Peru

The ideal historical model of family is monogamous and patriarchal. That is, in the urban culture, the sexual division of work is based on separate and complementary spheres. The father is the authority of the family and represents it in the public space, while the wife is responsible for the education of children and is subordinate to her husband's authority (Fuller 1997).

Men must adhere to the ethics of protection and responsibility; women must remain chaste. These aspects constitute the global concept of family honor. The lack of chastity in women endangers the honor of the family. From this belief emerges the image of Marianismo, that in Peru is associated with the Virgin Mary and represents the notion of the moral superiority of women, the elevation of motherhood, the denial of sexuality, and the spirit of sacrifice (Fuller 1993).

In contrast, masculinity is based on the idea that sexuality is uncontrollable and that men must affirm their virility through its free exercise and the control of the sexuality of the women in their families. Men can establish sexual relationships throughout their lives without a conjugal or reproductive commitment. This double standard of morality, along with the strict ethnic and class hierarchy, allows the head of the family in the middle- and upper-class sectors (who already has his "official wife" and his "official children") to have sexual relationships with women of lower classes and thereby form secondary families (Fuller 1993).