Reading: Alma Garcia’s Chicana Feminist Thought (2)

11 thoughts on “Reading: Alma Garcia’s Chicana Feminist Thought (2)”

1. Liu’s article is written with good intentions but it lacks to state concrete ways to teach cultural diversity, but it does raise an awareness on how education is predominantly viewed from the white male experience. That is one reason why I chose Women’s Studies as my major because it incorporates intersectionality which views how race, gender, class, etc., affects all women’s experience. However, I agree with Liu that it’s not enough to just incorporate women or those viewed as other on the side because it continues to perpetuate divisiveness. The goal is to challenge and change structures because it is one thing to sympathize with the struggles of people versus really empathizing with others. Also I’ve noticed more recently there’s need to be more cultural sensitivity training for staff, professors, etc., because the way they respond to students and their circumstances reflects how they also teach a course. Classes should be a safe zone for discussion about all issues without fearing repercussions for personal beliefs or ideas.

   I really related to the readings from the book Chicana Feminist Thought because it discussed a lot about competition between Latina women, women treated as sex objects, and gender equality. There are a lot of double standards that prevent women from reaching high level positions and as a Latina woman who aspires to be an attorney I know I will face those struggles. I love how Martinez says “The fact is, nothing could be more truly Chicana than the Chicana who wants to be more than a wife, mother, housekeeper” because to make changes we have to be the change first (from Chicana Feminist Thought 80). We cannot expect men or others to protect and care for us. (Chicana) Women are brave, strong, and capable enough to rise to the level of her male counterparts and what’s more even beyond her imagination.

2. One of the things mentioned in the video by the journalist Soledad O’Brien is having to check off a box that defines the individual’s race/ethnicity. She says the census “is such a flawed system” so she literally checks all the boxes to mess it up. I remember having conversations and discussions about the census in one of my chicana/o studies classes and the fact that many people come from mix-backgrounds so they feel limited to having to check one box. This defies the idea of “adelantar la raza” which translates to “advance the race;” many people are inter-marrying, inter-mixing, etc. Another thing I would like to comment on is the idea of mestizaje, which one of the boys mentioned. It is important to remember that mestizaje derives from the violence inflicted on women (i.e. sexual violence) in many cases rape by the colonizers.

3. I agree and disagree with Liu when she stated that white is the universal norm. I believe it depends on the environment. She was in a classroom with primarily white, middle-class students, so yes the white students and Lui may consider Caucasian as the norm, however I do not believe white is the universal norm. White students may feel out of place just like others in a new atmosphere. As far as Latinas and how they fit in, by far they are not the norm in terms of race or gender but I feel they categorize themselves universally as being a wife, mother, and housekeeper. This was explained in “Viva la Chicana and All Brave Women of La Causa,” how Latinas want to break free of the stereotypical life mentioned previously. I believe one can feel like an insider anywhere they go as long as they have confidence. Without confidence one can feel like an outsider even if surrounded by a familiar race, gender, or class.
   Within the two poems both English and Spanish were utilized. NietoGomez concluded her poem with a Spanish phrase; I believe to show exaggeration and to reemphasize the theme of the poem which was equality. NietoGomez not only wants to show equality for men and women but possibly for the genders within her ethnic background. Using both languages also narrows the focus of the theme and shows who the audience may be.

4. The difference between the signed articles and the “Anonymous” signed articles is that it leaves that space for ambiguity but at the same time makes the focus be the article. When an article is signed by the author’s name it provides that sense of agency, somebody wrote it, but once it is “Anonymous” can’t really pin point who wrote it. The focus is more to what is written in the article. The person writing the article “El Movimiento and the Chicana” probably wanted to keep herself from being disclosed because she didn’t want other women to see her differently (assuming the author is a she), especially when she speaks about having an open mind about premarital sex.
   I agree with the author’s claim about gender, sex and competition. The capitalist nation that we are always has us in competition mode. It is widely seen in educational institutions, despite the fact that they are created to educate children/college students only those who manage to abide by the norm do get higher up in the education ladder, those students who resist to authority and are considered “the problem kids” do not climb up the ladder. We compete against each other when we are mandated to take SAT/ACT tests and see who is smarter enough to attend college. Sometimes even within our own social groups, or communities we keep other people from knowing about an opportunity because we want to be the ones. This happens all the time, and it definitely did during the Chicana/o movement. Women who were able to obtain some kind of position, (i.e. as secretary, even though it reinforced gender roles and beliefs about women), were envied by others. I find it difficult to break this cycle when power structures reinforce it and as a society we continue to be consumers of it. Thus it is the cause of the top dog phenomenon, “[t]hat there must be a rich class and a lower class because history has proved it to be that way” (Anonymous, 82).

5. Signing the articles as “Anonymous” does to the reader what other anonymous quotes and writings do–they detach the work from the author, allowing its audience to make it more their own. That is, the articles like A Chicana’s Message and “El Movimiento and the Chicana” I believe are more successful in attempting to get through the women who relate to them because the experiences they talk about no longer seem to belong just to the writer. Like public art, it is unclaimed therefore its more public and feels like a common thought. Personally, El Movimiento did remind me of experiences I have had before, not only in a work environment, but in a social environment where male friends favor female friends who are more submissive and allow others to take care and stand up for them unlike others who are more aggressive simply in personality.

   The complication of race and ethnicity is something I have lived through all my life given the fact that everyone in my close family was born in Mexico except for me. Although there are “indelible ties” between me and the members of my family who were not born here (as is the case with many Chicanas) there are significant differences in who we are and the way we lead our lives.

6. I think that both the unsigned and signed articles strive to carry out the same message to the readers, but I feel that the signed articles make it seem that that the article is only the perspective from the author. But with something signed “anonymous” it can be viewed as being written by anyone. I feel that it being unsigned, any one can pick it up and read it and feel as though they could have written them. I am sometimes confused about differences between the terms race and ethnicity. To me it seems that Liu is saying that white is the norm because its been the dominant perspective for so long. I don’t think that she is saying that is what one should strive to become. In my education classes we learned about background knowledge, information and experiences that each student brings from their background. We learn that we should acknowledge this information and respect it and incorporate into the class. I feel like the message is that other women that are not white bring other valid thoughts and opinions but they don’t seem to be in the general publics attentions as much.

   In “Viva Chicana” I think there is nothing wrong with be a mother, a wife, or a housekeeper but women shouldn’t be confined to only those three roles/ options. They should be able to choose any role they want to pursue. In “A Chicana’s Message” I feel that boys are raised in a similar fashion as girls. In that they are raised to become “el macho”. And if they slightly differ from the mold, then they are not seen or consider being men. Women can be just as strong and capable as any man.

7. The question of why a writer would choose to remain anonymous really struck me during the assigned readings. At first I found myself almost angry at these women who chose to remain hidden. How can you choose to remain hidden while you preach about promoting increased visibility for your race and gender? I felt at first that omitting a name from a piece of writing decreased it’s humanity. Because a name creates a mental image of a person, it seemed initially that it might cause a potential reader detach from the notion that an actual human was doing the writing. It also seemed that it might create a level of fear. If even someone claiming to be at the helm of a revolution is to scared to reveal themselves, than how could a more timid person feel empowered?

   When I actually began to read, my opinions changed almost immediately. First of all, name or not, the level of emotion present in the writing makes it impossible to detach from an actual human source. Secondly, labeling oneself as “Anonymous” or “A Chicana” and denying a person the chance to ascribe an image to a name might actually increase a feeling of connection to the piece. Without a name, a writer might be implying that their feelings and emotions are not particular to one person, but generalized to the group they belong to. It actually creates a more universal feeling. My feeling that a person was hiding behind anonymity in fear is perhaps correct, but also a completely valid action. The truth is that these Chicana feminists had a reason to be scared, a reason to hide. In the movimiento and the Latin culture as a whole, there would have been a lot of people who disagreed with their beliefs. People who would have been angry that a Chicana woman even suggest that she has a responsibility outside the home, who would want to take action in their anger. Labeling yourself “Anonymous” and displaying this fear does imply that this fear is a reality. Realizing that these women had to live in fear while trying to insist upon their rights could potentially work towards impacting the notion that the Chicana feminist movement was not only imperative but urgent. In this case, more Chicanas might be stirred to raise their own voices for the protection and advancement of their people, and there can be strength even in anonymous numbers.

8. Liu brings up great analysis on how there are stereotypes placed not only on race, but the genders in the different races. It gets complicated when you have to deal with the gender struggle, along with the race struggle, because you have to decide which is the most important to fight for. Which ever one you choose, it will seem as if you abandoned the fight for the other one. My opinion is that the fight for the people as a whole should come first, then in the separate house holds is where the gender issues should be established. There are different opinions concerning the status of women in their race. This is why I suggest the gender issues be settled in the house, then it will make it easier to settle when it arises during a movement.

9. While reading “A Chicana’s Message,” I felt like I was reading a piece that could easily have been passed for being written around today’s time as well as a piece written during the movement. Women are seem as objects and because of this it reflects in the way they develop as a person. It’s not until they realize what powerful individuals they are that they break away from it, being objectified, and become what the society needs. Our originally upbringing to depend on men allows us to develop a vulnerability that get destroyed when he hurts us and is no longer around. So in return we begin to destroy ourselves as the writer explains. We overlook everything we have to offer and create a low image of ourselves and stay there. Its a very hard place for anyone to be found in but I feel as a Latina it is even harder because even though times are changing they are changing slowly. The women part of the Latino community still have to face the social norm of being a housewife and putting her man and family first. Now this doesn’t mean we should look down on those individuals who do choose this lifestyle but instead we should understand one another. At the end of the day no matter what lifestyle we chose I feel the author said it the best way, its our duty to ourselves as women first to get to know each other and open our hearts to each other, because it will help heal the wound and it definitely applies to all women not just Latinas or Chicans.

10. The readings that seemed the most relevant to me were “A Chicana’s Message” and NietoGomez’s poem “The Revolution Begins.” The way women are described in “A Chicana’s Message” is still relevant to the women of today. There are some men and women that still believe that women are sex objects. These women feed off of the attention of men to boost their self-esteem. They don’t know how to value or love themselves because of the way they were brought up or because of past experiences. If the women of today we were to read this, some might feel empowered to look at themselves differently and put themselves first, or reach out to other women that have been oppressed by men. NietoGomez’s poem addresses the idea of uniting Chicanos and Chicanas toward a common revolution, this might not seem relevant today but the equality among the sexes still is. NietoGomez asks us “to seek the knowledge of all women / And seek the knowledge of all men.” By understanding one another there can be equality. Women will walk alongside the men, not behind them like they have for hundreds of years.

11. The reading that I thought was one I could relate to was probably “Viva la Chicana and All Brave Women of La Causa.” There was a particular line that stood out to me which says that the Chicana of today is the “Chicana who wants to be more than a wife, mother and housekeeper” because it relates to today’s era. Women now more than ever are pursuing higher education and trying to succeed in life to be more independent and be able to provide for them and support themselves. Even though in many different cultures a women is still supposed to be the perfect housewife and mother, women are also trying to be more independent now and I think that the woman that is trying to do more than that is depicted in every single young Chicana or “Chicanita” as they say in the reading that is a college student. A woman pursuing and education and a higher degree is one that wants to pursue a career and be successful on their own account. Older generations were expected to be stay-at-home mothers but I believe the new generation is highly encouraged not to do that anymore. From a personal experience this is actually something that I always hear my father say, he wants me to have a successful career with the purpose of that being not to ever have to become dependent of any man to have a good living standard.

    I really liked the descriptions in Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poetry and think that the mixture of English and Spanish in her and Anna NietoGomez’ poems make them more meaningful and definitely more powerful. The combination of the languages cannot only be seen as a representation of what is advocated for in the poem which is the unity of men and women, but it can also serve as a means to have the audience relate to it. The Spanish language is an important component of the Latino culture and to intermix this into the poem shows more credibility from the authors and also creates a more of an inviting audience for Latinos reading this because they know exactly what these words mean. Another way to think about this is that as “La Raza” moves forward, it brings a new mentality and creates new ideas, but it does not forget the old ones. Spanish being the first Native language of Chicanos, represents the beginning of the movement, therefore bringing the two languages together also captures that idea.

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