Many social movements arose in the 1970s as challenges to the hegemonic ideologies, or the status quo of the society. However, many of these counter-hegemonic social movements failed to include minority women in their conversations because they lacked intersectionality, or the ability to provide comprehensive analysis of social issues through the inclusion of race, class, and gender. In “La Femenista”, Gomez introduces and defines sexist racism as the social and economic oppressions imposed upon the Chicanas, maintained and reinforced by the misrepresentation of the Chicana women being “passive, apolitical and illiterate” in comparison to the “politically active, educated Anglo women” (Gomez 183). Gomez further critiques the problematic approaches
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The primary goal of this social movement is to fight the Anglo oppression through the emphasis on a united familial unit and cultural identity. With the single objective in mind, the Chicano movement viewed the Chicana feminism as “irrelevant and Anglo-inspired” and completely rejected Chicana feminism from their movement for the sake of unity among the Chicano community (Gomez 184). The Chicano movement regarded sexism as a consequence of racism; this type of sentiment is reflected in Crenshaw’s analysis of domestic violence against minority women, in which she recognized the tendency of attributing gender domination “as a consequence of racial discrimination against men” (Crenshaw 100). However, sexism and racism have to stand on the same platform to fully stimulate a thorough conversation for equality and ensure that the demanded equality will benefit all community members to the same extent. In a conversation that only focuses on race and class, many issues unique to the Chicanas, such as birth control, abortion, and child care, were excluded and deemed …show more content…
This movement included gender and class, yet it excluded race. Living in a society where white supremacy was largely practiced, the Anglo-women in the feminist movement enjoyed many privileges and could neither sympathize nor empathize the unique experiences of the Chicanas. With no support from the feminist movement, the Chicana feminists faced institutional barriers preventing them from acquiring equal health care, which magnified several women’s health issues including pregnancy, birth control, and sterilization (Gomez 188). First, their financial limitations directed them to seek help in the inadequately funded health clinics. Second, the doctors in those clinics lack the cultural sensitivity and language abilities to provide sufficient and satisfactory health care for the Chicanas (Gomez 188). The Anglo feminists are culturally different from the Chicanas and could not fully comprehend the racial aspects of the sexism Chicanas faced; they would not be judged by the language that they speak whereas the Chicanas were saddled with language barriers. Due to the existence of white supremacy and the racial gap between the Anglo feminists and the Chicana feminists, the Chicana feminists struggled to include the racial component into the feminist
The primary goal of this social movement is to fight the Anglo oppression through the emphasis on a united familial unit and cultural identity. With the single objective in mind, the Chicano movement viewed the Chicana feminism as “irrelevant and Anglo-inspired” and completely rejected Chicana feminism from their movement for the sake of unity among the Chicano community (Gomez 184). The Chicano movement regarded sexism as a consequence of racism; this type of sentiment is reflected in Crenshaw’s analysis of domestic violence against minority women, in which she recognized the tendency of attributing gender domination “as a consequence of racial discrimination against men” (Crenshaw 100). However, sexism and racism have to stand on the same platform to fully stimulate a thorough conversation for equality and ensure that the demanded equality will benefit all community members to the same extent. In a conversation that only focuses on race and class, many issues unique to the Chicanas, such as birth control, abortion, and child care, were excluded and deemed …show more content…
This movement included gender and class, yet it excluded race. Living in a society where white supremacy was largely practiced, the Anglo-women in the feminist movement enjoyed many privileges and could neither sympathize nor empathize the unique experiences of the Chicanas. With no support from the feminist movement, the Chicana feminists faced institutional barriers preventing them from acquiring equal health care, which magnified several women’s health issues including pregnancy, birth control, and sterilization (Gomez 188). First, their financial limitations directed them to seek help in the inadequately funded health clinics. Second, the doctors in those clinics lack the cultural sensitivity and language abilities to provide sufficient and satisfactory health care for the Chicanas (Gomez 188). The Anglo feminists are culturally different from the Chicanas and could not fully comprehend the racial aspects of the sexism Chicanas faced; they would not be judged by the language that they speak whereas the Chicanas were saddled with language barriers. Due to the existence of white supremacy and the racial gap between the Anglo feminists and the Chicana feminists, the Chicana feminists struggled to include the racial component into the feminist