Gloria Anzaldua's Borders/La Frontera

What are borders and what do they represent? In Gloria Anzaldua’s reading Borders/La Frontera, she writes about how borders are all invisible and they exist to create separation and difference. Not only that, but she refers to an area called the “borderlands”; which is an area of “mezcla”. Mezcla is spanish for a mix, and that can refer to the people today in our society and unique areas unknown to the American or Mexican culture. Through Anzaldua’s writing she is arguing that today barrier have been created that separate society and even people close to us. Whether that border be invisible or actually there, language and sexuality are major contributors to the disconnect between human beings today.
To begin with, Anzaldua incorporates her

personal experiences growing up to display how living along the border between the US and Mexico expanded her knowledge.

You can tell she is full of pride and values her culture very much since she talks highly of it, using Spanish instead of the English translations of many sentences throughout the reading. One of the major points Anzaldua brings to our attention first, is in regards to sexuality. In the section titled Half and Half, she brings up a close neighbor that used to live near her and everyone was cautious about the kind of person he/she was. “They said that for six months she was a woman who had a vagina that bled once a month, and that for the other six months she was a man, had a penis and she peed standing up” (1019). The neighbor apparently wanted to be either gender and their sexual identity was not just one necessarily, but everyone in their culture looked at it strangely and called the person names that ruined their reputation so much they were afraid to express themselves. Anzaldua expressed her opinions strongly in regards to this situation and said, “What we are suffering from is an absolute despot duality that says we are able to be only one or the other. It claims that human nature is limited and cannot evolve into something better” (1020). Her

arguments are loud and clear due to the fact that she too is queer, with the ability to see the world from two different perspectives. Even though her culture and home may not accept it, Anzaldua wants to show that we should be proud of who we are and society needs to learn that and accept that. A barrier has been created between people of the past and the generation today. The people from the past believe in their older beliefs and things that are not correct with today’s standards. Due to this disconnect, it makes it hard for this barrier to not exist and hold new ideas from progressing. Only when they take note of this and cross the invisible border/barrier holding us back, will we evolve as a whole.
In addition to this, Anzaldua brings up an experience that occured in a New England college where she taught in regards to the sexuality topic. When we see or hear the word homophobia, we know it means the dislike or prejudice against homosexual people, but this was not this case where she was teaching. Some conservative heterosexual students looked uneasy being around lesbian instructors, so they had a meeting with them and the students believed homophobia was “the fear of going home after a residency” (1020). Anzaldua thought even though their knowledge on the term was incorrect, it still fit with what it entitled essentially. She too was afraid of going back home and not being accepted for who she truly was. This in turn, created a border mentally between her and her mother, the culture, and la raza. “Raza” is the term used that contributes to the concept of racial unification among hispanics.
The other major point the author writes about is in regards to language.

“Chicanos, after 250 years of Spanish/Anglo colonization, have developed significant differences in the Spanish we speak” (1025). Spanish has been around for many years but Anzaldua writes that there are essentially eight languages in the Chicano culture. She names standard English, working class English, standard Spanish, standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. Depending on which one someone is speaking, another Chicano can almost identify where they are from. There are little differences and significant ones one can use in their language that will self-identify them. For example, “We collapse two adjacent vowels into a single syllable and sometimes shift the stress in certain words such as maiz/maiz, cohete/ cuete” (1025). This is one distinct thing one can notice when they are speaking the Spanish language. Another thing Chicanos commonly do as well is they “shift // to y and z to s. We leave out initial syllables, saying tar for estar, toy for estoy, hora for ahora {cubanos and puertor-riquenos also leave out initial letters of some words)” (1026). These small qualities distinct someone and shows how language could affect our identity

essentially.
The difference in speaking between similar people could be the result of many factors, but the main one seems to be in regards to geography. “Due to geography, Chicanos from the Valley of South Texas were cut off linguistically from other Spanish speakers” (1025). As a result, different people use certain syllables or vowels and almost creates a barrier between everyone being alike. Anzaldua brings up the point of how we still use words from Medieval Spain when the Spaniards brought them over. As a result, our language shows just that and how difference, even though it may not be bad thing, can display where we are from. I have seen this myself when I went to visit Mexico one time. I was born in the US but have Mexican descent, so when I spoke Spanish over in Mexico they looked at me weird and even had different names for things I had known all my life. In my head, an invisible barrier sort of arose and I tried my best to break through it and make conversation with the natives.
All in all, many ideas are brought up by Gloria Anzaldua but these two regarding language and sexuality are significant and especially important today, where people’s sexual identities are changing and new ones being created. It is not like the older times where people were only heterosexual male or female, now that topic is evolving and it is time for our society to accept that. In regards to the other idea brought up of language, we should accept all kinds of speaking and not look at people differently based on the language they speak. Anzaldua's ideas are relevant to life today very much so and made me look at life differently. These abstract ideas not only changed my point of view, but also opened my eye to a whole other side of life. Being chicano, I thought I knew most things in regards to my culture, but Anzaldua quickly informed me that I was not. Her ideas and own experiences clearly showed how invisible boundaries exist between Latino and Non-Latinos, heterosexuals and homosexuals, and men and women. Some people are not able to experience the power of her writing because it has banned in some locations as a result of not wanting “resentment toward any race or class.” However, it does not seem to be appear written like that and teaches more about the world and society, rather than harming our general knowledge.