My Truth
Yes, it is true that I was not born in this country Yes, it is true that English was not my first language . . . that my mother’s mother raised 10 kids all on her own . . . that I don’t come from a family of doctors and lawyers
But I do come from a lineage of strong women women who maximize every resource who share even if they have little who still love even if they’ve been hurt who find reason to smile when no one else is
what’s not true is that I don’t belong here. . . I’m exactly where I’am supposed to be
and that’s my truth
This piece was inspired by all the works I’ve read about Chicana women, such as in Chicana Feminist Thought, ¡Chicaca Power! and This Bridge Called My Back, who are not given the respect they are entitled to and who’ve struggled to fit in. Many women of color are made to feel ashamed of their culture, language, heritage, etc., because it is not the dominant one or lived in mainstream society. There have been women and still are led to believe that they can’t achieve what they dream or that they don’t deserve what they want. Many are belittled including but not limited to reasons because they’re not the “right” sex, gender or race. However US Third World Feminism which emerged from the Chicana Movement did many things to address issues of discrimination and to bring women together through shared experiences. It also proposed to counteract negative representations of womanhood by having women from all backgrounds reclaim their identities and stories. My goal was to write a piece that is self-affirming and motivates women to tell their stories. Even if women took a different path in life either by choice or force, nothing changes the fact that they deserve to be free and happy.
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