Response: Mahyar Naghshvar's post on Laura Aguilar

I am interested in Mahyar Naghshvar's observation that Laura Aguilar's work contains universal themes that even transcend Aguilar's chosen identifiers as a Chicana/Lesbian. One of the first things was reminded of when I first saw Aguilar's work was of the earliest and longest periods of human history: hunter-gather societies. Hunter-gather societies were marked by low-to-no class stratification, equal distribution of labor and goods, an abundance of creativity, and, of course, an inseparable connection to the natural world. Sometimes, when I'm considering the complexity and inequalities we face in our societies today, I think about this social system from which all our ancestors came, and how different that world was from the one we live in now.

I agree with Mahyar that when I look at Aguilar's work, I see the healing can occur when we reconnect to nature, and I agree that it is so important to love our bodies for the sake of mental health. That love can be hard to find in the societies where things so intrinsic to ourselves--in the case of Aguilar, her race, body shape, sexuality, and mental health--can be the sources of prejudice, stigma, and hardship. Nature can teach us the absurdity of such judgments and boundaries being placed on our bodies and minds. I think Mahyar raises an excellent point that the subject matter and emotive power of Aguilar's work has the power to permeate not the just the Chican@ community--but all communities. I think there is a deep message of healing that resonates from Aguilar's work that we should all be listening to.