Intimacy and Reproduction: the Role of Hispanic Groups in American Fertility

This article contributes to the sociological and demographic debate on the development of fertility patterns in contemporary U.S. society. Most industrialized societies are increasingly experiencing low fertility rates, which will amount to a considerable socio-economic challenge in coming decades. In contrast, the U.S. currently has a fertility rate close to replenishment level, which would enhance a stable population growth over the long term. Based on a review of relevant academic literature, this article describes this trend, focusing in particular on the impact of Hispanic immigration into the United States. Due to its high level and notable public profile, Hispanic immigration is of central importance to current debates on U.S. fertility patterns. In the first part of the article, we describe its impact on fertility patterns in socio-economic and demographic terms. In the second part of the article, we expand this perspective with an exploration of the cultural context of intimate relationships, sexuality, and reproductive choices among Mexican immigrants. Specifically, we focus on the impact of the migration experience and of changes in cultural models of intimate life in Mexico on Mexican immigrants’ sexual and reproductive behavior. These cultural factors are commonly neglected in debates on the relationship between fertility patterns and immigration, and we use our argument to highlight their importance as a base for future debate. Overall, the present analysis underscores the way in which long term reproductive patterns of Hispanics in the U.S. are highly dependent upon the dynamic interaction between cultural patterns of reproduction, desired family schemas and the socio-economic prospects of Hispanic groups in America and in their respective countries of origin in Latin America.