Brainstorm Week 10 - Sarah Yang

One of the most important aspects of feministas in the borderlands is the community that is built around them. Only through relationships, friendships, and connections can change really begin. Finding not only other people who have been through similar situations or experienced the same struggles but also individuals who create art and music and celebrate the same culture and values is uplifting and necessary. Through this strong community, feministas are able to spread their message of love and strength even farther and include more communities. Furthermore, inclusion has been a mainstay of the Chicana and feminista movement, with them being relatively quick to include other groups of color such as the black and Asian communities, as well as the queer community. 

The Ovarian Psycos are a group of women who have created an organization in East LA, California, that brings together strong women who not only ride their bikes together, but support each other and spread messages of empowerment to their greater community. The documentary Ovarian Psycos follows their journey into the making of the group and shares some of the stories of the women. Founder Xela de la X says that they “are just that safe space for each other, to bring comfort, to bring a sense of family” (3:02). “The Ovarian Psycos are drawing upon do-it-yourself, kind of riot girl tradition, and then they are also co-opting gang culture, they are co-opting cultural signs and signals, and reworking them to be a form of empowerment” (31:20).

One great example of feministas taking resilience practices and using them to uplift future generations is the organization Chicas Rockeras. Chicas Rockeras is a non-profit girl rock group led by women that has a goal of “encouraging self-esteem and self-empowerment in young girls through a medium of music” (Wolfe). From the Chicas Rockeras podcast, these women want to teach these young girls that they can and should work with other women to accomplish goals. They find it “exciting to watch girls find their voice and their power”, and want to encourage them by celebrating their mistakes and letting them be loud and messy (2:27). Both of these organizations are using resilience practices, biking and creating music, to create comfort for themselves and their current community, as well as guiding the future communities in the right direction.