Femtorship, Mentorship, and Tormentorship: Unraveling a Trenza of Experiences Among Chicana/Latina/Afro-Latina Scholars

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 7:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Braiding Care and Cultural Wealth: Latinx Praxis, Mentorship, and Institutional Reckoning in Academia

Abstract

Through a Chicana/Latina feminist epistemology and intersectional lens, we, a colectiva/collective of eight Chicana/Latina/Afro-Latina women scholars representing mid to senior level tenured and emeritus faculty, explore solidarities and points of divergence in the femtorship we’ve experienced over the course of our careers. Themes from pláticas reveal an unraveling of the trenza, or braid, that describes our multidimensional experiences: Femtorship as Compass, Mentorship as (Mis)alignment, and Tormentorship Disguised. Through our work we (re)claim those academic spaces that once and at times still challenge our authentic ways of being and obstruct opportunities for femtorship.

Authors

• Melissa A. Martinez, Texas State University

• Mónica Byrne-Jiménez, UCEA

• Soribel Genao, Queens College

• Maritza Lozano, California State University - Fullerton

• Sylvia Mendez-Morse, Texas Tech University

• Rosa L. Rivera-McCutchen, Hunter College - CUNY

• Mariela Aime Rodriguez, University of Texas - San Antonio

• Estela Zarate, Loyola Marymount University