Women's Role In The Chicano Movement

The Chicano Movement fought for inclusivity, but unfortunately, the dominant traditional definition of Chicano is associated with machismo and male chauvinism which fails to recognize a Chicana. As a result, this primary characteristic of a Chicano oppressed Mexican American women and excluded them from the customary identity which gave rise to the Chicana Movement in the 1960s. This was one of the first actions that occurred in order to redefine the Chicano identity. Ironically, the Chicana feminist consciousness arose from the same constant battle for equality that was fought besides men. For example, “A lot of the women were finding themselves unfulfilled in being just relegated to this position of beast of burden” (Ruiz, 109). Women were questioning their role in the Chicano identity since it is primarily intended for men. This indicates the limitation the traditional Chicano identity had, it did not give the same justice to women when fighting for the same cause. In particular, male held the title of leadership while women held secondary status within the movement (Vargas, 325). Thus, many women in the Chicano Movement were …show more content…
The Chicano identity produced awareness of a minority population fighting for the social injustice. Furthermore, addressing the political issues that needed to be adjusted for the future Chicanos. Not only, did the Chicano identity create self-confidence to the Mexican American community, but gave them a political stand in history. Conversely, the Chicano identity neglects to identify with other Latinos and mixed races who suffer from problematic identities. Likewise, the term Chicano is problematic itself since it excludes women from the definition. Moreover, Chicano failed to acknowledge intersectionality in its definition. Nevertheless, the traditional Chicano definition needs to be re-envision for future generations who also undergo the Chicano