Week 10: Reflection

I have learned so much from this class that I do not even know where to begin. Taking myself back to when I first read the course info and enrolled into this course, I did not think we would be looking at queer artists or artists that were not Mexican or Mexican/American. 

Unfortunately, there is lack of acknowledgement for queer folk across the board. This is something I have had the privilege to overlook because I am a gender abiding women that also does pretty well in regards to society's beauty standards. I have to admit this class has caused me to acknowledge so many things. Including the roles of women around me and what roles I have begun or will begin to take on in my life. 

I really have discovered so many queer Chicanx artists. Some with the lived experience of the Chicano movement, the Gay liberation movement, and the Women's liberation movement, amongst other things. One piece that really stood out to me was the artist who created the image of a boy in a quince dress because he was depicting the experience of not only having to come out as an illegal immigrant, but also as being gay. Learning about experiences like this make me concerned about the prejudice and mental health of others. Making me question if I could have been a better support close friends of mine in the past. And I think I could have, in particularly in my teen years. 

Heterosexual privilege does not only mean legal rights. It includes psychological privileges. It includes not having to worry about coming out to my friends and family and the possible consequences that may ensue from them knowing. I am also not labeled and therefore harmful assumptions are not made about me. The list goes on and I am grateful for this realization because I feel like I can really contribute to making this world a better place because homophobia needs to be eradicated. Homophobia is trying to restrict our communication with a significant portion of the population and it affects everyone for many reasons. It enforces rigid gender-based roles that are oftentimes harmful. Also, because of it, we have not all received the gifts offered to us by the queer community such as the beautiful art we have looked at this quarter. 

Yo Existo / I Exist

Color silkscreen print by Julio Salgado, self portrait with wings holding the words "jotería", "migrante", "migrant", "queerness", "amor", "familia", "unidad", "paz", "love", "family", "unity", "peace".

Chicano Studies Poster Collection, Ethnic Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley

2013