La Feminista By Anna Nieto Gomez Summary

Culture often thrives off of polar opposites—hot and cold, bitter and sweet, male and female. By setting up these opposing constructs, one can easily find a set definition for each. A hot surface could scorch someone or a cold temperature could cause them to shiver. In the same way, a bitter substance would be less enjoyable to eat than a sweet one. These terms are often defined by mentioning their antitheses. Because it’s comfortable to embrace specificity and certainty, topics such as gender and gender expression often get simplified into binary existences—however, they don’t quite operate under the same parameters. In an essay entitled “Bad Feminist”, Dr. Roxane Gay explores and warns against the dangers of binary thinking. Throughout

In the selected readings, “Your Life as a Girl,” “Beyond Bean Counting,” and “Bringing Feminism a la Casa,” the various authors depict the complexities that are a part of inclusive feminism that incorporates issues across racial, economic, and sexual boundaries. The first reading, through second-person narration, begins the investigation into feelings of inferiority and distinction from male peers that girls feel from a young age. The following readings utilize perspective from marginalized groups to define a broader definition of feminism. The use of anecdotes from the respective authors reveals the aspects of feminism that require more than generalization and textbook definitions to go beyond cultural differences.

Despite being outcasted by other feminist groups such as the mainstream Chicano movement, and the second wave feminist movement, they wanted to set themselves apart through the use of their own personal experiences with gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class structure, and so forth. This term relates to Mexican-American and Hispanic women who oppose the traditional “household wife” role. They challenged the fundamental ideologies women, and young women are taught at an early age, and breaks away from the idea that men have dominion over women. This can also be categorized as a movement that fights against stereotypes against women. This term is important in context to our reading’s because this movement paved way for Chicano women to make their voice heard in their community. Just like we familiarize ourselves with key men in the Chicano movement, women also wanted to describe their experiences, and social injustices they were challenged with because they were women on top of other

The Chicano movement is a Civil Rights movement that embodied the identification of Latino Americans in the United States. In the modern day, most people wouldn’t know about the struggle that Latino’s had to endure before being recognized by their diverse nature. However, the Chicano movement, just like the Civil Rights Movement, was a significant part of equality within the United States over the course of the past half a century. The Chicano movement had its roots dating all the way back to when the United States were attempting their Manifest Destiny from which they went to war with Mexico for the land now known as the south west of the United States. Ever since then, the United States had been treating Mexican’s and Mexican American’s without a regard for their existence. While Latino’s are finally beginning to receive recognition for it’s vast diversity, Latino’s nationwide still face the uphill battle against ignorance.

It challenged the ethnic stereotypes that existed in America about the Mexican culture and heritage. The Chicano Movement was comprised of many distinct protests, which included educational, social, and political equality in the United States. The new generation of Mexican Americans were singled out by people on both sides of the border in which viewed these Mexican Americans as not "American", yet they were not "Mexican", either. In the 1960s "Chicano" was eventually accepted as a symbol of self-determination and ethnic pride. The Chicano Movement had been forming since the end of the U.S.–Mexican War which addressed discrimination, taking inspiration from heroes and heroines from their indigenous, Mexican and American

The Chicano movement and the Feminist movement wanted to attack society 's unequal and biased perception of women and Latinos in the 1960`s. Women were suppose to marry young then stay home and take care of the children while Latinos were perceived as inferior for being minorities. In schools there was no bilingual education and Latinos couldn 't speak Spanish. Most schools hardly taught about the history of Latinos which was also problematic because Americans did not view Latinos as Americans. They viewed them as foreigners that came to America, a country

Edited by several scholars such as Gabriella F. Arredondo, Aída Hurtado, Norma Klahn, Olga Nájera-Ramírez, and Patricia Zanella, this book in particular highlights the development of Chicana identities in the twentieth century by showing “how Chicana feminist writings move discourse beyond binaries and toward intersectionality and hybridity” (Arredondo e.al. 2). What is interesting is how the feminist scholars in this book used different epistemologies and methods in capturing the experiences of the Chicanas which include oral histories, poetry, theatrical performance, painting, dance, music and social science survey. Some of the contributors also combine “analytical tools and cross disciplinary boundaries” (5). The approaches used are very unique as they enables to unravel the Chicana experiences thoroughly and disrupt “the notion of Chicana identity as monolithic and homogeneous” (6). Also, the format of the book which presents articles and then the responses by another activist or scholars offers a very distinct way of presenting critical and provocative analysis. Such format allows the editors to “reaffirm the tensions and creativity of individual and group consciousness that underlie Chicana feminism and scholarship” (Salas 122). From this edited volume, I choose three articles along with their responses. Those articles are Cartohistografía: Continente de una voz/Cartohistography: One Voice’s Continent by Elba Rosario Sánchez (response: Translating Herstory: A Reading

That, however, was the result of American policy. What of the policies of the movement? Well they too were similar, in restrictionist organizations such as LULAC women were forbidden from holding in major positions. This was because the Chicanos feared that if they were too liberal they would become victims of the Red Scare and squashed out of existence and deported to Mexico as ANMA for being dubbed communist and a danger to the security of the nation as a whole. To them it alright to sacrifice successes towards gender equality if it meant that they could still be around to fight another day for the greater cause of racial equality.

The Chicano movement focused on the equal rights of the Mexican American people. I will explain

With this came a patriarchal movement with the anthem “Yo soy Chicano” and an ideology of “Chicano = Machismo”. Women within the Chicano movement were afforded one of three roles: mothers, nuns or whores. They were not allowed self determination. This stemmed from the idea that men were the ones that were rising against oppression, when in fact women “broke their shackles and stabbed the spirit of injustice when confronted in the fields by a shotgun, when bloodied on the streets”, when constructed under the violence of “Anglo/chauvinism or Chicano machismo.” The transition from Chicano to Chicana was in protest of previous marginalization and a step towards representation and manifestation. (I Throw Punches, Chabram,

Before World War II, the Mexican American community had a very rich history in the United States; also they were suffering racial, economic and educational segregation. They still were foreigners in a land that once belonged to them. The women had a very specific part in this community´s development.

The Chicano movement, also known as El Movimiento, was a civil rights movement that began in the 1960s with a primary objective of attaining empowerment and self-determination as well as rejecting and confronting the history of racism, discrimination and disenfranchisement of the Mexican-American community and was much more militant than movements prior to it. Some issues the Chicano movement dealt with were farm workers’ rights, political rights, better education and restoration of land grants. Additionally, the movement sought to gain social equality and economic opportunity. The movement strove to tackle the stereotype the media and America synonymized with Mexicans. The Chicano movement was influenced by progress made in movements such as the Black Power Movement, antiwar movement and various others.

In the beginning, there were mothers. Like goddesses they create life, nurturing their offspring into adulthood and beyond. Through wisdom, culture, and tradition they educate their young on the wonders of life, gracing us with the opportunity to follow in their footsteps to become mothers ourselves. Through the study of Chicana feminism, it becomes apparent how motherhood is a recurring theme throughout much Chicana feminist art and literature, often discussing how these women fostered growth in multiple facets of their being through their general life experience. Perhaps, this is due to the role of a mother weaving the lives of their children, nursing them, guiding them, and creating a life that implements their own values and beliefs. They have the opportunity to create a mirror image or even an entirely new and improved version of themselves. Whether the maternal figure is a hero or villain, traditional or nontraditional, tangible or fictitious, these characters play a vital role in shaping the Chicana feminism we see today.

“Why did they have to mix their women into everything? Between us and everything we wanted to change in the world they placed a woman: socially, politically, economically. Why goddamnit, why did they insist upon confusing the class struggle with the ass struggle, debasing both us and them-all human motives?” (Ellison 418).

Feminist theory began in the late 18th century, the main goal was to diminish sexism in society and create equality for men and women. Throughout the years, women have succeeded in gaining equal rights. Unfortunately, there are still issues today. For instance, women are paid 78% of what men are paid. One novel that portrays the argument of Feminism is House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. To begin with, Men are characterized as violent and destructive beings while women are forgiving and possess magic. All the women in the book have names that mean light. Finally, the men in the book have all the power while women remain submissive.