Debra Blake: Chicana Sexuality and Gender Quote

Two quotes about La Llorona, who represents self-defense, strength, and resistance, stood out from Debra Blake's, Chicana Sexuality and Gender: Cultural Refiguring in Literature, Oral History and Art:

La Llorona is known as the ‘weeping woman’ and is a known figure among the working-class, semiprofessional, and professional intellectual women. She was not modeled after an existing woman like La Malinche, but was derived from legends over time. Her figure was mostly used as a scare tactic to discipline or play with children, her character can be compared to the ‘boogey man’. But the concept of La Llorna evolves with age, & the deeper story comes clearer as to why she is scary. She was a sad woman who drowned her children and was often talked about at schoolyards, this can be compared to Bloody Mary and the game associated with it. “The ambiguity of the danger also is couched in vague terms about nighttime darkness, which again suggests the use of La Llorona as a sexual disciplining mechanism for girls.” (146) While horror and sex mix, the legend is very sexist which is most likely why La Llorona is viewed differently in modern societies. But some women may relate to the weeping woman, “Several of the women’s self-representations contain Llorona moments, such as profound sorrow when they have been abandoned and abused or rage arising from incidents of danger or injustice.” (154) This has been observed as a coping mechanism for some women, relating with La Llorona.