Charting the Intellectual Terrain of Latina Feminist Discourse

• In Event: Intersectional Perspectives on Race

Abstract

Latina Feminism refers to a critical political discourse emerging from the lived experiences of Latinas in the U.S., highlighting the struggles to challenge, resist, negotiate and deal with the pervasive and enduring realities of racial, gendered, class, and sexual inequalities. A form of political expression encompassing thought, activism, writing and intellectual work, performance and practice, method and engagement, language, symbolism, interpersonal interaction and identity, Latina feminisms constitute a richly complex, heterogeneous and fragmented set of dialogues.

Key to the formation of these feminist voices has been the attention to constantly shifting and intersecting modes of power embodied within race, ethnicity, immigrant status, gender, class, and sexuality. Described in varying ways as hybridity, mestizaje, and intersectionality –this complexity reflects conflict, creativity and ingenuity, flexibility and variability and speaks to both a social identity, an analytical view, a methodology and a practice. The focus on intersectionality both names the unique forms of subordination experienced by Latinas and cultivates strategies to alter, resist and address them. Contemporary Latina feminist theory has also expanded from its origins within the 60s and 70s to address the changing political dynamics of globalization, authoritarianism, and myriad new technologies of power and resistance. Utilizing archival research, the authors of this paper will begin to draw an intellectual map of Latina feminist discourse in the U.S., paying particular attention to historical antecedents, conceptual milestones, and contemporary manifestations.

Authors

• Anna Sampaio, Santa Clara University

• Celeste M. Montoya, University of Colorado, Boulder