Rasquachismo is the underdog perspective seen in the Chicana and Latina community (with which it is associated). It is a form of empowerment for the lower classes. With this attitude, families tend to make old items into usable new ones, often thinking outside the box, so that they don't have to spend money on seemingly unnecessary items.
Domesticana is a strictly Chicana version of rasquachismo. Domesticanas remove themselves from the traditional, machismo ways of living, in which they are expected to fulfill traditional gender roles. They put their own lives and careers first. Domesticanas remind me of my mom. Brazilian women (especially from her generation and those before her) are expected to know how to cook, clean, take care of children, and a husband. My mom looked those gender roles in the eye and said hell no. She put her career ahead of learning how to be a master chef. She has always been her own person outside of her family.
Before this class, I didn't know there was a term for this type of lifestyle. Growing up in a lower-class family, rasquachismo was the name of the game. We bought baking pans that had fitted lids, so we didn't have to buy a separate container to carry the goods in. We used grocery store plastic bags to line bathroom trash cans with. Old jam jars were used to pack fruit for lunches, eliminating plastic waste in the process. Wine bottles were turned into vases. This was the norm for me, and I never saw it as us having less than our neighbors. I grew up thinking that we were taking the "reuse, reduce, recycle" lessons I had learned at school very seriously. I still try to buy as little as I can because I hate clutter and I like repurposing things. I don't think I will ever let go of the domesticana style of living (like my mother, I put an education ahead of homesteading), regardless of my financial status.
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