Second Wave Feminism In Mexico

Feminism in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution was dominated by women who identified as white and/or mestiza heterosexuals and who were most commonly members of the middle class, and sometimes the upper class as well. The lack of diversity within the Mexican feminist community led to the marginalization of numerous groups, most notably indigenous women’s groups, called indigenous feminism, and groups for women who did not identify as heterosexual, referred to as lesbian feminism. This paper focuses on the revitalization of the feminist movement that started in the late 1960s and continued into the late 1980s and how marginalized lesbian and indigenous feminist groups used Second Wave Feminism to begin demanding recognition within the mainstream …show more content…
From the legal perspective, this was the point when the first petitions for the decriminalization of abortion were made to the Mexican parliament and congress. Within the labor movement, women began protesting the unequal, gendered conditions of agricultural work . Regarding athletics, women began to have a presence in the soccer community, starting with the first women’s championship held by Liga América and the formation of the first soccer association for women, the Mexican Association of Women’s Football (AMFF) . The recognition of women in soccer is a monumental step for women because soccer is deeply rooted within Mexican culture, and the clubs that sponsor soccer have unparalleled influence within their communities regarding social and political factors. Men would network for jobs, attend social events, and establish political interests, ranging from listening to speeches given by popular candidates to using connections at their club to run for political positions. With the mass effect that feminism was having within Mexico, marginalized feminism groups began having the opportunity to expand and gain influence with the …show more content…
Such a distinction is important because, while marginalized feminisms experienced influences from heteronormative, white feminism, they each were their own movement with individualized priorities and strategies. Lesbian feminism in Mexico began to be recognized in the late 1970s as Mexican law started to decriminalize homosexuality and as lesbians started to become more visible within Mexican culture. Its political influences, however, were evident starting in the early 1970s with the underground movement and the first Mexico City United Nations Conference on Women6. An image from the conference shows a diverse population, of both women and men of multiple ethnicities, attending the conference . Such diversity symbolizes the internationalization and power of Second Wave Feminism and its undisputable significance. A study by Adriana Oritz-Ortega and Mercedes Barquet mentions that the notion of voluntary motherhood began to take effect and created an opportunity for the normalization of sexualities beyond heterosexuality. Oritz-Ortega and Barquet continue by stating that, “Lesbian feminism proved central to the feminist notion of women’s bodily integrity as the concept of sexuality expanded to surpass heteronormativity.” The movement gained a remarkable amount of momentum so quickly