Life Stages: Dating and Courtship

Dating is quite acceptable, though dates are often chaperoned.

The numbers of teenage pregnancies have been rising.

Typical Practices

Mexican culture is quite accepting of dating and allows young people to court each other as long as they eventually get married. Boys and girls date starting in their teens, usually with the consent of parents. They usually meet each other at schools, workplaces, and through family and friends. Online dating sites have also caught on in recent years.

Mexican people choose their own life partners, mostly within their societal class, and get married after a period of formal noviazgo (engagement). This period may last for several years and can encompass regular dates, cohabitation, sexual intercourse, and preparation for the future wedding.

Although arranged marriages are becoming uncommon in urban areas, young people are often carefully chaperoned when they fraternize. A Mexican man is not allowed to pick up a woman from her home. They typically go on a date to a prearranged place like a plaza or shopping mall with parental approval or under the “watchful eye” of family members.

A typical Mexican male is expected to be manly, authoritative, self-reliant, and daring. The attributes sought in Mexican brides are attractiveness, courtesy, homemaking abilities, and a caring attitude.

Getting Serious

Sex in dating and premarital sexual unions are common in Mexico. In addition, the percentage of teenage pregnancy and children born out of wedlock has also been rising even though unmarried mothers and their parents face social stigma. With national birth control programs and contraceptives available in Mexico, however, many young women are preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Mexican society does not encourage cross-cultural and inter-racial dating or marriage. Most parents prefer to have their children marry within their own class and ethnicity, although inter-ethnic marriages do occur. Dating in contemporary Mexico typically occurs with the approval of the girl’s parents, who always prefer a boy of Mexican origin with a good family background and the intention to marry their daughter.

Boys still commonly seek the formal consent of a girl’s father for marriage in Mexico. Many young people are, however, making their own choices about their intended spouse, marriage, and family life.