Alicia Gaspar de Alba: CARA

First off, I would like to emphasize what a great article by Alicia Gaspar de Alba. Professor Gaspar de Alba really made a complicated subject easy to understand, especially for someone like me who doesn’t have a background of Chicano or Art studies. Something that popped out to me in this article was when she talked about feminism (specifically, pg. 123-126), and I will tie it in to what we discussed in class. The sad part is that even when ‘representing’ Chicanos, Chicanas were still outnumbered by men, which is a clear indicator of sexism. Chicanas have to deal with being a minority, and a minority within a minority, that is, being women, plus other issues. 

The issue I have with the various definitions people apply to the word ‘feminism.’ Feminism refers to the belief of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Under feminism, there are other components that fall under that umbrella, which are used to emphasize the needs of certain groups of people or the problems they are currently facing, for example, black lives matter, the MeToo movement, LGBTQ+ movements, etc.  For me, it is a bit counterproductive to refer to “white feminism” as an actual branch of feminism, since it isn’t used as a voice for those who need it most. It is not real feminism. We need to be aware of intersectionality.

In class, a student mentioned that he doesn’t identify as feminist because he doesn’t feel it is “his space” or feel like he is “intruding” in something that doesn’t belong to him, and although I can appreciate this viewpoint as a symbol of respect, I think he is misinformed. Men hold authority and power in society more than women, their voice is needed to make a difference. Like Professor Gaspar de Alba stated in class, we can be LGBTQ+ allies, and when allies speak out, it makes a difference. You don’t have to ‘intrude’ to speak out about these issues. When a bystander stares and watches something bad happen, and doesn’t do anything about it, doesn’t that make him guilty too?