Alicia Gaspar : CARA

Gender politics have always and still is very tricky in society. Women are often undermined and not represented as they should in society, especially women of color. It is important to touch on topics like inclusion and gender equity in society, and especially in artistic spaces. To be specific, what is inclusion? Inclusion is an all-embracing societal ideology where individuals are treated and united regarding what race, gender, sexuality, etc. one is.

In specific, Alicia Gaspar de Alba's critique of the CARA exhibition she explains the  acts of exclusion and patriarchy within the Chicanx community. For example, El Movimiento, was a civil rights movement extending the Mexican-American civil rights movement of the 1960s. The overall goal of El Movimiento was to provide and establish Mexican American empowerment. Unfortunately, civil rights movements still focused predominantly on men and not women. However, Las Mujeres was an extremely important factor in Chicana liberation. They challenged sexist and stereotypical notions. Although there were activist fighting for Chicana’s there’s always negative connotations such as Adelitas and Malinches. Chicana’s who adopted activism, female liberation, gender oppression, etc were looked down upon during the Chicano movement due to notions of patriarchy. For example, women who fought for their rights were looked at as men haters and “whores” by the dominant society. To conclude, women who fought for their rights were looked down upon, however they never gave up because they knew their worth in society, and they knew how important their art was. Chicana’s made it a point to share their experiences with the world.