Chicanas: A Theoretical Analysis

In the 1910s, Sanger became an advocate for birth control. As the years went on, Margaret Sanger became associated with the term of birth control and even later, eugenics. In the 1920s, she gave a speech entitled “The Morality of Birth Control”. In the speech, she addressed why birth control should be legal and why women deserve

There becomes a time when one has to stand up for what they believe. Making their voices heard by many, hoping that the message is received in a positive light. Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) was a nurse, educator and a crusader for female reproductive rights. She attended White Plains Hospital as a nurse probationer. Working as a practical nurse in the woman’s ward, while working towards her registered nursing degree (Katz, n.d.). Margaret worked as a visiting nurse in the impoverished neighborhoods of New York City’s Lower East Side. After working with numerous patients that were poor, immigrant women suffering the health consequences of botched abortions and repeated pregnancies (“Margaret Sanger,” n.d.). Seeing women suffer was the catalyst which brought about her belief that the ability to limit family size was an essential component to maintaining women’s health and breaking the cycle of poverty. Therefore, Margaret redirected her attention from nursing to advocating for the use and legalization of birth control and contraceptives (Margaret Sanger,” n.d.). During this time, it was illegal to provide contraceptives information due to the Comstock Act passed by Congress in 1873. Left Margaret powerless and

Women’s civil and political rights in the second half of the twentieth century ascended with a renewed mindset of women from regions in the Americas. Chicana/o feminism arose during the second-wave of feminism, but differed from other ideologies in that they aspired to resolve internal and external conflicts that penetrated the Chicana/o community. Starting in the late 1960s, Chicana feminism developed into an idea of equality between genders and ethnic groups with a strong refusal of the traditional patriarchal roles; this caused commotion between women and men during the Chicana/o movement.

It seems as though race is not a substantial issue in the world today like it used to be. Everyone has a different background from where they come from and an ethnicity. Chicanos, Hispanics, Latinos, Mexican Americans whatever you wanna call them. They 're just people, right? Around the 1960s, many individuals in this group were faced with difficult issues throughout their lives. Whites treated these individuals with disrespect, discrimination, and viewed themselves as superior compared to the inferior chicanos. In the year 1848 Mexico lost in the Mexican American War which made them look powerless and weak to the whites, due to them winning over all of the Mexican Territory. Due to Americans winning the war, all property now belonged to them.

(1) The eight social devices were personal ideals, public opinion, law, belief, education, art, illusions, and bugaboos. There were three popular bugaboos which were first termed by Hollingworth (1916) as false ideas or beliefs held by society that were created by medical men. The first was that if pregnancy was delayed until the age of 30, it was more painful and hard. Thus prompting women to have babies at an earlier age. The second stated that women who do bear children live longer opposed to women who don’t. The third stated that a child that was raised alone was more likely to become “selfish, egotistic, and an undesirable citizen” (Hollingworth, 1916). Which propelled women to have more than one child so their child would not become any of those things. (1) These eight social devices had been used as a means to confine women to the roles of child bearer and mother by manipulating them to not aspire to anything more. When a woman went against her designated role they were considered abnormal, selfish, and were destined to encounter the wrath of God in the hereafter. (2) When this article was first published, in

The Chicano movement derives from early oppression of Mexicans. Robert Rodrigo, author of “The Origins and History of the Chicano Movement” acknowledges that, “At the end of the Mexican American war in 1848, Mexico lost half of its territory to the United States and its Mexican residents became ‘strangers in their own lands.’” In stating this fact, Rodrigo exemplifies the United States’ relations with Mexico, that, ultimately, led to their oppression. Moreover, these early relations led to social injustice for the Mexican community. Carlos Muñoz, author of The Chicano Movement: Mexican American History and the Struggle for Equality reports, “As a conquered people, beginning with the Texas-Mexico War of 1836 and the U.S. Mexico War of 1846-48, they have

Chicana women have suffered oppression, racism, sexism among other problematics. Nonetheless, they have been able to face these difficulties and fight for their rights. Two main difficulties were faced by these women, the fact of being women and the right to use their cultural heritage, specially their home language. This motivated them to get involved in social movements to fight for their rights. They had played an important role in such movements which contributed with better conditions not only for themselves but also for all Mexican Americans.

Cindy Cruz’s “Toward an epistemology of a brown body” addresses the absence of educational research regarding the “brown body” and sexual orientation of Latinx. Cruz discusses her experience as a lesbiana and not knowing there was a possibility that anyone else in her family shared her orientation. She reflects on her grandmother’s funeral and how she became aware of the “generations of queers” that surrounded her (Cruz 2001, 658). Knowledge of the brown body, Cruz claims, comes from mothers and grandmothers and from the actions of past women of color. Stories about the brown body experiences are often dismissed due to the fact that they are performed rather than explained, and the theoretical aspect of these accounts exists outside of our present reality (Cruz 2001, 659). There are many ways to view the world and the human experience, including those of the oppressed such as women of color, mestizas, and LGBTQA+. Cruz uses the writings of Chicana theorist Gloria Anzaldúa as a base for her own analyses. From Anzaldúa’s notions, Cruz concludes that mestizaje, or the consciousness of metizas, can change the way society interprets contrasting ideas of rationalism and positivism in a way that allows the mind and body to be one. Cruz then moves onto explaining how Chicana education researchers could reclaim their history and experience: (a) through recognizing the points of views of communities that actively participate in government and (b) through commitment

The argument over a woman’s right to choose over the life of an unborn baby has been a prevalent issue in America for many years. As a birth control activist, Margaret Sanger is recognized for her devotion to the pro-choice side of the debate as she has worked to provide sex education and legalize birth control. As part of her pro-choice movement, Sanger delivered a speech at the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference in March of 1925. This speech is called “The Children’s Era,” in which she explains how she wants the twentieth century to become the “century of the child.”

Up until the 1960s Anglo social scientists wrote most of the literature about the people of Mexican- descent in the United States. Their analysis of Mexican American culture and history reflected the hegemonic beliefs, values, and perceptions of their society. As outsiders, Anglo scholars were led by their own biases and viewed Mexicans as inferior, savage, unworthy and different. Because Mexican scholars had not yet begun to write about their own experiences, these stereotypes were legitimized and reproduced in the literature. However, during the mid- 1960s scholars such as Octavio Ignacio Romano, Nick Vaca, Francisco Armando Rios, and Ralph Ricatelli began to reevaluate the literature written by their predecessors. In their work they analyze

Growing up in a Hispanic community, I was exposed to the limitations of females and was taught to know my place. I recall many times in which I saw firsthand the belittlement of women. Beginning in my own home, my father expects my mother to cook, clean, and organize his belongings. As a Hispanic female, I have been surrounded by this mentality. In Latin American countries the corresponding roles of women are justified by the term machismo. It is passed down from generation to generation and is instilled from a small age. It’s the belief that males are superior to females and have dominance over them because of their roles.  It can be also be defined as the level of masculinity that defines a male. Women are expected to do the roles society

The start of the Zoot Suit Riots of the 1940s started a long awaited and very much needed civil rights movement for Mexican American people which then transitioned into the Chicano Movement. Not only did the Chicano movement pave the way for Latino men but, it also helped Latina women gain their civil rights. The Chicano movement not only civically helped Chicanos in America but it brought social awareness to the negative stereotypes of Mexican Americans. To those outside of the Chicano movement it seemed as if Chicanos had turned their backs on the country that turned them away. To Chicanos it not only embodied the fight and struggle that Mexican Americans faced but it also meant that Chicanos are here to stay. While the movement focused on

Sterilization is the removal of all microorganisms and other pathogens from an object or surface by treating it with chemicals or subjecting it to high heat or radiation. The history of sterilization was very important in the United States and reproductive rights. There were 60,000 people who were legally sterilized in the 20th century. Thus, 32 states passed eugenic compulsory laws mostly affecting people with color, disabilities, criminals, and poor people. In the 1920’s, 100 of young men and women in California were sterilized on the basis of schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression, and feeble mindfulness. However, masturbation and pregnancy outside of marriage were considered immoral.

In 1960, the first birth control pill was put on the market. This was the first time a woman’s reproductive health was in her own control. Ever since the 1900’s women have been fighting for the right to their own reproductive rights (“The Fight for Reproductive Rights”). With the upcoming presidential election the right to obtain birth control and other contraceptives for women could be jeopardized, and taken out of the control of the woman. Thus, the history of birth control, the statistics of how it affects today’s society, why women should have the ability to obtain it easily, and how if outlawed it would not only hurt women, but also the economy are all important topics in the women’s rights movement and very relevant in modern day society.

Eugenics or “good breeding” is meant to improve the human race through the gene pool using various methods. Similar to designer babies, the process could be used for good, but like Colin Tudge points out, “…although guns and bombs can be used as agents of peace, [humans] should not be overly surprised when in practice they are used to make war” (Tudge 282). Eugenics can be performed simply by regulating who and who cannot mate. It can also be done by sterilization, a procedure that permanently blocks pregnancy in a woman, which was a reality for many. The most famous account was performed by Germany, specifically the Nazis, during WWII, when 400,000 women were sterilized (Tudge 284). The list of countries does not stop there, though, Canada, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, and Sweden all allowed for sterilization. Even the United States participated by sterilizing up to 100,000 people (Tudge 284). Its participation happened between 1911 and 1970, when six states passed laws that allowed the government to do such a horrible thing. “Horrible” can be used to describe the sterilization that occurred due to the countries’ reasoning behind it. The women were not given the choice, but rather the procedure was done to those that were deemed “feebleminded.” Germany took this a step further and based sterilization on race (Tudge 284). Through sterilization, the