Espacio Para Mi

"I guess my feminism and my race are the same thing to me. They’re tied in one to another, and I don’t feel an alliance or an allegiance with upper-class white women. I don’t. I can listen to them and on some level as a human being I can feel great compassion and friendships; but they have to move from their territory to mine, because I know their world. But they don’t know mine." — Sandra Cisneros, Chicana Feminist Thought

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Reflection

This project was something I have passion for. I really loved being able to make this into a blog. The point of this blog for was to build on the knowledge I already have, intended on learning more about the way that mainstream feminism marginalizes more than just straight cis Latina women. Though I was not able to find much on trans/gender nonconforming, I did find the article about machismo in gay latino spaces. This brought a new realm into my consciousness. I think I have a new appreciation for men who go under constant fire for machismo and actively fight against it themselves. 

In addition, I find that I admire not only Latinx scholars but all WOC/POC who are in academia. I have toyed with the notion of entering academia myself, and this project pushes that further. I think that the most important thingI learned was that to fight marginalization we have to push ourselves to the center. I think placing ourselves in the center needs to be on the back of education.

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Resources

From the Huffington Post:

This Women’s History Month, I Refuse to Celebrate Your Feminism 

This article is a really good source for to see how white feminism is marginalizing latinx feminist, but how they are pushing back.

From Latina.com:

Why We Say Latinx: Trans & Gender Non-Conforming People Explain

This is good for understanding the term Latinx.

15 Latinx Changemakers You Need To Know

A good list of the Latinx people you need to know, follow, read, watch, and love.

From Latina Rebels writers:

I Am Done Being Your Token Brown Person, I am Exhausted

Latina Rebels are strong women who write from such a strong point of view. Their blog is an amazing mix of humor and activism.

From Everyday Feminism:

5 Ways Latinxs Can Challenge Machismo in Our Families and Communities

Solutions for Machismo, small and particle steps.

Books and Print:

Everything and anything by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street 

Loose Woman: Poems

Everything and anything by Gloria Anzaldúa 

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color

Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza

Eveything and anything by Cherrie Moraga

Waiting in the Wings: Portrait of a Queer Motherhood

The Sexuality of Latinas (co-editor

All of these books are more established authors in the Latinx community, must reads!

These are basic staring points in understand the Latinx community I encourage you to all dig deeper. 

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Solutions

Make Your Platform: This is something that I think has been pivotal for Latinx Feminism. I urge those who feel marginalized to make a space, be it through writing, performance, or art. Put it out there and support others, make it so we widen our margins so much that we cannot be ignored. Go into academia and make the syllabi inclusive. Be the person who can reduce the alienation.

Live Your Feminism: This is something that I think can be more difficult. In order to fight the internal marginalization, we have to bring feminism home. This helps fight marginalization because it fosters unity. If we accept all of the intersections in out communities we can grow in a way that mainstream feminism fails to.

Good Allies: This is something for non latinx readers. Be a good ally. Let us tell you our stories, and truly listen. Learn on you own so can be apart of the conversation, but know when to shut up. Stand up when you know it’s too emotionally wearing on us, but don’t expect a pat on the back. Know and kwon your privilege. 

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Summary

Representation matters, we can say it louder for the people in the back. Without  representation we loose perspective leaders. We cannot as a movement, or society, grow without intersectional feminism. Having voices from all walks of life tell their stories, give their solutions, and learn from each other. Inclusion fosters shared experiences and growth in knowledge. Allowing latinx people into academic space and feminist spaces will enrich us. Mainstream feminist need to learn to listen when others speak because their stories are righ in ways they cannot imagine. 

My research really focuses on the feelings of alienation of the latinx people in mainstream feminism. Seeing this from a blogger and an academic who live marginalized from both feminism and latinx communities, and from latinx queer men who live the effects of machismo on college campus. These young men are feeling the effects of something that mainstream feminism only understands in terms of damaging women. All together these narratives show the how important it is to give people the platform to tell their stories in feminist spaces.

This topic relates to numerous reading from this course. It was honestly was sparked from my differences in the reading of Friedan’s “From The Feminine Mystique.” I think that No Más Bebés is a perfect example of how mainstream feminism can differ from latinx feminism. While mainstream feminism want immediate access to some reproduction procedures, latinx history has rational reason to prolong the waiting period. Of course Gloria Anzaldúa’s “Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to 3rd World Women Writers” was a key reading when thinking of this topic. Really needing a space to be and exist in academia and feminism drove this topic.

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Intersectional Issue

Mainstream feminism marginalizing Latinxs is an intersectional issues because is analyzes the cross section of race, gender, class, and even sexuality. Analyzing the reasons white women are at the forefront of feminist movement, and have been for so long, really cannot be answered with a singular issue. The privileges what cis white straight women who are receiving the biggest platforms blocks the space for latinxs, and other people of color, to share experiences. Within the Latinx community there are narratives of queer women, immigrant women, working class women, etc., that are not given the chance to come to center stage in academia, causing less value to be given to them. 

Further more, with mainstream feminism painting latinx men as only being savage sexist animals we loose those allies. We often over look the ways in which mainstream feminism can alienate latinx trans folk and gender non conforming people. In times in white mainstream feminism reaches beyond white cis women and brings in lgtbq folks or men they usually bring forth homonormative gay/lesbian people, or white passing transwomen. We need to expand beyond that with Latinx folk. We want to step forth with all sisters and brothers. 

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Media and Academia

We are living in a time that has really picked up the internet and other media outlets as a way to express feminism. Between Twitter hashtags and YouTube videos, we find a wave of feminism centered on empowerment and identity. However, in this we see many campaigns that deal only with main stream feminism. We see more and more of popstars [read Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift] who claim feminism, but only use to it the advantage to embrace sexuality and amorous promiscuity, but are not there for WOC who need different things from feminism. This cis white straight upper class feminism is also seen in academia. In syllabi there are token writers of color, except for a token writer to shake the feeling of racism.

Both these institutions continue to marginalize latinxs who want to partake in feminism because it eliminates representation. Without seeing themselves in the popular conversation about feminism, latinx move away from it. Some latinx might find their way back to it in writing that they find on their own, but without seeing it valued enough to be taught it could become less welcoming to them. I can speak to feeling alienation in classrooms when I only see 1st and 2nd wave feminist being praised. I began to wonder if the brown and black writers that felt shared my experiences were less valuable than those of white women. I would imagine that Latinx men, transfolk, and gender nonconforming might find relating and being in spaces like this increasingly more difficult. 

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Interview With a Chicana Feminist College Student

How did you come into your identity as a chicana feminist? Was there a process in which you came into one part of the identity first?

My identity has always reflected being a Xicanx and a feminist, but I was never able to call my identities by those names until I went to college. In college, I had more access to read feminist theory and learn about Xicanx history and theory for the first time and say, “Hey! I relate to that! This is exactly what I have been dealing with my whole life!” Being a first generation everything had so many difficulties. Adding race, class, gender, and sexuality to the mix complicated things even more. So, being able to define my experiences was like filling a gap in my life that desperately needed filling. Part of growing up is trying to understand who you are. Understanding who I am meant that there was no way that I could have called myself a feminist before identifying as a Xicanx. In my WGS courses, there was never a moment where I did not link my experiences with gender to my other identities, even before learning about intersectionality. It was almost a necessity to not even think about separating my identities because the case was usually that I was one of only two Brown folks in a class full of mostly White suburban students.

Do you feel that in your WGS (women and gender studies) programs you have felt reflected and embraced? What parts of your identity has been left out?

What identities do you feel receive the most attention and which receive the least?

All these questions are connected for me. In my WGS courses I have been embraced, but not necessarily reflected all the time. The reason I say this is because most of my WGS course readings and discussions on race have dealt with Black and White issues, for the most part. For example, readings on Xicanx or Asian-American feminism would often be placed on the margins in introductory courses when learning about womxn of color feminist movements. As a first-year student, this often made me feel a bit excluded and as if my experiences as a Xicanx were not as important. Being one of the few Brown folks in class already made me feel marginalized. The history of Latinxs and other people of color in the U.S. in most academic spaces is often left out; but, I have been disappointed with many of my WGS courses, in particular, since I expected more from them. It was mostly in my Latin American and Latinx Studies courses where I felt more encouraged to talk about Latinx identity, especially since most of these courses were taught by Latinxs and most students in class were also Latinx. However, I am glad that I have had amazing WGS professors that have been open to speaking with me about any issues I have had.

Are men in these fields represented? Do you feel an alliance to your Latino brothers in these spaces? 

Yes, to both questions. Whenever there were men enrolled in WGS courses, professors and everyone else made them feel welcome. When we speak of gender in class we emphasize that we are talking about bodies that are gendered. In all of my WGS classes, we also focus on dispelling the popular beliefs surrounding feminism that often give men the feeling that they are not welcome in these spaces. This opens up conversations where men often chime in on their experiences as men and feel allied. Nevertheless, it might be uncomfortable for them, which is expected. I hope that more men start enrolling in WGS courses because when there is men in our classrooms numbers are extremely low.

Do you feel that there is any attention being paid to gender queer/ gender nonconforming latinxs?

I think there could always be more attention paid to folks who identify as genderqueer/gender nonconforming. I also think that there is less attention paid to people who identify as such but are also Latinx. As discussed before, when assignments and discussions in courses do not reflect everyone in the community, folks may feel left out, much like they already feel outside of academic spaces.  

How do you think that academia needs to change and reform? What solutions do you see working?

There needs to be a conscious and intentional effort, especially in WGS courses, to move away from having white heteronormative feminism be the core and fundamentals of our studies. Why are courses on women of color feminism offered as electives while white feminism dominates the core courses? Speaking from my experiences, Latinxs in academia are still treated as minorities. The reality is that when it comes to our numbers and history in the U.S. we are not a minority. Much of academia ignores this reality. Especially with the anti-immigrant rhetoric going around in presidential candidate debates and media, there needs to be a better understanding of U.S. history, beginning with the fact that the idea of the “New World” is a myth because civilizations already existed all over the Americas. The ugly history of U.S. imperialism and genocide needs to exposed and taught starting in elementary school education.

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“Defining Machismo, No Es Siempre Lo Mismo”: Latino Sexual Minorities’ Machoflexible  Identities in Higher Education

by Abráham E. Peña-Talamantes

Peña-Talamantes approaches the multifaceted concept of machismo through the stories of seven gay Latinos on a college campus. He credits the ability to create a version of their own masculine identities to  “the students’ individual definitions of machismo, their reconstructions of a fluid masculinity spectrum, and finally their understanding of social acceptable masculine performances that enchance their identities as amen and downplay their sexual orientations,” (166).  Peña-Talamantes believes that this separation from other gay men and superiority to women showcase the production of heteronormativity. 

Machismo is introduced was a form of hyper masculinity in Mexico and Latin America. Males embodying “dominant, aggressive, unemotional and by assumption, heterosexual” qualities are recognized as macho (166). Peña-Talamantes focuses how gay Latino men in higher education use and define machismo. Gay men can still be machos, those who penetrate are perceived heterosexual, while those receive are homosexual. There is a culture of gay men who distance themselves from he effeminate in order retain manhood. 

Peña-Talamantes goes through explaining the way in which he recruited his seven participants. The participants all recalled being told to be macho from a young age. That this was a hyper masculine identity that was to be met. All of their different stories came back support the idea of being dominant and strong. This idea carried over in seeing the way that  they waned to be perceived even in gay couplings. Maricon was seen as the opposite of Macho, and this dichotomy was widely accepted. 

Peña-Talamantes also talks about the these men developed “machoflexible” identities. One of the examples is having a deep voice that would indicate that they were “real men” all the while being gay. This masculine performance encompassed voice, appearance, and the way the moved through the world. The point was to establish they were real men, not like other gay men. 

What I liked about this Peña-Talamantes’ work was that he explores the ways in which Machismo is more complex than what mainstream feminism understands. He really examining how machismo works in a queer space, affecting men. Showing these complexity that is queer machismo shows that Latinx feminism encompasses more than just what Latina women need and want. Critique of the work would be limited to how Peña-Talamantes had such few participants from limited Latinx cultures, but this something he address in his conclusion. 

I think something that I question would how would machismo affect gender non conforming or trans people of Latinx cultures and communities. How does someone moving in such spaces deal with cultural dominance of one gender? I think that this is something that could be brought forth if more Latinx Trans/Gender nonconforming people shared their stories, or if we looked for those stories more.

Peña-Talamantes, Abráham E. ""Defining Machismo, No Es Siempre Lo Mismo": Latino Sexual Minorities' Machoflexible Identities in Higher Education." Culture, Society and Masculinities 5.2 (2013): 166-78. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

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Ambivalent Sisterhood: Latina Feminism and Women's Studies

by Margaret Villanueva

Villanueva opens her essay with the idea that women and Latina feminism and Women’s Studies have not always been intertwined. She tells the story of how she came to from the University of California - Santa Cruz, where bell hooks, Chela Sandoval and Gloria Anzaldua all pushed intersectional discussions, to Northern Illinois University, a place that made barely began to see women of color in their faculty and lumped lumen Latino and Latin American Studies. The hostile environment on campus decreased over the years, but the faculty remained small and course were not comprehensive. 

Describing Women’s Studies as a field that, “Supports institutional efforts to diversify the university curriculum by contributing to faculty workshops hat aim o inject a ‘multicultural’ understanding of race/ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality and physical abledness into curricular and pedagogical practice”, Villanueva notes the low enrollment of Latinas in Women’s Studies and increased enrollment of Latinas in with a focus on Latinx writers/international women’s issues (51). She links this with lack of interest in feminism, mostly due to misconceptions of the movement, and alienation if they do enroll in Women Studies. The alienation is caused by exclusion from the curriculum.  The exclusion in academia comes from outside social problems. Introducing Barbara Smith’s ideas that “all women are white, and all blacks are men,” she talks about the push from Latina and Chicana scholars to move Latina Scholarship out of the margins. Instead, there has been a few featured writings placed in curriculums, and the rest ignored. 

Villanueva’s essay focuses on “critiques of mainstream feminism and established Women’s Studies programs,” (52). She does this through a brief history of Latina criticism and a “brief Literature review on the status of women’s studies in higher education” (52). 

A major problem in the field is that Latina/Chicana scholars are not being recognized by their male counterparts. In addition, faculty answers the call for inclusion with token gestures that do not solve the problem, and at times can even lash out against students because they feel accused of racism. Faculty who do extend help are seen as wasting their time. However, Villanueva argues that not doing anything would be allowing others to say that the changes have already been made. Villanueva pushes for ore than just inclusion of Latina / Chicana / WOC in academia, but allowing our Women’s Studies programs to be reshaped. Seeing this going beyond local critiques of mainstream feminism, she cites several writers who believe that western feminism contracts Women’s Studies programs with erasure, denial, invisibility and tokenism. 

As with much of the research done for this blog, I felt a true sense of identity while reading Villanueva’s essay. I most enjoyed the notion that she pushes through out the essay that Women’s Studies programs need to be reshaped not just include Latina / Chicana / WOC writers and film makers. This essay pushed again the idea of Latinx feminists facing not only troubles relating to mainstream feminism and academia, but also feeling pressure from their cultural communities. When diving into issues of race between white men and white women vs white men and Latinas there is an emphasis on seduction and rejection, Latinas experiencing the latter. The importance of these interactions is that it shapes the oppression that women feel, driving different feminisms. One moment that really stuck out to me was when Vlllanueva writes, “Latinas had no need to unravel the economic and political forces that kept white middle-class women confounded to the home” (59). This related back to the idea of the Feminine Mystique because although I would it inspirational to be told that I can do whatever I want to do, I knew the reality was women of my culture have been outside of the home for as long as I can tell. Our struggle is in being able to leave the workplace and improve on ourselves. 

I found it difficult to disagree with anything in this essay, but I did however have many questions at the end. I loved that Villanueva although talking about Latina/Chicana feminism in academia does shout the other groups of women marginalized by race. However I find it hard that women’s sexuality and gender are not mentioned here because those are also factors in the marginalization of women. A context heavy essay may be too small of a project to bring in even more issue, but I think that the conversation is incomplete without it.

Villanueva, Margaret. "Ambivalent Sisterhood: Latina Feminism and Women's Studies." JSTOR 21.3 (1999): 49-76. Print.

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10 THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T SAY TO A LATINA FEMINIST

The web source I picked does from the online magazine Latina, and can be read here.

Raquel Reichard writes a witty and compelling list of ten things not to say to a Latina feminist. The list goes as follows, translation in italics:

"I get so happy when I see Latinas embracing feminism."

"Los hombres Latinos sufren discriminación también." Latino men also suffer from discrimination. 

"You being so angry all the time only feeds into the 'feisty Latina' stereotype, so you’re actually hurting us, not moving us forward."

"Aren’t you a feminista? Why are you listening/watching/reading this?"

"So how did you escape the machismo Latino culture?"

"Pero eres tan bonita." But you’re so pretty.

"You just need some good d*ck, mami. I can take care of that." 

"Shhhh. Don’t say that. La feminista is here."

"The situation for women here is better than they are in [insert Latin American/Caribbean country here]. You should be grateful."

"I LOVE Gloria Anzaldúa and Sandra Cisneros."

The list is give a detailed response to each of the comments, witty all the while educated and delievering hard truths. Reichard fights notions that Latinas are now adapting the feminism created by other women, aka white women. She points out the ideals have been present for a long time, the word is just new. Even then points to film to show the presence of U.S. Latinas in feminist movements, “I’m not ‘embracing’ feminism; I am a part of feminism.” To the men who accuse her, and other Latinas, of turning their backs on male struggles she responds with inclusion in her fight, but questions if they do the same. And questions three and four, she taunts the stupidity, all the while giving an explanation to media literacy of problematic media.

Question five exemplifies the ways in which white feminist other Latina feminist often are othered in feminist spaces. Reichard points out the hypocrisy in painting the struggles of Latina women as alien to white women when U.S. feminist struggle with patriarchal issues. Six, seven, and eight receive short answers, mostly likely due to thier ignorant nature; assumptions that Latina feminists are ugly, need to be fixed with sex, and should be shamed for their beliefs.

The last two questions are ones that touch on two very important subjects, the shame from within the Latinx community for “complaining” about life in the U.S. and the exclusion of Latinx feminist writing in academia. To the critiques of U.S. based Latinx feminism, Reichard responds this that her feminism is trsnsational, intersectional, and struggles aboard do come into play, but they do not make her struggles invalid. She responds to comment of appreciation for Anzaldúa and Sandra Cisneros with a simple question, “Then why aren’t they on your syllabi?” 

Reading though the list was definitely bittersweet. Reading through both the questions and responses made it obvious to me that the alienation from both white feminist and Latinx culture is unifying for Latinx Feminist. I felt Reichard really hit the nail on the head with her list. She clearly demonstrates the tensions between white feminists with questions one, three, five, and ten. Outsiders looking in on the problems of the poor Latinxs, being so proud of them for being able to break away from their sexist community, all the while policing the way they practice their feminism is all too familiar. The inability of mainstream feminism to understand struggles of latinx feminists creates barriers for the a more widespread understand and intersectional analysis of the world we live in. Questions 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were powerful moves because they show how Latinx feminist feel scrutiny in their communities. The lack of understanding from a older generation who try to tell you that you have nothing to worry your pretty little head about here in America, the way that our men push against our growth in sexists way, and the feelings of betrayal from our communities, all of which takes a huge toll. 

Through out the reading I began to wonder if the machista culture was what actively pushes against unity if latinx people. I often see Latina women step in the defend our latino brothers, question five pushes against making the fault of latino men be seen as savages in comparison to white men, but where is that unity when Latina women are trying to climb out of oppression? 

Reichard, Raquel. "10 Things You Shouldn't Say to a Latina Feminist." Latina.com. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

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How does mainstream feminism marginalize Latinxs?

Current social movements that drape themselves with the cover of “feminism” continue to marginalize many groups, amongst these people are Latinxs. The wording in itself focuses on the idea that not only are Latina women left on the side, but also our men. In painting our men as machistas, mainstream feminism perpetuate the stigmas that continue to close doors to a better tomorrow. This topic is near to my heart because of the ways in which I feel that my feminism struggles with the notions about my people and culture. 

image source: @mujeresdemaiz on instagram