what I found. This small country embraces all I desire within its borders. With Spanish as the native language and being immerged in the community, it offered many opportunities to improve on my conversational Spanish. By speaking directly with Ticos in Spanish I can experience their culture and get a first hand account of their views. The cultural changes taking place within Costa Rica regarding gender roles in society make it an interesting topic to examine between the generations and the genders. This country is not only the perfect place to study the changes in views of men and women, but also the changes of rainforest. The lush, tropical rainforest in Costa Rica is home to many species of plant and animal life. However, a range of altitudes make for diverse ecosystems depending on the elevation and which side of the mountains, Pacific or Caribbean. The wildlife in the tropics can only be studied naturally in a few areas of the world, making Costa Rica unique in that way but furthermore because of the many types of environments the country provides within its own borders. The beauty, importance and endangered state of the rainforest attract people who are interested in its conservation and restoration. Some establishments practice sustainable living methods and environmental awareness is taking hold. It is an ideal location to see recycling efforts and ways to live without damaging the natural surroundings. The program in Costa Rica is inherently involved in experiencing the tropical rainforest and sustainable living practiced at Rancho Mastatal. With all these opportunities offered in Costa Rica, a project focused on the people forces involvement with the history, culture, language and lives of Ticos.

II. Gender Roles Independent ProjectAbstract

The implications of being either male or female in Costa Rica are changing. Through both written and verbal surveys, supplemented with informal interviews, the shifting gender roles of Costa Rican citizens became apparent. In comparison to responses from United States participants, Costa Rican males and females saw the importance of both parents in the home and a general strength in the family unit. Women strongly believed in the equality in education for both genders while the men supported it with less fervor. However, the sexes divided over how much control they felt over their lives, agreeing that abortions are unjustified and that men should have priority to jobs. In these changing times the older traditions hold deep while younger women know they deserve more.

IntroductionThe social relationship between men and women varies from culture to culture. In

Costa Rica, the society is at a crossroads between tradition and progression. This particular atmosphere makes it an interesting location to study the gender roles, especially with the recent rise in female political power (Leitinger 3). Like many Latino countries, Ticos have a history of male dominance although the culture maintained an image of propriety, however “many Costa Ricans now acknowledge that their self-image

2

Wood

as a peaceful people does not apply to domestic relations” (Biesanz 190). Both sides recognize a transitions being made.

The concentration of the study was done in Mastatal, a rural village where many people live off the land (Bienvenidos al Rancho). The observations made of the gender differences therefore mostly reflect that of the people in low-population environments. However, as Stein notes, “gender socialization has developed greater discipline and responsibility in women” throughout the country (6). The data will reveal the variations between the current values of Costa Rican men and women and American men and women.

MethodologyOriginally the main source of information was going to be derived from a

compilation of questions abstracted from the World Values Survey organization (AB). The questions were selected from surveys administered globally. I chose the most appropriate questions related to background, gender roles and differences, and other areas that I thought might reveal discrepancies between the male and female Costa Rican population. I then translated the questions into Spanish with the help of a native Spanish speaker with a background in survey writing, to match the presentation of the questions by World Values Survey. After encountering several people who did not understand the questions or could not read them it became evident that asking the survey questions verbally would be most affective. With verbal surveying, the subject could elaborate and felt comfortable giving more detailed answers compared to simply circling one. It also allowed me to add questions or omit questions that had already been answered. It made the surveying more interactive and extracted more valuable information.

However, the specific nature of the survey encouraged the use of additional methods for gathering information overlooked by the questions. Relying on my research of the culture and preconceived notions to select all the appropriate questions to obtain an accurate reflection of Costa Rican gender aspects would have left much to be desired. The verbal surveys also revealed new avenues of questioning. Accordingly, I also administered interviews (AC). The interviews were designed to be general enough for the participant to share any experience or thought that comes to mind and to troubleshoot the surveys. Both the surveys and interviews were conducted randomly throughout the day, either in people’s homes or their place of work, sometimes while the participant continued to work, as long as they were willing. In addition, during the course of my stay in Costa Rica I made observations and recorded my own experiences relating to gender roles. This section of my data allows me to relate and capture subtleties woven into the culture.

ResultsDirectly drawing from the data collected from the surveys, I compared the

responses to five of the questions, separating each into Costa Rican males, Costa Rican females, American males and American females (AA). The questions I chose to focus on from the data are:

Question 8-Children need a home with both a father and a mother to be raised happily. Do you agree?

3

Wood

Question 11-Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the following statement:

A college education is more important for a man than a woman. Question 31-On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being never and 5 being always, how often is

abortion justified? Question 37-When jobs are scarce, men should have higher priority to work than

women. Question 38-Some people believe that they are of completely free will and have

total control over their lives, other believe that what they do has no effect on what happens to them. Please indicate how much freedom of choice you feel you have over the results in your life on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “none” and 10 is “a great deal.”

More Americans feel both parents are not needed to raise a child well compared to every Tico who believed both were needed as shown in Figure 1.

The data in Figure 2 shows more women than men disagreed that college education is more important for males. More Costa Rican women were strongly against that statement than American women while at the same time more American men were strongly against it than Costa Rican men.

The vast majority of my Tico sample thought abortion was never justified while the American opinion is far more disperse across Figure 3 with relative equality between the male and female opinion, although the females are slighted more towards abortion never being justified.

Figure 4 displays that many Costa Rican women agreed that men do have more of a priority to jobs when unemployment goes up. While the vast majority of Americans, females slightly in the lead, saw job priority as always equal, leaving the Costa Rican men mostly neither one way or the other.

According to the scale in question 38, the Costa Rican women averaged 7.25 when rating how much control they felt over the outcome of their life compared to the 8 that the Costa Rican men felt. The American gender discrepancy is narrower with women’s mean at 7.94 and men at 8.02. The actually percentages are giving in Figure 5.

DiscussionThe survey questions show results and trends well on paper but as I conducted my

research it quickly became apparent that the most valuable information came from interviews. As Graph 1 shows, Americans appear to be more optimistic about single parent households and the results that can have on a child in comparison to Ticos. However, my interviews uncovered that the Costa Ricans saw the need for two parents to raise a healthy family because while one parents is earning their livelihood the other watches over the children. Even though fathers may be pay little attention to their children they are “often referred to as the heads of the households,[while] mothers do far more to raise children” (Biesanz 177). In America it is not so black and white because

4

Wood

daycare and nannies and even the option of not working is much more prevalent. This difference may have been exaggerated from the majority of my sample coming from rural Costa Rica. One woman talked about the special bond between the mother who carries the baby and how important it is for her to be with her children and support them. She said many mother’s whose husbands cannot support the family themselves, bring their children with them to work. Another woman remembered how keeping her kids focused and respectful while she had control of them gave them less of chance to stray into the streets when they no longer need to listen to her. From my interviews it seems single mothers are equally common in Costa Rica and the United States, but even the single mothers that I talked to in Costa Rica agreed that a child needs both parents. The experiences of single parents in the two countries are quite different.

The strong majority of Costa Rican women feeling opposed to a man having greater need for higher education than a woman is quite interesting, especially when it is noted that Costa Rican men have the highest percentage of agreement with the statement out of the four demographics studied. In 1986 a woman was elected second vice president in Costa Rica, another in 1994 and then both the first and second vice presidents were women in 1998 (Leitinger 241). These women had a great impact on the rights and independence of women in Costa Rica. I think the females feel their new power and want to use it by knowing that an education is of equal importance to male and female citizens. One woman I spoke with explained how before these women came to power and made changes, wives were expected to do what the husband said without hesitation or she was hit. No woman felt free to do what she wanted. She had no opinions or life of her own, but now women are very protected by the government. She continued by describing how a woman could walk up to an officer and say her husband hit her and then her husband would be incarcerated; as simple as that. However, when he is released he could kill her, which defeats the purpose of that protection. A younger women had an aunt who made her mother promise to take care of her children if anything happened to her. When her mother agreed she killed her husband and went to jail so that her children could have a better life away from their abusive father. These accounts represent a society that has progressive mentalities but a few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel. Stein wrote that “despite progress, there is still a gap between the language and practice of equity between men and women, and education is no exception” (14). Education is priceless and powerful. Most men recognize the value of education for all and the Costa Rican women are claiming it as their own while some Costa Rican men want to keep that power for themselves. Interestingly enough, an older man said that most women did better in school because they could be inside studying while the men had to work. In most households the women does all the finances and cooking which requires mental acuity.

The data shows the vast majority of Costa Ricans find abortion never acceptable. What the data does not reveal is that abortion is illegal in Costa Rica. However, many of the people I interviewed said that although it is illegal, many people still get abortions. In fact one of the women I spoke with had an abortion when she was younger despite it being against the law and against her religion. It was necessary. She needed to be able to work to feed her other children and could not be pregnant.

The trend of Tico women permitting male primacy for jobs is interesting. From my observations, the women did all the household work even when they occasionally had

5

Wood

outside jobs while the men handed over the money they made for the wife to buy household needs. In one interview a women said that if the wife makes more than the husband, then the wife would simply leave him which leads one to think that the general feeling is that women need men for income and if they are financially independent, then they do not want anything to do with them. The fight for female rights in Costa Rica may be strong while the economy is up but perhaps the results indicate that women still feel less valuable in the working world. The old patriarchal culture is still in the back of the Ticos minds. However, the men in Costa Rica as a whole did not agree or disagree with the statement, therefore representing a partial acknowledgement of the passing of chauvinism.

The women in both the United States and Costa Rica averaged a lower value for amount of control they felt over their life compared to the men of the corresponding country. However the difference between the American means was less than a tenth compared the Costa Rican mean discrepancy of .75. My opinion is the women’s rights movement in the United States has lost some of its fervor and Americans like to feel as if they are in total control. Meanwhile, the women’s movement is really taking root in the younger generations in Costa Rica and they see space to be gained and authority to be had. The younger girls gave the lowest amount of control while the older women gave the highest. Maybe seeing how life unfolds helps determine the power of individual decisions or maybe this new generation of empowered women feel restrained too much and see an opportunity to do something about it.

In my comparison to the results from World Values Survey, I structured my questions similarly to not have different questioning techniques although the differences may have had a subtle affect on the response considering the questions were not professionally translated. The sample size was extremely narrow in comparison to other data from other countries and the sample pool was also focused on a specific area so it does not take into account the various lifestyles and communities within Costa Rica. It would be interesting to get more samples and to extend the study to more urban areas. Also, I graphed some results to other questions on my survey with several other countries’ data provided by World Values Survey. The results were interesting but brief. For more indepth information, I would consider analyzing and comparing cross several international communities, including more questions and possibly looking at the variation in answers between age ranges of each sex or as a whole. The possibilities are endless.

III. ReflectionThe inherent experiences of being in Costa Rica and traveling to Rancho Mastatal,

Esterillos Oeste, Monteverde and Alajuela, required me to complete my other aims, outside of my independent project, while in Costa Rica.

The use of Spanish, especially in rural Mastatal was not essential but the benefits were easy to see. Speaking Spanish with the children and while working on my independent project was a natural way to get involved. Surrounded by the signs and sounds of the language made me want to know and understand more. The interviews for my project made me feel comfortable in individual conversation using the Spanish I knew and asking questions to learn more, including the Costa Rican dialect. The most interesting aspect of Costa Rican Spanish is the frequent use of the formal word for ‘you’ which is ‘usted.’ Even a mother will call her 3 year old child ‘usted.’

6

Wood

In American schools and other places I traveled the informal you, ‘tu’ was much more common. I feel this is a reflection on the importance of respect, especially for the family.

The arrival in Costa Rica was powerful. The air was thick even though it was raining. During the first couple days, I could not believe the noise from the insects and other creatures was constant and loud. After that it appears I adjusted as the sound was no longer noticeable. Looking back, I miss being able to shower in the dark with cold water and not freeze. Even in the storms, that you could see miles off with lightning and dark skies, the air was warm. The storms were beautiful to watch, in isolated patches of gray sky and lightning. Being in the storm was more exciting about nature’s strength than anything else. The sheer volume of water that can poor from the sky in minutes was amazing, and a little terrifying. It is understandable how that influx of water could cause soil erosion, especially where the river banks had been thinned. Walking through the trails of the national park, the space between the trees surprised me and it was interesting to learn how the cycle of sunlight and shade giving trees come through to create space in the deep forest and dense undergrowth near clearings. The different ways the plants adapt to survive fascinates me. Evolution between predator and prey is not just for animal life, but flora also has strategies that are selected to ensure survival. My favorite tactics were the giant spines coming down from the leaves and the beautiful buttressed roots. Of course the insects get creative and can camouflage amazingly well, like the grasshopper that is shaped and colored like the leaf it was hatched on, or the butterfly with the transparent wings. The lizards that ran around near sea level reminded me of squirrels on campus. It was refreshing to see that cycles of life are still happening despite the influences of humans. Watching the mother turtle do what she needed to do and then seeing the babies gave me hope. I have heard many times about the turtles losing their beach space and how the phenomenon was becoming lost. It’s sad that humans are now involved but getting to be a part of it put a positive light on the experience. The colors of the flowers and the birds in the trees and wild, did not feel real, but it was and now I miss it.

I enjoyed seeing how nature is connected, whether it is the plant that makes food for protection by the ant, the plant that grows and collects water on a branch or the river that flows from the mountains to the sea. It is all affected when one tree falls but the rainforest is especially resilient if given time. Seeing where old clearings had been and seeing the land being cleared, made me think about how altered every place is but with care can be kept natural.

Staying at Rancho Mastatal really emphasized how much waste one human in one day of normal living in American society can produce. It also showed that with a little extra effort, like bringing your own bag, using glass, buying in bulk, supporting natural growers and walking, that reduction can be huge. Having to either bury or burn the garbage in Costa Rica made each snack wrapper far more significant. It is actually littering the soil or the air. The beautiful architecture of the houses and the composting toilets all support a more sustainable lifestyle. Everything was comfortable and it felt good to know the ground would return to soil when we left.

The cultural immersion enlightened me, again. I feel each time I travel I am awakened and I either illusioned or disillusioned that life is beautiful, either way it feels good. In Mastatal, the Tico life affected me inside. It revealed to me, again, how little people need to be satisfied and how much I, and everyone I know in the United States, have and it still isn’t enough. The world is huge and people are surviving in different ways. The Ticos in Mastatal were most likely aware that they offered less than the luxury of home and yet they offered and were attentive and even patient with my own ignorance. From speaking with them, I learned they are not kept in the dark. They have their own political ideas, social concepts and, because of their position as an international social hub, many areas are aware, if not surrounded by the western culture I know.

7

Wood

This allows their global perspective to exceed my own. The main idea that I wish the United States would adopt is the importance of expression. Affection flows freer from everyone in Costa Rica. Although the men are macho, they can also be endearing. Even the gruffest male will kiss your cheek good-bye. The people and relationships they have are so important in their society and they express how much they appreciate each other to one another.

IV. ConclusionsI had the expectation that this experience would not meet my expectations. The tropical

rainforest is put on a pedestal. In my mind it was a place that held the answers to the world’s problems and all the world’s secrets. How can anything live up to that? Although Costa Rica did not have all the solutions it felt like it could hold many answers. In a way, by not having leprechauns and unicorns Costa Rica exceeded my expectations because it was real. It was warm, comfortable, encompassing, green and fulfilling. Discovering that places such as those in fairytales do exist and very real people live in them is more of a mystery than dragons or even golden toads. Interacting with an entirely new environment, complete with thick air, loud nights, wall-less rooms and a language where the phrase “yes, no?” makes sense, could never meet an expectation because no one could expect that. Costa Rica is rich and has enriched my life. I cannot say I understand how the world fits together, or even if it does, however, perspective changes how life is viewed and that can change the world. At the root of experiencing Costa Rica, I gained a new perspective. Much of life is universal, including the Earth we share and the people we share it with. We should be kind to it.

8

Wood

References

Beletsky, Les. Costa Rica: Travellers' Wildlife Guides. Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing Group, Inc, 2005.

"Bienvenidos al Rancho." Rancho Mastatal: Enviornmental Learning Center and Lodge. 19 Aug 2006. Rancho Mastatal. 18 April 2006 <http://www.ranchomastatal.com/home.php>.

Biesanz, Mavis Hiltunen, Richard Biesanz, and Karen Zubris Biesanz. The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc, 1999.

"Cloud Forest." Monteverde Costa Rica. 1998. Instituto Costaricense de Turismo. 22 Sep 2006 <http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/>.

Inglehart, Ronald. World Values Survey. 200. 10 Sep 2006 <http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org>.

Leitinger, Ilse A. The Costa Rican Women's Movement. 29. Pittsburg, PA: University of Pittsburg Press, 1996.

Stein, Laura Guzman and Anne Letendre Morales . "Gender and education in Costa Rica." (2004) 11-15. 06 June 2006

9

Wood

AppendicesAppendix A

Question 8If someone says a child needs a home with both a father and a mother to grow up happily, would you tend to agree or disagree?

Figure 1

Question 8

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Disagree AgreeResponses

Perc

enta

ges

CRMaleCRFemaleUSMaleUSFemale

10

Wood

Question 11For each of the following statements I read out, can you tell me how much you agree with each. Do you agree strongly, agree, disagree, or disagree strongly?

A university education is more important for a boy than for a girl

o 1 Agree strongly o 2 Agree o 3 Disagree o 4 Strongly disagree

Question 11

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4

Response

Perc

enta

ge CRMaleCRFemaleUSMaleUSFemale

Figure 1

11

Wood

Question 31Please tell me for each of the following statements whether you think it can always be justified, never be justified, or something in between, using this card. (Read out statements. Code one answer for each statement).

Abortion

o 1 Never justifiable o 2 o 3 o 4 o 5 o 6 o 7 o 8 o 9 o 10 Always justifiable

Figure 4

Question 31

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Responses

Percentages

CRMaleCRFemaleUSMaleUSFemale

12

Wood

Question 37Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women

o 1 Agree o 2 Disagree o 3 Neither

Figure 4

Question 37

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1 2 3

Response

Perc

enta

ge

CRMaleCRFemaleUSMaleUSFemale

13

Wood

Question 38Some people feel they have completely free choice and control over their lives, while other people feel that what they do has no real effect on what happens to them. Please use this scale where 1 means "none at all" and 10 means "a great deal" to indicate how much freedom of choice and control you feel you have over the way your life turns out.

o 1 None at all o 2 o 3 o 4 o 5 o 6 o 7 o 8 o 9 o 10 A great deal

Question 38

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Amount of Influence

Perc

ent o

f Sam

ple

CRMalesCRFemaleUSMalesUSFemale

Figure 5

14

Wood

Appendix BEncuesta Anónimo sobre Papeles de Género de Costa Rica

1. Sexo: 2. Edad: 3. Su estado civil: 1 casado 2 viviendo juntos como casado 3 divorciado 4 separado 5 enviudado 6 solo

4. ¿Tiene hijos? :0 No 1 Uno 2 Dos 3 Tres 4 Cuatro 5 Cinco o más

5. ¿Vive usted con sus padres?:1 Si 2 No

6. ¿Cuál es el nivel de enseñanza más alto que usted ha logrado? (si eres un estudiante, Cuál es el nivel más alto que usted tiene esperar que termine)

1 Ninguna educación formal 2 Escuela primaria incompleta 3 Termina la escuela primaria. 4 Escuela secundaria incompleta: tipo de técnica/vocacional 5 Termina la escuela secundaria: tipo de técnica/vocacional.6 Secundarios incompletos: tipo universidad-preparatorio7 Termina secundario: tipo universidad-preparatorio.8 Una educación de la universidad-nivel, sin grado 9 Una educación del Universidad-niveles, con grado

7. ¿En qué profesión/ocupación trabaja usted? ¿Si más de un trabajo, el trabajo principal? ¿Qué es/fue su trabajo allí?

1 Patrón/encargado del establecimiento2 Trabajador profesional, contable, Abogado profesor, etc. 3 Supervisor - oficinista: supervisa otros.4 Non-manual - oficinista: no-supervisor5 Trabajador manual 6 Granjero: tiene propio granja7 Trabajador agrícola 8 Nunca trabaja

Opiniones8. Si alguien que los niños necesita un hogar con un padre y una madre para crecer felices, ¿Estaría usted de

acuerdo?1 Sí 2 No

9. Si una mujer desea tener un niño como madre soltera pero ella no desea tener una relación estable con un hombre, ¿usted aprueba o desaprueba?:1 Aprobar 2 Desaprobar 3 Depender

Para cada una de las declaraciones siguientes, pone círculo en la respuesta mas apropiada.1= convenir fuertemente 2= convenir 3= me da igual 4=discrepar 5= discrepar fuertementeV60. El ser ama de casa es tan satisfecho como tender un trabajo con sueldo. 1 2 3 4 5

10. Por término medio, los hombres ser mejores líderes políticos mejores que las mujeres. 1 2 3 4 5

11. Una educación universitaria es más importante para un muchacho que para una muchacha. 1 2 3 4 5

12. Si una mujer gana más dinero que su marido, esa situación va a causar problemas 1 2 3 4 5

15

Wood

13. Por término medio, los hombres ser mejores ejecutivos de negocio que las mujeres. 1 2 3 4 5

14. Una de sus metas principales en la vida ha sido hacerlos a mis padres orgullosos 1 2 3 4 5

15. Los dos, el esposo y la esposa, deben contribuir a los ingresos de la casa 1 2 3 4 5

16. Tener un trabajo es el mejor manera para una mujer ser independiente. 1 2 3 4 5

Indique la importancia de los siguientes conceptos para el matrimonio.

1= importante 2= me da igual 3 = insignificante

17. La fidelidad 1 2 3

18. Un ingreso adecuado 1 2 3

19. El respeto y agradecimiento mutual 1 2 3

20. La religión mutual 1 2 3

21. Una vivienda buena 1 2 3

22. El compartido de tareas domésticas 1 2 3

23. Los hijos 1 2 3

24. Los interés mutuales 1 2 3

25. De los siguientes problemas ¿Cuáles es el más serio de Costa Rica?: 1 2 3 4 526. ¿Y que es el siguiente más serio de Costa Rica? 1 2 3 4 5

1 Gente que vive en pobreza y necesidad.2 Discriminación de muchachas y de mujeres. 3 Saneamiento pobre y enfermedades infecciosas. 4 Educación inadecuada. 5 Contaminación ambiental

Por favor, pone circulo en el numero entre uno y diez para cada uno de las declaraciones siguientes si piensa pueda ser justificada siempre, nunca que esté justificada, o algo entre los dos.1 Nunca justificada -5 siempre justificada

27. Demandar beneficia del gobierno a cual le no dan derecho 1 2 3 4 528. Engañar en impuestos si usted tiene una ocasión 1 2 3 4 529. Aceptar un soborno en el curso de sus deberes 1 2 3 4 5 30. La prostitución 1 2 3 4 5 31. El aborto 1 2 3 4 5 32. El divorcio 1 2 3 4 5 33. Eutanasia-conclusión de la vida del enfermo incurable 1 2 3 4 5 34. Suicidio 1 2 3 4 5 35. Batir a su esposa 1 2 3 4 5 36. Comprar algo que usted sabía fue robado 1 2 3 4 5 37. Cuando los trabajos son escasos, los hombres deben tener más derecho para tener el trabajo que las mujeres 1. convenir 2 ni unos ni otros 3 discrepar 4. no se importa

38. Algunas personas creen que tienen la opción totalmente libre y el control sobre sus vidas, y otras creen que lo hacen no tiene ningún efecto en lo que les sucede. Utilice por favor la escala para indicar cuánta libertad de la opción se siente usted tiene sobre la manera que su vida resulta.Nada Mucho 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

39. ¿De todo, cómo satisfecho esta usted con su vida hoy en totalidad?

16

Wood

Insatisfecho Satisfecho 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Appendix C

Interview QuestionsHi, how are you? Can I ask you some questions about your life, your opinions and about gender? Of course you can pass on any questions.

What is it like growing up as a Costa Rican woman/man?

Can you describe what you feel your role in your society is?Why is that important?

What are the expectations for your life?Who expects them from you? Yourself, your parents, everyone?

What does the word “feminist” mean to you? Do you consider yourself a feminist?

What is one of your greatest successes?

What was your goal in life as a child? Has it changed? What is it now? Why did it change?

Do you have a specific experience that says something about the life of women or man?

In your opinion, are men and women equal?

How are men and women treated differently?

Have you ever felt discriminated against because of your gender?Explain

En Español…Hola ¿Cómo está usted? ¿Puedo hacerle unas preguntas sobre su vida, opiniones y de género? Por supuesto puede pasar en cualquier pregunta.

¿Cómo es crecer en Costa Rica como mujer/hombre?

¿Puede describir su papel en la sociedad? ¿Por que es importante?

¿Cuáles son las expectativas de su vida? ¿Quién se las espera? ¿Usted, sus padres, todos?

¿Qué significa la palabra “feminista” a Usted? ¿Se considera usted feminista?

¿Cuál es su éxito más grande?

¿Cuál era su meta de la vida cuando era niño? ¿Ha cambiado? ¿Cuál es ahorita? ¿Por qué lo cambió?

¿Tiene alguna experiencia específica que comenta en la vida como un hombre/mujer?

¿En su opinión, son los hombres y las mujeres iguales?

¿Cómo se trata diferentemente a los hombres y a las mujeres?

¿Ha sufrido usted discriminación a causa de su género?

17

Wood

Explique

18