Mexican men have been traditionally misrepresented in or omitted from fatherhood scholarship, sexuality and reproductive health‐related research, and immigration studies. Based on in‐depth tape‐recorded interviews with 20 immigrant men living in Los Angeles, this study examined Mexican fathers’ views of virginity as they educate their daughters in the United States. Results indicate that fathers’ perceptions of a daughter's virginity are shaped by regional expressions of patriarchy and masculinity, and the socioeconomic segregation of inner‐city barrios. Protecting their daughters from a sexually dangerous society and improving their socioeconomic future is of greater concern to these men than preserving virginity per se. These men's narratives challenge stereotypical images and archetypes of the Latino macho father.

In this article,

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On the busy street corners of many U.S. cities, day laborers, known as jornaleros, wait patiently on sidewalks for someone to offer them work. These men remain invisible, however, in sexuality research with Latin American immigrant populations. Based on in-depth individual interviews with 20 self-identified heterosexual Mexican immigrant men living in Los Angeles, this article examines two ways in which migration destabilizes the boundaries of heterosexuality in these men's lives. First, they work under conditions that expose them not only to economic exploitation but also to potential sexual harassment by their employers, frequently White gay men. And second, same-sex encounters with other immigrants are prompted by contexts of marginality and selective sexual agency. The fluid nature of heterosexuality within these specific migration-related contexts and new capitalist relations that globalize and commodify the bodies of Latin American men help to explain the vulnerabilities of poor Mexican immigrant men.

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