Week 2 Blog Post

Natalie Stagnone

Social Movements and culture are interwoven in the creation of the Chicano/a identity. In Chicana Power by Alice Bag, Bag addresses how Chicano men were disproportionately killed during the Vietnam War and one parade that she witnessed quickly turned violent. Although the first bottle was thrown by a bystander, the Chicano people were quickly blamed and dismissed for the violence, as was typical with the police-created characteristics of Chicano/a people (69). Last week in the article In Pursuit of Latina Liberation, Martinez explained how the term Hispanic is a western created name for Spanish speaking individuals and shows believed superiority towards those who are Spanish speaking. The historical context of Chicana is rooted in this idea with slavery, racism and violence at the forefront of the discussion. I found that the most compelling discussion in the readings was around The Chicana movement’s independence and coalition building for all minority groups. They recognized the history of their culture and the current discrimination of Chicanos and intertwined this in their art. In Chicana Power by Blackwell, Blackwell addresses how Chicana women were “bearers of tradition, culture and family” (98) and this contradicted Chicano men creating tension between the fight for justice. Despite the Chicana movement attempting to build coalitions, they struggled (and continue to struggle) with the underlying patriarch of the traditional culture, called “Machismo.” This disconnect between individuals within one movement is challenging and makes the Chicana culture even stronger.