Yolanda Loez the Chicana artist is best known for her controversial series of paintings on the Virgen de Guadalupe, where she transformed the icon, to pay homage to what Lopez calls the “ordinary women” who are vibrant and hardworking Chicanas. By confronting stereotypes about Latin Americans and challenging U.S. immigration policy Lopez represents the experiences of Mexican American women in the United States. She brings up many interesting questions through her art, which showcase her ability/willingness to challenge societal gender roles.
Lopez depicts her mother at work, in the image titled Margaret F. Stewart: Our Lady Guadalupe series, 1978. She is seated behind a sewing machine, where she is sewing a cloak. Although the mother's body is round, Lopez praises the beauty by surrounding her with the brightest mandorla. The portrait is intended to portray her mom’s beauty in terms of sacrifice and hard work, not in terms of Eurocentric beauty standards. This piece addresses my question, because patriarchy and male have placed so many expectations on women and Lopez highlights that women don’t need to be light skinned, skinny, and have straight hair to be beautiful. Through, Yolanda M. Lopez’s’ art she challenges gender roles along with the notion of what it means to be Latina, and a woman in our current society. In addition, she confronts notions of whiteness and beauty, and the patriarchy that occurs in the Catholic Church. Many of the portraits can be interpreted as honoring working class Chicanas, young and old.
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