Chicana Feminist Movement In The 1960's

Chicana feminism grew into a movement within the Chicano community in the 1960’s. Many progressive movements were in action such as the free speech movement, Black power movement, Asian American movement, and Anglo-American feminist movements. Despite the Chicano community already experiencing discrimination against their race and ethnicity, women in the Chicano community experienced gender discrimination within the Chicano community. There were different roles established between men and women. Women were perceived to be submissive, passive and controlled under the command of the Chicano man. Their roles typically consisted of being home and being the caregiver for the family. This created a state of isolation the outside community for the

The race was a factor in the new wave of feminism, especially Chicana feminism because the government was racially against Chicanos and in return, the government received political backlash against Anglo influences. This triggered struggles to maintain family ties while having the pressure of racial and cultural assimilation. Benita Roth argues that the Chicana feminists awareness of “white feminism—and to a lesser extent of Black feminism—helped Chicanas formulate their feminism by culturally specific ideas about women and men in Chicano activist culture” (p 158–59). Roth points out that "most feminists in the 1960s and 1970s were white because most people in the United States were white". This does not signify that other feminists movement such as the Chicana feminist movement abrupted from the white feminist movement. The Chicana women were “facing ostracism from the very community they were part of. Chicana feminists developed a body of discourse drawing a rigid boundary between Chicana and Anglo feminists” (Dicochea 83). The difference in the race through social class was a key factor that triggered the second wave of feminist movement. The theory of Chicana feminism only resulting from the racism of the white population is not accurate and undermines the power of women or color such as Chicanas. Chicana feminism sprouts from the recognition and awareness of the gender inequality through the

However, not all Chicana feminists fought for the same exact reasons, and with the same goals. The goals of various feminists varied depending on personal, political or social beliefs. Chicana feminists goals and focuses were distinct in four different ways. Chicana liberal feminism, Chicana insurgent feminism, Chicana cultural nationalist feminism and Chicana transnational feminism are all different forms of feminism that work towards different beliefs and ideologies. The Chicana liberal feminism idea consists of improving the role of the Chicana within the Chicano community. To improve the role of Chicanas, the feminists believe in having access to social institutions and employment by using political strategies. The political policies help “improve the community through education, employment, health care services, and political involvement” (Garcia 301). Chicana insurgent feminism believes in revolutionary change for the women in the community. This ideology is more radical and less compromising with the struggles of "racial discrimination, patriarchy, and class exploitation" (Garcia 302). The combination of these factors is “cumulative effects of oppression” (Garcia 302) towards Chicanas. Chicana cultural nationalist feminism preserves the Chicano cultural values while having a change in gender relations. The Chicano movement slogan was “La Gran Familia De La Raza” which signified that all