7. Violent Gender Social Representations and the Family as a Social Institution in Transition in Mexico

Ideology is not understood as false consciousness, but rather as “a coherent system of beliefs that guides peoples to concrete ways of understanding and valuing the world, providing a base for the evaluation of conducts and other social phenomena, and suggesting appropriate behaviours and responses” (Facio 1999: 3).

Although the study of social representations of the family as institution in transition in Mexico could also be addressed following the ‘Structural’ or the ‘Sociological’ school, it is important to note that the present model, given its objectives, is rooted in the ‘Socio-genetic’ school, enabling us to look at social representations in terms of both content and process, looking at the process though which they are formed, transformed and circulate, without obliterating their internal structure or the societal conditions that give rise to them. This is because undertaking a ‘Structural’ analysis would use multivariate quantitative methods in order to look at the representation as a heterogeneous product, as something already constituted, in order to analyse its internal structure (its nucleus and periphery), its stability, defensive system, themata and coherence. It would seek to respond to Jodelet’s (1989) question “how and what does one know?” On the other hand, a ‘Sociological’ analysis would emphasise the specific conditions that determine social representations, their production and circulation, as well as the interactions and group dynamics following them, using predominantly quantitative methods, centred on answering Jodelet’s (1989) question “who knows and from where does one know?”.

“Currently, human assisted reproductive technologies include, at least, homologous, heterologous and intraperitoneal artificial insemination (IPI), in vitro fertilization, fertilization through embryo transfer, gametes intrauterine transfer (GIUT), zygote intrafallopian transfer both transferring pre-embryos at the earliest stages of fertilization and transferring embryos in the Fallopian tubes in more advanced development stages (GIFT and ZIFT), intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), pronuclear stage tubal transfer (PROST), Oocyte, spermatozoa and embryo culture and transfer to the uterus, and surrogacy” (Martínez 2015: 360).

Note that the study by the company Merk Serono conducted in 2012 and presented in 2013 is cited, because although it may seem outdated, it is the only study of the market for fertility that has been undertaken in Mexico.

Ingenes Institute, “Who We Are”; at: www.​ingenes.​com (11 March 2018).