Embracing Your Identity: Speak for Yourself!

In, The Theoretical Subject(s) of This Bridge Called My Back and Anglo-American Feminism, Norma Alarcon describes the impact that the This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color , a collection of essays, poems, and tales, had on the feminist community. She explains that society perceives women’s epistemology as inferior to men’s knowledge. Therefore, majority feminists, white middle class women, make gender oppression their primary focus. She also states that white feminists may view women of color’s epistemologies and theories inferior to their own Western feminist theories. The Bridge's writers emphasize their differences from white middle class women as women of color. Women of color explain that majority feminists “treat race and class as secondary features in social organization”(490), fail to address inequalities between race, class, gender cause differences in experiences, fail to explain the cause of the “ways of life, values, customs, and problems of women in subordinate race and class” (490). Alarcon’s article depicts the significance of women of color’s literary and activist movements. Women of color’s political voice changes the dynamics of feminism and exposes all forms of oppression exercised by men and majority feminists.

In the article, Chicana Feminism, Anna Nietogomez expresses that she is both a Chicana and a feminist. Nietogomez addresses women’s rights to equal education, employment and benefits, and political participation. She also resents that people believe that Chicana feminists are dependent on Anglo-feminists' ideas and theories. Nietogomez explains that Chicana feminists are independent intellectuals. I believe that Nietogomez's argument regarding equal rights for women workers is very pertinent in society today. She addresses that women are not receiving equal rights through sexual discrimination and denial of paid maternity leave. For example, women professors at Spelman College are not granted paid maternity leave. I would have assumed that women professionals in academia would be granted this right. It is outrageous. Also, Spelman College prides itself for being a college that supports and uplifts women. Therefore, I feel like the administration is quite hypocritical on the maternity leave issue. Nietogomez explains the role colonization and religion has played in oppressing Chicana women. She advocates defying the marianismo role, which encourages women to be devout and docile, and become “la mujer mala” who combats colonial and patriarchal oppression (305). Nietogomez mentions that children are a community responsibility and she emphasizes the importance of the economy. While I was reading this article, I was wondering, if Nietogomez has a Marxist/socialist outlook because of her emphasis on community and the economy. I enjoyed Chicana Feminism because there was an emphasis on the Chicana women’s independent movement instead of a call for assistance by another ethnic group for Chicana women’s liberation. Nietogomez also emphasized that Chicana women want to end oppression for all groups of people. I feel like the Chicana women’s liberation is similar to the Black women’s because of the desire to free all people from oppression.