Chicana Feminist Movement In The 1960's

Chicana feminism grew into a movement within the Chicano community in the 1960’s. Many progressive movements were in action such as the free speech movement, Black power movement, Asian American movement, and Anglo-American feminist movements. Despite the Chicano community already experiencing discrimination against their race and ethnicity, women in the Chicano community experienced gender discrimination within the Chicano community. There were different roles established between men and women. Women were perceived to be submissive, passive and controlled under the command of the Chicano man. Their roles typically consisted of being home and being the caregiver for the family. This created a state of isolation the outside community for the

women. Many women did not agree with this idea and decided to take action and fight for their equal rights. There were rebellious arguments against the politics and social norms that were restrictive upon Chicana women.
The Chicana feminist movement was considered the second wave of feminism.

The race was a factor in the new wave of feminism, especially Chicana feminism because the government was racially against Chicanos and in return, the government received political backlash against Anglo influences. This triggered struggles to maintain family ties while having the pressure of racial and cultural assimilation. Benita Roth argues that the Chicana feminists awareness of “white feminism—and to a lesser extent of Black feminism—helped Chicanas formulate their feminism by culturally specific ideas about women and men in Chicano activist culture” (p 158–59). Roth points out that "most feminists in the 1960s and 1970s were white because most people in the United States were white". This does not signify that other feminists movement such as the Chicana feminist movement abrupted from the white feminist movement. The Chicana women were “facing ostracism from the very community they were part of. Chicana feminists developed a body of discourse drawing a rigid boundary between Chicana and Anglo feminists” (Dicochea 83). The difference in the race through social class was a key factor that triggered the second wave of feminist movement. The theory of Chicana feminism only resulting from the racism of the white population is not accurate and undermines the power of women or color such as Chicanas. Chicana feminism sprouts from the recognition and awareness of the gender inequality through the

racially discriminated Chicano community.
Chicana feminists challenged patriarchy and attacked different gender practices.

However, not all Chicana feminists fought for the same exact reasons, and with the same goals. The goals of various feminists varied depending on personal, political or social beliefs. Chicana feminists goals and focuses were distinct in four different ways. Chicana liberal feminism, Chicana insurgent feminism, Chicana cultural nationalist feminism and Chicana transnational feminism are all different forms of feminism that work towards different beliefs and ideologies. The Chicana liberal feminism idea consists of improving the role of the Chicana within the Chicano community. To improve the role of Chicanas, the feminists believe in having access to social institutions and employment by using political strategies. The political policies help “improve the community through education, employment, health care services, and political involvement” (Garcia 301). Chicana insurgent feminism believes in revolutionary change for the women in the community. This ideology is more radical and less compromising with the struggles of "racial discrimination, patriarchy, and class exploitation" (Garcia 302). The combination of these factors is “cumulative effects of oppression” (Garcia 302) towards Chicanas. Chicana cultural nationalist feminism preserves the Chicano cultural values while having a change in gender relations. The Chicano movement slogan was “La Gran Familia De La Raza” which signified that all

Chicanos are members of the same family throughout the movement. Although women were advocating for gender equality and feminists beliefs, this ideology “overlooks the possibility that these cultural traditions often uphold patriarchy” (Garcia 302). Since patriarchy was often part of the Chicano cultural tradition, there was difficulty in finding the balance of gender relations while trying to preserve the Chicano culture. Transnational feminism is an ideology that is practiced across borders and focuses on the lived experience of understandings of women’s continued struggles across borders and nations to create and raise awareness. The idea of transnational feminism was first “promoted during the 1920s after Mexico’s Revolution. Mexicanas engaged in a political practice that transcended borders and forged alliances between women from Mexico and women and men from Texas and other parts of the globe. They and other like-minded women used the language of compañerismo to promote the idea of women and women workers as equal to men, and not as second- class citizens, nor simply loyal compañeras to their men” (Hernandez 108). The women on the two sides of the border both held like minded ideas when it came to the perseverance of the gender rights and equality. Scholars such as Gloria Anzaldua believed that the second wave of feminism consisted of women of color and different races found ways to “resist, negotiate, contest, and ultimately survive and thrive” (Hernandez 109). The women who fought for equal labor rights did not all consider themselves advocates for feminism, but rather just thought of themselves as individuals who suffered from the labor struggles and are willing to advocate as companeras.
Although Chicana women had different views and aspects of the oppression in the community, the problem of gender inequality was evident in the community, and all feminists made that clear. Chicana feminism was “born out of acts of disruption, especially in the Chicano movement, to create spaces of resistance to patriarchy in general and patriarchy in their ethnic/racial groups” (Hurtado 135). When working with different progressive movements going on the Chicano community, they argued for women’s issues, ethnicity and race, and sexuality issues. An example is when working with different white feminist organizations, they would argue against racial discrimination that occurred within the Chicano community caused by Anglo-Americans. Chicana feminists advocated for material conditions and for “the ‘basics’ required for human existence, such as adequate jobs, decent wages, good working conditions, child care, health care, and public safety” (Hurtado 139). While the role of the typical Chicana was a mother and a caregiver in their home, a Chicana woman also wanted to be included in the larger community.
“La Malinche” was a key figure in the conquest of the Americas. Chicanas feminists compared to La Malinche as pivotal figures in their feminism conquest and journey. La Malinche did not have the best connotation to the Chicana feminists. In the past, “La Malinche, a woman, is the ultimate traitor of Mexico. La Malinche supposedly facilitated the Spanish and the different Mixteca tribes” (Hurtado, 140). She eventually became known as the tongue because of her translations. She eventually converted to Catholicism. The military men “did not feel that Malinche was worthy of marriage because she was the ‘other, the inferior, disdained female” (Hurtado 140). Being that Malinche was able to serve as a traitor made her an inferior figure to men. Despite the community calling this a negative connotation, it is a revolutionizing icon that proves that women have the agency to stand up to men. The concept of Machismo does not relate to masculinity, but rather pride in being Chicano. The machismo that men kept their culture sacred to themselves and their machismo “may result from the necessity to have and express a Chicano cultural and national identity” (Lambers). Besides having “La Malinche” as one of the role models in the Chicana feminist movement, the Virgin Mary became a “role model for Chicana womanhood: she is the mother, the nurturer, she has endured pain and sorrow, she is willing to serve” (Hurtado 141). This idea is known as Marianismo. Chicanas were expected to follow the values of Marianismo to better her family. Some Chicana feminists refuse to question the value of “the dedication that many women have for their families- and many men’s commitment to upholding their side of the bargain by hard work in the agricultural fields, brutal work in factories, and low-paid, unskilled labor” (Hurtado 141). Since the men were committing such courageous acts for their families on a daily basis, Some Chicana feminists found it difficult to challenge the patriarchy just like many other women are skeptical in joining feminists cause due to fear of community betrayal. In another point of view, the radical Chicana feminists were referred to as “Malinchistas” because they played the role of a “traitor” by being a feminist in their communities. Marianismo and opening Catholic underpinnings of all Chicano culture” (Hurtado 141). Malinchismo has two different connotations. One idea is considered a rebel who is willing to stand up for her beliefs and taking the consequences, but with the other idea, the woman values the Chicana roles in the community and is complacent with her rights as a woman in the community. Chicano men called the Chicana feminist “anti-family, anti-cultural, anti-man and therefore anti-Chicano movement” just because of the attack of “unequal gender practices but questioning the Catholic underpinnings of all Chicano culture” (Hurtado 141).
Chicana feminism movements occurred on college campuses. The Chicano movements took place in schools and community organizations. Young students in the 1960’s and 1970’s confronted the progressive movements more than the earlier and older activists did. The students considered the cultural nationalist approach to advocating for Chicanismo overall. Organizations such as the “United Mexican American Students (UMAS), most of which later changed their names to Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán” (Roth 715) formed as a result of the growing numbers of the Chicana/o students on the campus. In these movements in the era “women were crucial to the day-to-day running of Chicano movement organizations” (Roth 715). The male activists in the Chicano organizations advocated for public roles in the community to only be led by men Meanwhile private “behind the scenes” work done by the women. It was considered an idea to “preserve the Chicano culture and movement comradeship” (Roth 716). Chicana feminists experienced silencing in public meetings. This realization of being silenced and men taking on public leadership roles in the organizations led to a feminist aspect and participation in the movement within community organizations and in schools. Autonomous women’s groups and organizations were created to counter any masculinity issues within the organizations. This action received “critique of movement gender roles despite considerable backlash from those opposed to their organizing” (Roth 716). Loyalists were anti-feminists within the Chicano movement. They claimed that the Chicana feminists were just Americanized and considered feminism “as something alien to the Chicano community, a charge seemingly bolstered by the simultaneous eruption of feminist organizing” (Roth 716).
Despite the backlash that the Chicana feminists received, they still considered themselves part of the Chicano movement and remained “adamant about the need to work together with men to achieve liberation” (Roth 717). Chicana feminists reassured the Chicano community that their goals and objectives were “in line” with the Chicano movement values while still working towards improving the status of the Chicana women.