Las Adelitas

The term Soldadera is derived from the word, soldada, which was utilized to define the payment that was given to those who looked after the soldiers. During the Mexican Revolutionary war, there were two types of women present in the frontlines, one were Las Adelitas, who a romanticized image of those involved in the revolution. The image was altered to highlight women’s sexuality and hid the assertive traits that sought to destroy gendered stereotypes that were placed upon women by omitting her place in the Revolutionary war by placing emphasize in their appearance. In the image (Figure 1), La Adelita is oozing sex appeal by having her breast being the focal part of the picture and by kneeling, she appears to be accepting her submissive and docile role in society. …show more content…
The Adelita glorified oppressive cultural norms that created the notion that women are supposed to be submissive to males, where they were reimaged as promiscuous women (prostitutes) who were disrupting society due to their inability to control their sexuality. Soldaderas, were women who joined the Revolution by becoming soldiers and gained their emancipation by conquering the limitations that were placed upon them based on their gender by trading in brooms for artilleries (Figure 3). They shed the docile image that was placed upon women at the time and strapped on their bandoliers and picked up rifles, which at the time caused a great commotion because the idea of women picking up weapons was a radical