Beyond Indifference and Antipathy The Chicana Movement .docx

Beyond Indifference and Antipathy:
The Chicana Movement
and Chicana Feminist Discourse
Deiiise A. Segura aiid Beatriz M . Pesquera*
Chic,in,i fenainlsni means working toward the liberation ot
C hicamis from the indifference uf the Women’s Movemrnt,
ttic antipathy among Chicanos’Latinos, and the fulfillment
of their o w n dreanis and capacities.
Faculty memher, agc 49
Feminism as an ideology and a movement has developed in
response to women’s need to overturn their historical sub-
ordination to men. By and large, the public discourse on
feminism has been demarcated by white feminist scholars.
Increasingly, women of Color,’ both heterosexual and lesbian,
are challenging the relevance of American feminism and the
American Women’s Movement of the 1960s and 1970s for evad-
ing varying, often competing interests among women.* They
posit instead a unique feminism grounded in their experiences
as women and as members of oppressed minority groups and
classes.
In this article we explore the form and content of feminist dis-
course among a selected group of Chicanas3 in higher educa-
tion. We argue that their articulations of feminism reveals
tension between Chicano cultural nationalism and American
feminism. The ideology of Chicano cultural nationalism advo-
cates racialiethnic unity against Anglo American domination

and idealizes traditional MexicadChicano culture.* Feminism,
* A u t h o r s n a m e s are listed r c > n d o n > l y . W e t h
a n k Linda Facio, Sarah Fenstermaker,
Adaljiya Sosa-Riddell, l u d i t l i Stacey, a n d t h e a n o n y
m o u s reviewers o f Aztltiii
for their helpful c o m m e n t s on earlicr d r a f t s of this
article. We a r e responsiblc for
a n y errors o r inconsistencies.
j ’ 1992 by Denise A. Segura a n d fleatri/ M . I’tvxpera
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 69
in the broadest sense, calls for female unity against patriarchy
(a system of male domination and female subordination)
in traditional cultural patterns. Each perspective is skewed in
favor of racelethnicity or gender. Neither addresses the unique
situation of Chicanas whose life chances mirror the intersec-
tion of class, racelethnicity, and gender. Chicana feminism
reverberates with the dialectical tension between their lives and
the ideological configurations that dichotomize their experi-
ences and exploit their political loyalties.
We begin our analysis by examining Chicanas’ perspectives
of the American Women’s Movement and the Chicano Move-
ment of the late 1960s and early 1970s. This sets the stage for
our analysis of the rise of the Chicana Movement and contem-
porary Chicana feminist discourse among a selected group
of 101 Chicanas in higher education. This study elucidates
the social context of Chicana feminism while contributing
new evidence on the diverse expressions of feminism in the

United States.
The American Women‘s Movement and Chicanas
The contemporary American Women’s Movement emerged
during the 1960s and evolved into two major branches-the
”women’s rights” branch and the “women’s liberation” or
“left” b r a n ~ h . ~ The women’s rights branch concentrated
on
programs that would integrate women into the mainstream of
American society.6 The women’s liberation branch, in contrast,
called for a radical restructuring of society that would eliminate
patriarchy, the system of male control and domination of
w ~ m e n . ~ Although both branches of the Women’s
Movement
advocated on behalf of women, the issues of women of Color
were often overlooked.8
The Chicana Movement developed during the late 1960s.
Organizationally, it shared some of the characteristics of the
”left” or women’s liberation branch of the Women’s Move-
ment. Chicanas formed caucuses within Chicano Movement
organizations, started various groups to advocate a feminist
agenda, began consciousness-raising groups, and organized
70 AZTLAN
conferences on la inujer [women]. Within the Women’s Move-
ment these activities often led to a separatist politic. When
Chicanas engaged in these activities, however, they did not
always articulate a separatist ideology or organizational
strategy. When women formed Chicana organizations, they
justified their actions under the rubric of the Chicano Move-
ment. They insisted they were not ”separate” but simply
more focused on issues of la mujer thereby strengthening the

Movement.
This stance makes sense if we consider that Chicanas’ polit-
ical consciousness is grounded in a fundamentally different
reality than that of white feminists. Conquered in 1848, eco-
nomically and culturally subordinated to Anglo American
domination, Chicanas and Chicanos share a collective identity.
Because of the historical racialiethnic antagonisms between
Anglos and Chicanos, Chicanas often feel a closer affinity to
their Chicano brothers than their feminist sisters. At the same
time, Chicanas share a physical, cultural, and material vulner-
ability to the dicta of men.
While Chicana activists recognized their gender-based
oppression, they usually rejected the ideology of separatism
and tried to find ways of integrating their concerns within
Chicano Movement organization^.^ These attempts were usu-
ally resisted by Chicano male activists, and to a lesser degree
by some women. Therefore, Chicana activists committed to
integrating gender into the raceiclass politic organized separate
groups that responded to their needs as women and as mem-
bers of an historically exploited racialiethnic group and class.
Caught between the ideological pull of racelclass unity and
their subordination within the male-dominated Chicano left,
Chicana activists articulated the seemingly contradictory posi-
tion of advocating unity while forming separate organizations.
Ideologically Chicanas adopted a ”united front” stance. Ade-
laida del Castillo, editor of E n c u m f r o Femenil, a Chicana
feminist
journal, voiced this perspective in 1974:
We‘re not a separatist movement, that would be sui-
cidal. We as Chicanas and Chicanos are oppressed. We’re
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 71

not going to ally ourselves to white feminists who are
part of the oppressor. I mean, that would be a contradic-
tion. It also hurts when Chicano men don't recognize the
need for this specialization which is called "Chicana
Feminism ."lo
Del Castillo rejected the politics of advancement advocated
by the Women's Movement as a reform that would not change
the social reproduction of inequality based on raceiethnicity,
class, and gender. This perspective predominated among
Chicanas of the late 1960s and early 1970s."
Cultural Nationalism and Chicanas
Chicanas' critique of American feminism and the Women's
Movement took shape during the heyday of Chicano cultural
nationalism.12 Ideologically, this perspective identified the
primary source of Chicano oppression in the colonial domina-
tion of Mexican Americans following the annexation of North-
ern Mexico by the United States after the U.S.-Mexico War of
1846-48.13 As part of the process of colonial domination, Chi-
canos had limited access to education, employment, and polit-
ical participation. Thus, raceiethnicity rather than individual
merit defined the life chances of Mexican Americans. Cultural
differences between Anglos and Mexicans became the ideolog-
ical basis that legitimized the unequal treatment and status
of Mexicans in the United States.14 In the Anglo American
ideology, Mexicans were viewed as intellectually and cultur-
ally inferior.
Cultural nationalist ideology countered this pejorative per-
spective by celebrating the cuItural heritage of Mexico in par-
ticular, indigenous roots, la fanzilia, and political insurgency.I5
Politically, cultural nationalism called for self-determination

including the maintenance of Mexican cultural patterns, cul-
turally relevant education, and community control of social
institutions.16 The term "Chicano" arose as the symbolic
representation of self-determination." I t conveys a commit-
ment to struggle politically for the betterment of the Chicano
community. Cultural nationalism became modified during the
72 AZTLAN
1970s to incorporate a class analysis.1s A n analysis of gender
as a base of oppression was and continues to be subsumed in
the "larger" struggle against race or class-based d ~ m i n a t i o
n . ' ~
Cultural nationalism idealized certain patterns associated
with Mexican culture (e.g., Spanish-English bilingualism, com-
munalism, familism). Chicano Movement groups often orga-
nized around the ideal of la fainilia. Any critique of unequal
gender relations within the structure of the family was dis-
couraged. Chicanas who deviated from a nationalist political
stance were subjected to many negative sanctions including
being labeled vendidas (sell-outs), or uyabuchadas (white
identi-
fied). Once labeled thus, they became subject to marginaliza-
tion within Chicano Movement organizations. Martha Cotera
points out that even the label "feminista" was a social control
mechanism:
We didn't say we were feminists. It was the men who said
that. They said, "Aha! Ferninista!" a n d that was a good
reason for not listening to some of the most active women
in the community.20
The severity of these sanctions rendered feminism an anathema

to be avoided at almost any cost.
The ideological hegemony of cultural nationalism was exem-
plified in the first official position taken by the Chicana Cau-
cus at the 1969 National Chicano Youth Conference in Denver,
Colorado: "the Chicana woman does not want to be liber-
ated."*l This official statement belies the heated debate on
gender oppression voiced by Chicana feminists that day.22
While this debate was dropped from the official record, it acted
as a catalyst to spur women to militant action to challenge the
hegemonic sway of cultural nationalism.
Chicana writings and organizational activities of this period
resounded with frustration over patriarchy in the Chicano
Movement. Chicanas formed such groups as Hijas de Cuauh-
temoc and founded alternative publications including Eiicrrcizt
ru
Feiizenil and Rcgcizeracidiz. For their organizations and
publica-
tions, Chicanas adopted names rooted in Mexican revolution-
ary heritage. Hijas d e Cuauhtemoc, a feminist organization
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 73
founded in 1910 in Mexico City, opposed the dictatorship of
Porfirio D i a ~ . * ~ Xegeneracidn was the official journal of
the Par-
tido Liberal Mexicano, a progressive Mexican political party.24
These quintessential images of revolutionary struggle provided
Chicanas with a means to frame their local agendas within a
larger critique of race, class, and gender domination.
Chicanas sought various ways to reconcile their critique of
male domination within the Chicano community to the Chi-

cano Movement agenda. Numerous conferences o n la nzujer
reverberated with tension between cultural nationalism and
feminism-and whether or not a union between these ideolo-
gies was possible.
At the 1971 Conferencia de Mujeres por la Raza, in Houston,
Texas, an ideological debate on “Chicana liberation” split par-
ticipants into two opposing camps: ”loyalists” and ”femin-
ists.” Loyalists viewed Chicanas who called themselves
feminists as allies of a middle-class Women’s Movement who
advocated individualistic upward mobility rather than strug-
gle against racelclass domination. Feminists, in contrast,
argued that the struggle against male domination was central
to the overall Chicanalo Movement for l i b e r a t i ~ n . ~ ~
Anna Nieto-
Gomez, a prolific Chicana feminist writer of the late 1960s and
early 1970s, articulates this position:
What is a Chicana feminist? I am a Chicana feminist. I
make that statement very proudly, although there is a lot
of intimidation in our community and in the society in
general against people who define themselves as Chicana
feminists. It sounds like a contradictory statement, a
Malinche statement-if you are a Chicana you’re on one
side, if you’re a feminist, you must be on the other side.
They say you can’t stand on both sides-which is a bunch
of
At the Houston conference, participants engaged in a hostile
debate on reproductive rights. Loyalists argued that reproduc-
tive rights including birth control and abortions threatened la
familia. They accused women who failed to support this posi-
tion of betraying Chicano culture and heritage. Feminists, in
74 AZTLAN

turn, declared: ”Our Culture Hell!” and sought to demystify
the romanticization of Chicano culture which justified Chi-
canas’ subordinate position by advocating a feminist agenda.27
Alma Garcia argues that the loyalist position continues to
influence Chicanas’ political consciousness.28 It organizes
oppression hierarchically, she claims, assigning primacy to the
struggle against race, ethnicity and class domination. Within
this formulation, feminism is nonrelevant and divisive to the
”greater” Chicano struggle.
Early Chicana feminism viewed oppression as the simul-
taneous product of race, class, and gender subordination.
Chicana feminists expressed a high level of frustration with
both the Chicano Movement and the Women’s Movement.
They argued that freedom from raceiclass oppression would
not eliminate sexual oppression. Similarly, freedom from sex-
ual oppression would not eliminate oppression on the basis of
racelethnicity and class.
The extent to which Chicana feminists have adhered to
American feminist ideologies is uncertain.29 To gain insight
into
this issue we explore the views of a group of Chicanas in higher
education. Based on their written responses to a mail survey,
we discuss how the historical concerns of the Chicana/o com-
munity and feminism inform contemporary Chicana feminist
discourse among these women. Specifically, we analyze the
relationships among the Chicano Movement, the American
Women’s Movement, and the emergence of Chicana femin-
ism. We end with a typology of the emergence of Chicana
feminism.
The Women of MALCS
In 1988 we mailed a questionnaire to women on the mailing list

of MALCS (Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social), an
organization of ChicanaiLatina women in higher education.
The organization’s charter and activities demonstrate familiar-
ity with Chicana concerns, a feminist orientation, and sensi-
tivity to cultural concerns.
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 75
MALCS was founded in 1983 by Chicana faculty and gradu-
ate students as a support and advocacy group and a forum for
sharing research interests. The founding declaration of MALCS
states:
We are the daughters of Chicano working class families
involved in higher education. We were raised in labor
camps a n d urban barrios, where sharing our resources
was the basis of survival. . . . O u r history is the story
of w o r k i n g people-their s t r u g g l e s , c o m m i t m e n
t s ,
strengths, a n d the problems they faced. . . . We are par-
ticularly concerned with the conditions women face at
work, in a n d out of the home. We continue our mothers’
struggle for social a n d economic justice.3o
Drawing upon a tradition of struggle, MALCS members docu-
ment, analyze, and interpret the ChicanaiLatina experience in
the United States.
A total of 178 questionnaires were mailed; 101 were com-
pleted and returned for a response rate of 57 percent. The ques-
tionnaire asked women to discuss their perceptions of the
major features of the contemporary American Women’s Move-
ment, the major concerns of Chicanas today, and the extent to
which the Women‘s Movement and feminist theory have

addressed the needs of Chicana women. The questionnaire
also contained a series of closed-ended questions about the
respondents’ familiarity with writings on the Women’s Move-
ment, their involvement with ”feminist” and ”women’s”
activities, and their socioeconomic status.
Nearly all who replied were associated with institutions of
higher learning as faculty members (38.6 percent), graduate
students (25.7 percent), undergraduate students (8.9 percent),
or professional staff (8.9 percent). Eleven women were em-
ployed outside a university setting, and seven provided no
information on their employment or education.
The women’s ages ranged from 22 to 65 years, with a median
age of 35 years and a mean age o f 38.1 years, This age dis-
tribution means that a majority of the women were college-
76 AZTLAN
age (17-22) during the height of the Women's Movement
(1967-76). Moreover, most of the women had activist back-
grounds. Over three-fourths (78.2 percent) of the informants
either belonged to or had previously been involved in women's
organizations. Women overwhelmingly (83.2 percent) self-
identified as "Chicana feminist."
Nearly three-fourths of the women said they were either
uery familiar or somezulzat f m i i l i a r with literature on the
Ameri-
can Women's Movement. Over half also indicated they were
either v e r y familiar or snmrzcihaf familiar with feminist
theoreti-
cal writings.31

This group of Chicanas does not represent all women of
Mexican descent in the United States. They are academicians
or highly educated women who inform the public discourse on
feminism and women's issues. Moreover, as educated Chica-
nas they constitute one end of the continuum that forms the
Chicana experience. Their perceptions, therefore, offer an
excellent way to build knowledge on Chicanas and American
feminism.
The Chicana Movement
Slightly over one-half of the women posit the existence of
a Chicana Movement that is qualitatively distinct from the
American Women's Movement and the Chicano Movement
through a praxis based on the multifaceted dimension of
Chicanas' experiences. That is, the Chicana Movement exposes
class, raceiethnic and cultural contradictions that distinguish
the Chicana Movement from the Women's Movement. For
example:
The Chicana Movement was a separatist movement
which emerged out of the contradictions Chicanas found
in white women's organizations a n d groups in practice
and theory. It added the dimension of race and class. This
movement was also largely working-class inspired while
the WM /Women's Movement] was largely middle class.
Graduate student, age 30
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 77
This perception, widely held among the informants and
grounded in the relevant literature, argues that Women’s
Movement activists are predominantly middle-class white
women who do not appreciate the nature of working-class and

racialiethnic oppression.
Some of the women emphasized that the Chicana Movement
emerged in response to racism within the American Women’s
Movement:
It has become clear that racism which has inhibited white
women from sharing power with women of color has led
to a distinct Chicana movement, however, weak.
Graduate student, no age given
Chicanas also described the Chicana Movement as grounded
in the unique cultural heritage of the ChicanoiMexicano peo-
ple. They argued, moreover, that Chicanas are members of a
colonized minority group with a cultural standard distinct
from that of the white majority. Proponents of this viewpoint
charged that white feminists are largely insensitive to Chicano
culture and thereby exclude Chicana concerns from the
Women’s Movement.
When asked to describe the Chicana Movement vis-a-vis the
Chicano Movement, women overwhelmingly proclaimed the
Chicana Movement parted company with the Chicano Move-
ment by challenging patriarchy. They attribute the political dis-
sent that led to the development of a distinct Chicana feminist
movement to the patriarchal relations within the Chicano
Movement, the Chicano community, and the family:
The contemporary Chicana movement has its origins in
the Chicano Movement and arose as a collective response
to the riiachisrtio which surfaced among our compaiieros
to make menudo [tripe soup] while men talked strategy.
In fact, I believe that one of the factors which precipitated
the decline of the Chicano Movement was machismo.

Faculty member, age 33
Despite Chicanas’ antagonism toward male domination within
78 AZTLAN
the Chicano Movement they still identify with the collective
Chicano struggle:
Chicanos y [and] Chicanas share many of the same
dreams and I feel that the Chicana movement has a
greater affinity with the Chicano movement than with
the Women’s Movement.
Tension between Chicanas’ need for racialiethnic solidarity
and their struggle for gender equality reverberates throughout
the responses. Women who advocate a feminist agenda report
being asked to prove their loyalty to la cuusa [the cause] by
agreeing to defer the struggle against gender oppression until
raciallethnic domination is abolished. This “loyalty test” stems
from the nationalist character of the Chicano Movement which
identified racelethnicity as the ”primary contradiction” thereby
producing an antagonistic climate for Chicana feminists. Within
the Chicano Movement, labels were often used as mechanisms
of social control to discredit Chicanas who articulated a
feminist
political agenda:
Overall the Chicano movement was great! But too many
men (Chicano) became uptight when Chicanas began
asking for and later demanding equality within the move-
ment. Many of us were labeled as agabachadas [white-

identified] or worse. Chicanas were seen more as a hin-
drance or decoration than as equal participants.
While all informants deplored sexism in the Chicano Move-
ment, some acquiesced to a “we need to stay within the fold”
perspective to maintain unity within the Movement:
It [Chicana Movement] has been distinct from the Chi-
cano Movement because they did not deal with women’s
issues or even family issues. We could not split the move-
ment-we had to sacrifice ourselves for the movement.
Graduate student, no age given
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 79
The informants explained the development of a Chicana Move-
ment as irrevocably bound to Chicano cultural nationalism.
This sentiment harkens back to the politic of the late 1960s and
early 1970s wherein gender concerns were subsumed under the
”larger struggle” against raceiclass oppression.
The perception of the MALCS survey respondents regard-
ing the unique quality of the Chicana Movement in relation
to the American Women’s Movement and the Chicano Move-
ment mirrors the sentiments of Chicana activists of the late
1960s and early 1970s. Like Chicana feminists of that period,
MALCS survey informants reaffirmed that class, raceiethnic-
ity and cultural differences distinguish the Chicana Move-
ment from the American Women’s Movement. The women
argue that patriarchal relations within the Chicano Movement
served as the primary catalyst for the emergence of a Chicana

Movement.
Forty women who responded to the survey did not believe
that a unique Chicana Movement exists. They indicated that
although Chicanas shared social and political interests separate
from other women and Chicano men, they had not coalesced
on these issues either ideologically or organizationally. Instead,
they claim Chicanas’ struggle for equality is waged within
small, dispersed groups.
Chicana Feminism
Nearly all of the informants ( 8 3 . 2 percent) self-identified as
Chicana feminists while seventeen eschew this label. Sixty-four
discussed the meaning of Chicana feminism.32
Based on content analysis of the responses, three internally
coherent and distinct voices emerged which depict different
facets of Chicana feminism. To create a typology of Chicana
feminism, we established three categories: Chicana Liberal
Fcm-
iiiisrii (n = 28), Chicana I r z s u r p z t Feriziizisriz ( n = 23),
and Cultural
Nafiorzalist Fenziizisrn ( n = 13). Each category expresses a
collec-
tivist orientation and is grounded in the material condition of
the Chicanaio people. Women in each category articulate a
commitment to improve the socioeconomic condition of Chi-
80 AZTLAN
canas. Key differences emerge, however, with respect to the
interpretation of social inequality and the preferred strategies
to resist and redress Chicana subordination. Our typology cap-
tures a sense of the tension among liberal reformist, revolution-

ary, and nationalistic ideological positions.
Chicana liberal feminism centers on women’s desire to
enhance the well-being of the Chicano community, with a spe-
cial emphasis on improving the status of women. Undergradu-
ate students and staff were the most likely to articulate these
views (80 percent). Almost one-third of Chicana faculty and
graduate students also favored a liberal-reformist tradition
(28.6 percent and 30 percent, respectively). Chicana empow-
erment-economic, social, and cultural-is a key theme in this
category.
Chicana [feminism means] living my personal a n d pro-
fessional life in line with certain principles: equality,
shared power, mutually reinforcing a n d empowering
relationships among women and with men (when that is
possible).
Women described several strategies to empower Chicanas
ranging from a personal approach (e.g., “support” other Chi-
canas) to a social reformist stance (e.g., ”develop policy to meet
Chicanas’ needs”).
Only when we are able to improve our socio-economic
level will we be able to determine policy in this country
and gain access to the upper echelons of decision-making
processes. We can’t wait for THEM [her emphasis] (males
or white females) to liberate us-no o n e will adequately
address our issues except u s .
In general, respondents argued that Chicanas’ lack of power
emanates from at least two systems of stratification (raceieth-

nicity and gender) which are intertwined and which must be
addressed simultaneously. They believe, however, that Chi-
cana subordination can be redressed through institutional
VOLUME 19, N O . 2 81
reforms that improve Chicanas’ access to education, employ-
ment, and opportunity. They emphasize bringing Chicanas
into the political and social mainstream.
[The] term ”Chicana” in itself represents a certain degree
of feminism. She strives to understand the political,
social, and economic state her people are in and actively
seeks to make changes that will advance her raza [people].
Women in this category advocate change within a liberal
tradition similar to that of the women’s rights branch of the
American Women’s Movement. This perspective reaffirms
Chicanas’ desires to develop a personal awareness of women’s
needs within the context of the social and economic situation
of the Chicano community-at-large. Although critical of the low
socioeconomic conditions of the Chicano people, the Chicana
Liberal Feminist perspective adopts a political strategy that
falls
short of the more radical critique articulated by Chicanas who
form the category identified as Insurgent Feminism.
Chicana Insurgent Feminism draws on a tradition of radical
thought and political insurgency. Slightly over half of the
graduate students (52.2 percent) and 42.9 percent of Chicana
faculty expressed views consistent with these traditions.
Women in this category were also slightly younger (33.1 years)

than the average.
Chicana Insurgent Feminism emphasizes how Chicana
inequality results from three interrelated forms of stratification
-race/ethnicity, class, and gender:
Chicana feminism means the struggle to obtain self-deter-
mination for all Chicanas, in particular that Chicanas can
choose their own life course without contending with the
pressure of racism, sexism and poverty. It means work-
ing to overcome oppression, institutional and individual.
Chicana feminism is much more than the slogan: ”the
personal is political”; i t represents a collective effort
for dignity and respect.
82 AZTLAN
This perspective locates the source of Chicana oppression
within the cultural expressions and social institutions of a hier-
archically stratified society. Reminiscent of Chicano cultural
nationalism, the informant cited above calls for Chicana self-
determination which encompasses a struggle against both per-
sonal and institutional manifestations of racial discrimination,
patriarchy, and class exploitation. She expands the “personal
is political” position of the American Women’s Movement
beyond the individual woman to embrace the community of
Chicana women, and the Chicano community-at-large. This
informant did not call for revolutionary change, but it is
implicit
within her formulation of Chicana self-determination.
The intensity of Chicanas’ articulations of insurgent feminism

varies. Some call for revolutionary change to end all forms of
oppression:
I believe that the impact of sexism, racism and elitism,
when combined result in more intensely exploitive,
oppressive and controlling situations than when these
conditions exist independently of one another. The status
and quality of life of the Chicano community as a whole
can only improveichange when that of women within
that community changesiimproves. Any revolutionary
change must include a change in relationships between
men and women.
This woman argues that the cumulative effects of oppression
are particularly pronounced for Chicanas. Like the previous
informant, she connects the liberation of Chicanas to the overall
struggle of the Chicano community. Her words, however,
impart a more strident and uncompromising exposition of
feminism which ties the liberation of the Chicano community
to the struggle against patriarchy. Politically, she espouses a
radical praxis advocating revolutionary change.
Other respondents extend insurgent feminism to include a
critique of homophobia and solidarity with other oppressed
peoples:
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 83
It means that I am active and critical with respect to polit-
ical, social and cultural manifestations of sexism, racism,
Hispanophobia, heterosexism, and class oppression,
and committed to working with others to create a more

just society. It also means that I am moved by a sense
of ethnic solidarity with Chicano, Mexican a n d other
Latino people.
This woman views political activism as a critical component of
Chicana feminism. Like the other informants, she deplores the
social subordination of Chicanas by race, class and gender. She
and a small but vocal group of women call for the recognition
of oppression on the basis of sexual orientation within Chicana
feminism. This is one dimension of the Chicana experience has
not been systematically incorporated into the agenda for Chi-
cana liberation.
Chicana Insurgent Feminism advances what one woman
referred to as ”oppositional discourse” which challenges ana-
lytic frameworks that dichotomize the multiple sources of
Chicana oppression while positing alternative frameworks
grounded in their concrete experiences. Those in this category
argue for theoretical-intellectual work that is not reactive but
created from a Chicana-centered position taking into account
the multiple sources of Chicana subjectivity. This includes an
internal critique of ChicanoiMexicano culture to revitalize and
empower the community. The more strident voices within
Chicana Insurgent Feminism may reflect, in part, greater in-
volvement with the feminist groups and higher levels of polit-
ical activism within these groups vis-a-vis Chicana Liberal
feminists or Chicana Nationalist feminists. For example, three-
fourths of Chicanas in this category report either past or present
membership in feminist groups compared with 61 percent of
Liberal feminists and 54 percent of Nationalist feminists. When
we presented respondents with six types of political activities
(march, demonstration, sit-in, letter writing campaign, confer-
ence, and other), those women in the Chicana lnsurgent
Feminism category reported the highest levels of participation

in the various activities (2.4 on the average).??
84 AZTLAN
In general, Chicana Insurgent Feminism engages in a critique
that calls for the radical restructuring of society. Chicanas voice
commitment to developing alternative theories, empowerment
through political insurgency, and social action to realize
Chicana self-determination.
Finally, Cultural Nationalist Feminism includes a small group
of women who identify as feminists but who are committed to
a cultural nationalist ideology that emphasizes maintaining
traditional cultural values. According to this view, a Chicana
feminist politic must uphold ChicanoiMexicano culture:
I want for myself a n d for other women the opportunities
to grow and develop in any area I choose. I want to d o this
while upholding the values (cultural, moral) that come
from my being a part of the great family of Chicanos.
Reminiscent of the notion popularized within the Chicano
Movement (that all Chicanos are members of the same family-
la gran fainilia de la ruzu), Chicana Cultural Nationalist
Feminism
articulates a feminist vision within the ideological rubric of
la furniliu and advocates struggle for justice and gender equal-
ity while adhering to Chicano cultural traditions, forms and
ideologies:
It involves the recognition that we must continue the
struggle for women’s rights a n d responsibilities within

a cultural context.
Chicana Cultural Nationalist Feminism overlooks the possi-
bility that ChicanoiMexicano cultural traditions often uphold
patriarchy. Caught between the need to reverse the historical
subordination of Chicanas without challenging the patriarchal
underpinnings of a cultural nationalist politic, Chicana nation-
alist feminists rarely articulate concrete strategies to realize
their dual goals. Instead, they offer brief philosophical state-
ments that reaffirm cultural values. This speaks to the diffi-
culty of reconciling a critique of gender relations within the
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 85
Chicano community while calling for the preservation of Chi-
cano culture.
Conclusion
The Chicana Movement and Chicana feminist discourse
emerged from the dialectical relationship between the ideology
and politics of the Chicano Movement and the American
Women‘s Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They
developed from Chicanas’ desires to move beyond what they
perceived as indifference to their raciallethnic, cultural and
class interests on the part of the American Women’s Movement
and the feminisms it advocated. They also felt compelled to
counter the antipathy of the Chicano Movement toward a cri-
tique of gender relations and patriarchy in the Chicano com-
munity. Chicanas argued for an alternative discourse-one that
would integrate the eradication of patriarchy in the Chicano
community within a struggle against racelclass domination.

Despite their criticism of American feminism, study infor-
mants overwhelmingly self-identified as Chicana feminists.
However, the fact that more women identified as Chicana fem-
inists ( n = 84) than affirmed the existence of a distinct
Chicana
Movement (n = 54) suggests that the two phenomena are re-
lated to one another but are not mutually dependent. Infor-
mants may not be aware of sustained organizational activities
that embrace a Chicana feminist political agenda. Or, women
may interpret the meaning of a distinct Chicana movement in
different ways. That is, women recognize the existence of small
dispersed groups that advocate for Chicana rights but d o not
believe this constitutes a distinct Chicana Movement. Con-
versely, other women interpret Chicana feminist activities as
comprising a distinct Chicana Movement.
Based on informants‘ descriptions of Chicana feminism we
developed the following typology: Chicana Liberal Feminism,
Chicana Insurgent Feminism, and Chicana Cultural Nationalist
Feminism. Chicana Liberal Feminism centers on the conviction
that Chicanas’ life chances can be improved by modifying the
86 AZTLAN
existing structures of opportunity through both personal and
political efforts. Chicana Insurgent Feminism vociferously cri-
tiques inequality by racelethnicity, class, gender and sexual
orientation and calls for a sustained political struggle to restruc-
ture society. Cultural Nationalist Feminism conveys the sen-
timent that women’s interests must be expressed within a
cultural maintenance framework.
Our discussion of the various perspectives of Chicana femi-
nist voices poses critical questions for the future of Chicana

feminism. While a concern with redressing the historical con-
dition of Chicanas cuts across all three categories, the groups
vary with respect to the centrality of gender oppression, the cri-
tique of Chicano culture, and the preferred political form of
struggle. One question that comes to mind is whether or not
differences among the perspectives portend a prominent role
for ideological struggles in the future development of Chicana
feminism. The relatively small number of Chicanas adopting
a cultural nationalist ideology attests to its general decline in
the Chicanalo community. The inherent contradictions within
Chicana Nationalist Feminism and the lack of coherent politi-
cal strategies make it unlikely that the sentiments articulated
within this perspective will play a major role in the future of
Chicana feminism.
O n the other hand, future political agendas and preferred
strategies may divide along liberal-reformist and more revolu-
tionary lines. Women in both categories espoused distinct per-
spectives and strategies to realize Chicana liberation. Chicana
Liberal Feminism accepts the premise that the life chances of
Chicanas can be enhanced through programs aimed at incor-
porating them into all facets of existing social institutions while
fostering changes through established political processes.
Although women in this category advocate gender and race
equality, they are not as likely to emphasize the struggle against
all forms of patriarchy as women in the Chicana Insurgent
Feminism category. Chicana Insurgent Feminism provides the
most sweeping analysis of domination based on class, race/
ethnicity, and sexlgender. Those who fall into this category
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 87
question the value of social integration by offering a vision of
society that requires a revolutionary transformation, placing

gender liberation a s a prerequisite to human liberation.
Another possibility is unity based on a commitment to
Chicana liberation within the context of the overall liberation
of the Chicanaio people. This goal could attenuate political
differences and lead to a common praxis to redress class, race1
ethnic, and gender oppression. Our analysis points to the via-
bility of this scenario inasmuch a s Chicana feminist discourse
across all three categories affirms the significance of the
Chicana
struggle to the social and political struggles of the Chicanoi
Mexican0 population.
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Davis
88 AZTLAN
1. Several ethnic labels are used in this article. First, people of
Color refers to
ChicanosiMexican Americans, Puerto liicans, Native
Americans, Asian Americans,
and African Americans, all of whom are native or colonized
minorities (see A. Hur-
tado, ”Relating to Privilege: Seduction and Rejection in the
Subordination of White
Women and Women of Color,” SiCyris: /orirrial of Worricvr i r
i Cirltirw r ~ r i i f Soc.ic?~/ 14,
4 (1989):833. We find Hurtado’s capitalization of the word,
“Color,” appropriate

since it refers to specific raciallethnic minority groups. Second,
”women” of Color
refers to women within each raciallethnic minority group.
2. B. Thornton Dill, “IZace, Class, and Gender: Prospects for a
n All-Inclusive
Sisterhood,” Fcwiiriisf Strrifics 9 (1983): 131- 150; M. Raca
Zinn, L. Weber Cannon,
E . Higginbotham, a n d B . Thornton Dill, “The Costs of
Exclusionary Practices in
Women’s Studies,” Si,prs: Ioirriial of W O J I I P I I i r i
Clrlfiire m i d Stnirt!j 11 (1986):29O-
303; Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, a n d Barbara Smith, All
Mni Arc Black, All Worricri
Arc Wliite, h i t S O ~ J I P of U s A r e B ~ L ~ Z J P (Old
Westbury: Feminist Press, 1982); N. Alar-
cdn, ”Chicanas‘ Feminist Literature: A Revision Through
Malintzinior Malintzin:
Putting Flesh Back o n the Object,” in Cherrie Moraga and
Gloria Anzaldua, e d s . ,
7 h i s Bridge Callcd My Back: Writirigs 1y Rnrlicnl W O J J
W I I of Color (Watertown: Perse-
phone, 1981); A. E. Quintana, “Chicana Motifs: Challenge and
Counter-Chal-
lenge,” in Iriti~rsc~ct~~rris: S h r r f i r s iri EtJrriicity,
Grwfcr, nrrrf Irriv~i~allity, (Pullman:
Washington State University Press, 1988), 197-217.
3. In social science literature, “Chicana” and “Chicano”
typically refer respec-

tively to women and men of Mexican descent residing in the
United States. See
M. Tienda, “The Mexican American Population,” in A.H.
Hawley and S.M. Marie,
eds., Nori-Mr,tro~x,/itnri Arrrt~ritn ~ J I Trnrr~Itiori, (Chapel
Hill: University of North Caro-
lina Press, 1981), 502-548. “Chicano” is also a broad term that
includes both males
a n d females who claim Mexican hcritage (e.g., the Chicano
community). These
labels offer an alternative to the more common ethnic identifiers
“Mexican“ and
“Mexican American,” see J . A. Garcia ” ‘Yo Soy Mexicano . .
.’: Self-Identity And
Socio-Demographic Correlate S o ~ i n l Sc&ric-c~ Q u i i r t i
~ l ! / 62 (March 1981):88-98.
These labels were popularized during the Chicano Movement t o
afiix a political
orientation that affirmed the need t o struggle ‘igainst the
historical oppression of
people of Mexican descent in the United States to an ethnic
identifier. See Rodolfo
Acuna, Ocixpictl A~iic’ri~n: A History of Chic-nrios, 2d e d . ,
(New York: Harper and
R o w , 1981) and A. G u t i 6 n w and H. klirsch, “The
Militant Challenge to the Ameri-
can Ethos: ’Chicanos’ and ‘Mexican Americans,’ “ S o c i i I

Sii~ric-i. Qirnrk~rl,t/ 53 (March
1973):830-845. See also F. I’enalosa, ”Toward an Operational
Definition of the Mcx-
ican American,” Aztldri: C/iic.nrro /oirrrid o f f l r c Soc%d
Scicric-cs i i r i d tl7c Arts 1 (1970): I -
12. In recent years (post-1980s). the political dimension within
the terms “Chicana”
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 89
and ”Chicano” has declined even as usage of the label
”Hispanic” has grown.
To maintain the integrity of the political and ethnic
identification of this study’s
informants, we refer to the original political meaning of both
“Chicana” and
“Chicano.”
4 . Acutia, Occupied America; C. Mutioz, and M. Barrera, “La
Raza Unida Party
and the Chicano Student Movement in California,” Social
Scirrrce ]orrriia/ 19 (April
1982):101-119.
5. This section summarizes the emergence of the “second wave”
of the Ameri-
can Women’s Movement that relates to our analysis of the
emergence of the
Chicana Movement and Chicana feminist discourse. For a more

complete treat-
ment of the Women’s Movement, see Judith Hole and Ellen
Levine, eds., Rebirth
o f Fe~rriiiisiri (New York: Quadrangle Books, 1971) and J .
Freeman, ”The Women’s
Liberation Movement: Its Origins, Structure, Activities, and
Ideas,” in Jo Freeman,
ed., Worrrcn, a Ferriiiirst P e r s p e c t i w , 3d e d . (Palo
Alto: Mayfield Publishing Co.,
1984) : 543-556.
6 . Freeman, Wonreri; Alison M. Jagger, Fe~rri~iisf Politics
arid H ~ r r ~ ~ a r r Naturc,
(Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Allanheld, 1983).
arid Getirfer 2d e d . (New York: Macmillan Co., 1988);
Jagger, Ferniriist Politrcs.
7. Margaret L. Andersen, Tliirikiii~ About Wori~err, S o c i r ~
l o ~ r c a l Perspectizm o n Sex
8. Angela Y . Davis, Wornen, Racrar?d Class (New York:
Vintage Books, 1981); Bell
Hooks, Ferrririist T/reor,~/: From Margin to Ccritcv (Boston:
South End Press, 1984)
and Bell Hooks, Ain’t I a Womarr: BIuck Worncrr r ~ r d F ~ ~
r i r i r r i s ~ r ~ (Boston: South End
Press, 1981); Gloria Hull, Bell Scott, and Smith, All Mepi A r e
Black; Moraga and
Anzaldua, This Bridge Called My B a c k .
9. C. Nieto, “Chicanas and the Women’s Rights Movements,”
Civil RiXhts Digest
4 (Spring):38-42; A. Nieto-G6mez, “La Feminista,” Eircwritro
Feriieriil 1(1974):34-

47. A. Sosa-Riddell, “Chicanas and El Movimiento,” Aztldri:
Chicario ]uirriial of t h e
Social Scicnccs aiid the A r t s , 5 (Spring/Fall):155-165.
10. Adelaida del Castillo, “La Visi6n Chicana.” Eiicircritro
Ferrierril 2(1974):
46-48, esp. 46.
11, Del Castillo, “La Visidn Chicana”; Nieto-Gdmez, ”La
Feminista”; E. Martf
1-1637, ”La Chicana,” in Tliirrf World W ~ ~ i r r ~ ~ r r , (San
Francisco: Third World Commu-
nications, 1972):130-132; Francisca Flores, “Equality,”
Regeiierucitiri 2 (1973):4-5.
12. This section, which reviews key facets of the Chicano
Movement and
Chicano cultural nationalism to contextualize the growth of
Chicana feminism, is
intended t o be useful both to Chicano studies scholars a s well
a s to readers wish-
ing to gain more understanding of the topic.
13. Acutia, Occupied America; T . Almaguer, “Toward the
Study of Chicano
Cok)nialism,” Aztluii: Chicailo ]ourriu/ o f t h e Social
Scicr~ces a n d the A r t s 2 (1971):
7-22; M. Barrera, C. mu no^, and C. Ornelas, ”The Barrio as an
Internal Colony,”
90 AZTLAN
in People atid Politics in Urban Suciefy, Urban Affairs Annual

Review, vol. 6, edited by
Harlan H . Hahn (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications,
1972):465-499; Robert
Blamer, Racial Oppression i n America, (New York: Harper
and Row, 1972).
14. Blamer, Racial Oppression; Ronald T. Takaki, Zron Cages:
Race and Culture in
Ni,ieteentii-Centii~/ America (New York: Albert A. Knopf,
1979); David Montejano,
Anglos arid Mexicans it7 the Makin‘y of Texas, 7836-1986
(Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1987).
15. Alfredo Mirande, T h e Chicano Experience: A n
Alternative Perspective (Notre
Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985); J. R. Macias,
“Nuestros Antepa-
sados y el Movimiento,” Aztlun: Cliicano ]ournal oftlie Social
Sciences and the A r k 5
(SpringiFaIl 1974):143-153.
16. A. Navarro, “The Evolution of Chicano Politics” Aztlun:
Chicano lournal of
t h e Social Sciences and t h e Arts 5 (SpringiFaD 1974):57-
84; Barrera, Muiioz, and
Ornelas, ”The Barrio”; R. Santillan, “The Politics of Cultural
Nationalism: El Par-
tido De La Raza Unida in Southern California, 1969-1978”
(Ph.D. diss., Claremont
College, 1978).
17. Chicano Coordinating Committee on Higher Education, El
Plan de Santa Bar-

bara: A Chicano Plan for Higher Education (Santa Barbara, CA:
La Causa Publications,
1969); R. Alvarez, “The Unique Psychohistorical Experience of
the Mexican Ameri-
can,’’ S ~ c i a l Science Quarterly 52 (1971):15-29.
18. T. Almaguer, “Historical Notes on Chicano Oppression: The
Dialectics of
Racial and Class Domination in North America,” Aztldn:
Chicano lournal uf the Social
Sciences and t h e A r t s 5 (Spring/Fall1974):27-56; and
Almaguer, “Class, Race and
Chicano Oppression,” Socialist Re~rolution 5 (1975); Mario
Barrera, Race and Class
ir7 the Southztlest: A T/7eoq of Racial Inequalit!! (Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame
Press, 1979).
19. M. Baca Zinn, “Mexican-American Women in the Social
Sciences,” Sip7s:
lournal of Wornen in Culture and Society 8 (1982):259-272; D.
A. Segura, ”Chicanas
and Triple Oppression in the Labor Force,” in Teresa Cordova
et al., eds., CIiicana
Voices: Intersections of Class, Race and Gender (Austin: Center
for Mexican American
Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, 1986), 47-76; A. M.
Garcia, “The
Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse, 1970-1980,”
Gender and Society
3 (June 1989):217-238.
20. Martha P. Cotera, T h e Chirana Feininisf (Austin:
Information Systems
Development, 1977). 31.

21. E. Longeaux y Vasquez, “The Mexican-American Woman,”
in Robin Mor-
gan, e d . , Sisterhood Is Po7cwrfid (New York: Vintage,
1970), 379.
22. M. Vidal, Wornen: Nezu Voice r ~ f La Raza (New York:
Pathfinder Press, 1971).
23. Anna Macias, Against All Odds (Westport: Greenwood
Press, 1982).
24. Macias, Against All O d d s .
VOLUME 19, NO. 2 91
25. Nieto-Gcimez, ”La Visicin Chicana.”
26. Nieto-Gomez, ”La Visicin Chicana,” 34-47, esp. 39.
27. F. Flores, “Conference of Mexican Women: Un Remolino,”
Xegeiieracidn 1
28. Garcia, ”The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse.”
29. Garcia, “The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse.”
30. Adeljiza Sosa Riddell, ed., Muleres Activas eti Letras
(1971):1-4.
Caiiibio Social, N o t i r i m
de M . A . L . C . S . (Davis: University of California, Davis,
Chicano Studies Program,
1983).

31. While both of these answers cannot be standardized (e.g.,
one woman‘s
sense of being “very familiar” with literature on the American
Women’s Move-
ment may differ substantially from that of another woman), we
are confident that
informants gave fairly accurate self-assessments. We base this
evaluation on a con-
tent analysis of the different ways women describe the major
agendas of the Ameri-
can Women‘s Movement and the relative ease with which they
refer to various
types of feminist theories (e.g., socialist feminism).
Accordingly, women who indi-
cated they were “very familiar” with either the American
Women’s Movement
or feminist theoretical writing gave far more detailed and
knowledgeable descrip-
tions than women who indicated they were ”slightly familiar” or
”not familiar”
with these writings.
32. Thirteen women provided nonspecific answers with no
discernable pattern
and seven women did not elaborate o n the meaning of Chicana
feminism.

33. Women who articulated liberal feminism reported an
average of 1.8 activi-
ties and Chicano Nationalist feminists reported 2.1 activities.
Between one-half and
two-thirds of Chicanas in the Insurgent Feminist category had
participated in
marches and demonstrations compared with one-third of
Nationalist feminists and
Liberal feminists.
92 AZTLAN

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