A Chicana is defined as a woman either born in Mexico or of Mexican descent. Most people would just leave it at that but a Chicana is so much more than that. Elizabeth Martinez is a feminist author who wants to change how “La Chicana” and women everywhere are treated. One of her famous works La Chicana shows the struggle Mexican-American women have endured and are currently going through. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Mexican-American women have been oppressed and how their community can make a difference to empower women. Specifically, their cultural norms, traditions and how the Mexican-American community can empower everyone in it. Elizabeth Martinez’s La Chicana is a famous piece that expresses the struggles Mexican-American
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Men are also oppressed by sexism since they are supposed to waste their time and energy fighting over women. Colonizers oppress men and therefore they oppress women to feel more in power. Martinez explains how in order for change to happen our culture has to be redefined and reexamined. Not necessarily throwing out tradition and the community’s culture all together but revaluating how femininity is seen as a weakness. Many times Mexican-American women cannot join the women’s liberation because it is heavily controlled by white, middle-class women. The white women’s movement is focused on sexism but ignores the importance of racism especially to Mexican-American women. Mexican-American women have to work with everyone in order to overcome their struggle. Mexican-American women are treated unfairly in the United States and face constant oppression. Our femininity is constantly used against us in social media, public places and in our everyday lives. For example, Mexican-American women are paid less than white men/women which shows the inequality amongst women (website). Majority of Mexican women are forced to have jobs that require little to no experience such as janitorial or retail positions. Many Mexican women are also stereotyped as being loud and constantly gossiping. But why is it when men are loud and in charge they are
Men are also oppressed by sexism since they are supposed to waste their time and energy fighting over women. Colonizers oppress men and therefore they oppress women to feel more in power. Martinez explains how in order for change to happen our culture has to be redefined and reexamined. Not necessarily throwing out tradition and the community’s culture all together but revaluating how femininity is seen as a weakness. Many times Mexican-American women cannot join the women’s liberation because it is heavily controlled by white, middle-class women. The white women’s movement is focused on sexism but ignores the importance of racism especially to Mexican-American women. Mexican-American women have to work with everyone in order to overcome their struggle. Mexican-American women are treated unfairly in the United States and face constant oppression. Our femininity is constantly used against us in social media, public places and in our everyday lives. For example, Mexican-American women are paid less than white men/women which shows the inequality amongst women (website). Majority of Mexican women are forced to have jobs that require little to no experience such as janitorial or retail positions. Many Mexican women are also stereotyped as being loud and constantly gossiping. But why is it when men are loud and in charge they are