Brigida Briones: The Oppression Of American Identity

The American identity is part of a society that caters to the white patriarchy. Women have been perpetually overlooked, mistreated, and underepresented in almost all aspects of history, but women of color have even more so because society’s discrimination of skin color. Women have resisted this American identity by expressing their suppressed voices through the works of their writings and artwork. Over the course of history, the oppression of women in society has hindered their voices and shut down the minds of many inventors, writers, creators and other intellectuals. This pegs the question, what would the world be like if women were not subjected to silence? Many women of color have asked themselves this same question, and became dedicated to

The idea of manifest density has been held as a dominant perspective, for the idea that adventure and discovery at the expense of the Native Americans was held as a norm for American society. With Anne Plato’s perspective, some women were able to reject the popular opinion and to think against the standard American identity. Brigida Briones was a Hispanic writer who grew up in Mexican California during the 1800’s. She commented on the differences in gender roles and how “we must never forget that all the ranks of men and women were equal in the presence of the Creator” which challenges the legitimacy of gender roles in America. Although this is a radical idea in Mexican traditions, there is still an appreciation for women in the sense that they are still represented as gods and saints; however, this is an extremely radical idea in the American ideology, for the gender roles are strict and concise for men and women. With her commentary of gender roles, Briones proudly challenges the American identity. Lilac Chen’s narrative explains the life of a young Chinese slave in America forced to service American men in