“We are robbed of our female being by the masculine plural. Language is a male discourse”.
I am going to preface this post by stating some crucial facts: I am a white woman. Though I am still a woman and also a woman who identifies as queer, both of these facts which connect me to Anzaldua, I am still a white woman. Therefore, I cannot connect fully to Anzaldua’s perspective as a Chicana woman.
I connect to the quote above as a woman who understands a small part of the French language. The French language also completely revolves around the man in the room. Quite literally, as even if the room is ninety-nine percent female, if there is one male in the vicinity the pronouns regarding the entirely of the group are masculine.
Unfortunately, this is also from a completely Eurocentric perspective. This chapter is dedicated entirely to the study of different languages that are encompassed in the Hispanic, more specifically the Mexican-American experience, particularly in the 1980s when her book was published. She writes full sentences in Spanish with the full intention to make non-Spanish-speaking readers identify with the confusion of someone not allowing you to understand what they are saying. This shows that despite the depth of oppression that Anzaldua has experienced, she is still deeply proud of her identity and culture.
Anzaldúa, Gloria, et al. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." Borderlands =: La Frontera, Capitán Swing, 1987, Accessed 7 Mar. 2018.
