Ruth Gomberg-Munoz

Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz’s ethnography Labor and Legality uses a mixture of narrative, interviews, and observation to educate the reader about the lives of undocumented workers in the United States. Gomberg-Muñoz focuses specifically on a group in Chicago called the Lions and describes how this small group has managed to create their own culture made up of language, social structure, kinship, gender roles, and authority. Often the Lions have to navigate between three different cultures: the one they were raised in, in Léon; the American culture; and the one they created as undocumented workers. The Lions are from Léon, Guanajuato, Mexico so Spanish is their first language. Many pick up English as their second language, especially if they plan to stay in the United States long term. Speaking Spanish connects the Lions and other undocumented workers from Central and South American countries that speak Spanish with their home country, while also giving them the ability to connect …show more content…
For example, Gomberg-Muñoz noticed that the relationship between a father and his children in Chicago mirrored those of families in Léon. They are very active in their children’s lives, interacting with the children at all stages of life, whether they are infants or young adults. However, they still maintain an idea of gender roles that designate the father as the provider, not someone who changes diapers and limits the father to playing and interacting more with sons than daughters. Because of the separation of families, though, these gender roles are not as rigid in households that find the father in another country working. For the mothers in Mexico, the responsibility of caring for the children is up to them entirely, with only money and perhaps moral support coming from the father because of the separation (p.