chst 1b final
rigoberto gonzales "the gay brown beret suite"
His Story: Says that his ethnic identity comes first, and his sex and sexual orientation follow, though not close behind. For example: the first thing people notice about him is that he is hispanic, the second thing they notice is that he is a man. He is a Chicano and a gay man, two politicized identities. One is shaped by a need for community, a strive to stand up to those who don't think Mexicans should be in America, a need for visibility and space, for safety and dignity. The other is shaped by a need for community, a strive to speak up to oppressive organizations, and a need for visibility and space, for safety and dignity. However, when he walks in as a gay man into his Chicano community, he is not accepted. He blames Catholic roots and a history of Machismo. When he walks into the gay community as a Chicano, he is exoticized and eroticized: the black stud, the Latin lover, the dark chocolate, etc. Young gay men grow up watching white people in porn, on the cover of magazines, and are led to believe that white is beautiful. However, he still embraces both aspects to the fullest. When he enters the Chicano space, he swells with pride about his rich history, the fact that Chicanos are children of extremely hard working people, the nationhood of a community stitched together through deeply rooted bonds, and a mutual pride and fight for acceptance. When he enters the queer space, he swells with pride at the ultimate expression of visibility and and fierceness- the forbidden language of intimacy and same-sex touch, affection, and attraction made public and beautiful. It is in this space that he learned to accept himself. Like many of the other stories, he contemplated suicide. He performs his activism through writing stories and plays. Determines that the key to fight back is survival and activism.
Daniel enrique perez "out in the field"
His story: Grew up poor, on welfare, and on a farm with his mom. He came out after his second cousin died of AIDS. He got his Ph.D, and then began to discover discrimination in the workplace. He applied for 30 jobs, but got only 4 interviews. The schools he got interviews from had at least one person on their search committee who was gay. He realized elements of segregation in the workplace, and he says that on top of his academic workloud, he also carried the workload of striving for social justice and proving his worth. Multiple times he has wanted to give up academia altogether, but he doesn't because he knows there are young chicanas and chicanos out there wanting to find their voice, and he wants to help them do so. He says that queer chicanos fit in nowhere, and they fit in everywhere. He advocates for the queer aztlan Cherrie Moraga mentions, and this is something that cannot be achieved alone.
Carlos manuel "gay, maricon, and mexicano, any questions"
His story: Moved to the United States from Mexico when he was young. Realized he was gay when he was 12. Says that he learned many things about his sexuality, such as, if you are gay you cannot change that, and every time you meet someone new you will have to come out to them. He says that no male that participated in sexually curious activities could be considered "gay" because in his country, gay people were eroticized and overly flamboyant, and were also the "passive partner" who allowed himself to be penetrated. When he came to America, he felt that he had to leave his culture, traditions, and roots behind in order to be part of the American people. When he was growing up, he questioned his entire existence a lot and was very conflicted and stressed whilst trying to become more "white." He felt ashamed to be mexican, and even more ashamed to be gay. He mentions that his family thinks that Mexican people weren't gay, but once they come to America they are brainwashed and engage in homosexual acts for money. He didn't come out for a while because he didn't want to be the shame of his family. He eventually came out to his mom and was accepted. Once he began to feel accepted, he decided to give up trying to be a part of the American people and declared that you didn't need to be white to be perfect. He concludes that even when people tell him to leave because "America isn't his country," he needs to keep fighting on because there are others like him. He says that Mexicans may never be welcome, but they will be equally accepted.
Mario Martinez "personal resilience"
His story: he was adopted when he was young after being sexually assaulted by his foster mother. Had girlfriends early in high school, but realized he was attracted to men his senior year. When he got to college, he had a few serious boyfriends. When he came out to his parents, they kicked him out of the house. After a while his mom began talking to him again, and then eventually his dad, even though it took his father longer to accept the fact that his son was gay. Mario tried to join the navy, but then found out that he was HIV positive. When he told his parents he was HIV positive, they kicked him out of the house again and said they regretted adopting him. He tried to commit suicide, but his friends called an ambulance soon enough and he was saved. Then he realized that his friends were his family, and he is happy he is alive today.
Queer In Aztlan
IDENTIFY: A collection of stories from male chicanos regarding their consciousness and the process of coming out for them. CITE: "1966" by Michael Nava, "Personal Resilience" by Mario Martinez, "Immigrant, Maricon, and Mexicano, Any Questions?" by Carlos Manuel, "The Gay Brown Beret Suite" by Rigoberto Gonzalez, "Crevices y Cicatrizes: Finding Liberation Through My Body" by Eddy F. Alvarez, "Out in the Field" by Daniel Enrique Perez, EXPLAIN: This was a series of short memoirs about gay Chicano men and their lives and experiences. Common themes in the stories: i. Intersectionality ii. Acceptance, Ambivalence, & Rejection iii. Trauma & Fear: fear that people would find out about their true identity and be ostracized from society. iv. Exocitized, Eroticized: "The gay man is the devil incarnate, except that he doesn't want to enter our hearts; no, he wants to enter a more forbidden place-our pants" ("The Gay Brown Beret Suite" by Rigoberto Gonzalez) v. Body Consciousness: Crevices y Cicatrizes: Finding Liberation Through My Body" by Eddy F. Alvarez vi. Resilience & Survival: band together: Queer Aztlan
Vickie Castro
IDENTIFY: A college student who played a crucial role in the Blowouts and then helped establish the YCCA. (Young Citizens (later changed to Chicanos) for Community Action) CITE: "Grassroots Leadership Reconceptualized: Chicana Oral Histories and the 1968 East Los Angeles School Blowouts" by Dolores Delgado Bernal EXPLAIN: She was used as a decoy in a sense during the blowouts. She was responsible for distracting the Principal while other students came to encourage all of the students to walk out. Her strategy was to act as a job applicant trying to set up a meeting with the Principal. She helped form the Young Chicanos for Community Action (YCCA) which was an activist group that sought to gain both social and educational improvements for Chicanos. She is a symbol of female power and courage in the Chicano community.
Chicana Feminism
IDENTIFY: A movement that focuses on improving that status of women in Chicano society politically, economically, socially and more. CITE: "La Nueva Chicana"- Vicki Ruiz EXPLAIN: This was the first major movement that Chicana women banded together to stand up for themselves in order to better their situation. They were subordinate to men, subordinate to white women, and forced out of the political and profession sphere because of their strict gender roles. They focused on empower fellow Chicana women and educating women on the issues. Chicana feminists were often left out in history but they played huge roles in making communities more conscious of the injustices women in Chicana culture face.
Walk outs/blow outs
IDENTIFY: A movement that took place in the 1960s where thousands of students walked out of mostly Chicano schools in East LA to protest the inferior quality of their education. CITE: "Grassroots Leadership Reconceptualized: Chicana Oral Histories and the 1968 East Los Angeles School Blowouts" by Dolores Delgado Bernal EXPLAIN: The 1960s was a time of social unrest in the US. Instigated by the Brown Berets, Chicano students were unhappy with their education. In order to take a stand, Chicano students in East Los Angeles began "walking out" of their classrooms and protested. They were demanding a bilingual education so their language and culture was recognized, more chicano/a teachers, and the teaching of chicano studies in the classroom. These students wanted justice and wanted to be treated as equals and not inferiors. This is seen as a political and social development of the Chicano people.
brown berets
IDENTIFY: A pro-chicano organization of chicanos who sought both social and educational improvements for Chicanos. This group emerged from the YCCA during the Chicano Movement in the 1960s. CITE: "'Birth of a New Symbol' The Brown Beret's Gendered Chicano National IMaginary" by Ernesto Chavez EXPLAIN: They are a group of chicano revolutionaries who fought for their liberation, protested and fought against police brutality, and advocated for equality in schools. They took serious pride in their culture and were a symbol of the long term injustice and racism toward Chicano people in the US. They were from poor families and communities of violence and abuse. They fought for justice in the school system by demanding better learning conditions and the incorporation of the Chicano language. This eventually led to the East LA Blowouts.
Queer Aztlan
IDENTIFY: A theoretical place/society where everyone is comfortable and does not have to worry about being discriminated against. A space where everyone is accepted. CITE: "Queer Aztlan: the Re-formation of Chicano Tribe" by Cherrie Moraga EXPLAIN: A Chicano homeland that could embrace all its people. Aztlan literally means "sacred landscape." Aztlan was a historical/mythical land where the Aztecs were said to have resided 1,000 years ago. Located in the U.S Southwest, Aztlan fueled a nationalist struggle twenty years ago, which encompassed much of the pueblo Chicano from Chicago to Chihuahua (birth of chicano nationalism). Aztlan first started as an effort regarding the Chicano nationalist movement, where the Chicano community strived for acceptance. The Queer Aztlan is not only a place for people of different races, but also different sexual orientations, gender, etc.
Oscar De La Hoya
IDENTIFY: Nicknamed "The Golden Boy" because he was a professional boxer and opened up the sport to Mexicans. he was a masculine persona and a promoter of Chicanos in the sport of boxing. CITE: "Golden But Not Brown"- Fernando Delgado EXPLAIN: He was the first Latino boxer to successfully assimilate into US media and and became a persona in the entertainment culture. He represents the ability to rise from the poor streets of a Mexican- dominated community and gain wealth and celebrity through the sport of boxing. He also represented the ability to merge US culture and media and Mexican American culture with his popularity in both cultures. He also was more feminine than other extremely masculine competitors and showed it was okay to have 'feminine' traits but still be an extremely successful male. He may not have exhibited traditional Mexican techniques and traits both in the ring and out but he represented Latinos in the media.
cultural nationalism
IDENTIFY: The guiding ideology of the Chicano Movement that aimed for the individuality for an ethnic group. An ideology that is based on unity, ethnicity, culture, and religion. The cultural nationalism promotes the autonomy of a self-defined and self-sustaining nation. Members of the Chicano Movement sought self-determination, the ability and power to define what it meant to be a Chicano. CITE: "'Birth of a New Symbol' The Brown Beret's Gendered Chicano National Imaginary" by Ernesto Chavez EXPLAIN-This ideology enabled Chicanas to define their own experiences and political and cultural ideologies, as well as to resist the gender discrimination. It allowed for the nation to try and gain enough support to maintain autonomy. In Chicano culture, these ideas were expressed through "Chicanismo", which was a male political language that focused on self-identity as well as defining what it was to be Chicano.
Hegemonic masculinity
IDENTIFY: a concept of proposed practices that promote the dominant social position of men, and the subordinate social position of women. Conceptually, this term proposes to explain how and why men maintain dominant social roles over women, and other gender identities, which are perceived as "feminine" in a given society. CITE: "Golden But Not Brown"- Fernando Delgado EXPLAIN: This idea of the dominant masculinity of men was based in the characteristics of violence, "whiteness", bravery, risk taking, bodily strength, and heterosexuality. Boxing, for example, was a sport commonly thought of as an activity for colored men and it exemplified how some believe viewed the idyllic man. This only furthers the rejection of anything other than a white, buff, straight man and this creates a society that is unaccepting of anything other than the dominant trait.
Eddy F. Alvarez
IDENTIFY: a gay chicano that struggled with his weight and acne. He came of age in the 1990s during the time of "skinny, white West Hollywood." CITE: "Crevices y Cicatrizes: Finding Liberation Through My Body" by Eddy F. Alvarez EXPLAIN: Gay Chicano rights activists and poet. Says he was influenced by Chicana feminists (Cherrie Moraga) to help him understand his reality and accept his own body. "It is important to remember that the 'personal is political,' and that as queer people of color our bodies are at the center of our sexual lives and our politics; our bodies and our desires have been racialized, policed, demonized, and branded historically." He used to have acne, and was super self conscious about it and thought it was because Americans over-valued the perfect human image. Through embracing his acne scars he also learned how to embrace his sexuality and his nationality. His scars were a sign of his struggles, and also his acceptance of who he was.
Carla Trujillo
IDENTIFY: a lesbian chicana. She argues that the homophobia from heterosexual chicanos is really because lesbian chicanas are seen as a threat to the community because they disrupt the established order of male dominance and raises the consciousness of chicana women regarding their own independence and control. CITE: "Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About" by Carla Trujillo EXPLAIN: Chicana feminist and writer. In her essay, she defines how Chicana lesbians fit into a historically white world. The difference between heterosexual chicanas and lesbian chicanas: sexuality, identification, motherhood, and religion. "As a lesbian she does many things simultaneously: she rejects 'compulsory heterosexuality'; she refuses to partake in the 'game' of competition for men; she confronts her own sexuality; and she challenges the norms placed upon her by culture and society, whose desire is to subvert her into proper roles and places." ("Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About" by Carla Trujillo )
Chicana Loyalists
IDENTIFY: opposed the feminist movement. They believed they should stand by their men and didn't believe in the need for an identity. CITE: "La Nueva Chicana"- Vicki Ruiz EXPLAIN: They argued that women should stand by traditional gender roles and any women who felt the need for a further identity was not a true Chicana women. This only made the position of Chicana women more set in the domestic sphere, because now women were split in their positions. If a feminist spoke out about her wish to improve her situation, she would be viewed as a fake Chicana because of this group's need to stick to traditional gender roles.