Chicana Sexuality and Gender by Debra Blake

In section 2 (Chapters 2 and 3) Blake views Chicana Feminisms as grounded in ancestral knowledge and spirituality as a vehicle to guide Chicanas toward liberation. The author sites Allen Gunn in stating that Chicanas utilize spirituality not as a nostalgic thing but rather as a continuity of who they are as Indigenous peoples (84). Furthermore, Blake’s references author Luce Irigaray in saying, “Divinity is what we need to become free, autonomous, sovereign”, where she is referring to women being that divine energy (85). Chicanas find this divine energy in the Mexica Goddesses, such as Coyolxauhqui, who Cherrie Moraga refigures as a “savior” as opposed to her dominant “misogynist” descriptors of being an “evil” (95). In viewing Coyolxauhqui as a savior, women can began identifying with her power as someone who according to Moraga, aimed to “save the culture from [the] misogyny, war, and greed” (95). Furthermore, Blake shares that Moraga viewed the things they tried to oppress in women as the keys to liberation, thus sexuality is tied to regaining power. This process of reclaiming a story that was taken from you is also seen in Chapter 3 where Anzaldua takes back her sexuality by calling on other Mexica Goddesses.