Rosa Berumen, San Diego State University
2006 University of California Berkeley, Summer Research Opportunity Program
Laura E. Pérez, PhD.
Department of Ethnic Studies, University of California Berkeley

Abstract

This is a preliminary project in the investigation of Chicana identity within literature from the 1960's to the present and is meant to add to the present well-founded knowledge of this subject. The essay focuses on five major pieces of literature both from Chicano's of the early 1960's movement to Chicanas. The five texts used were: "Yo Soy Joaquín," by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, "El Plan Espiritual De Aztlán," Giving Up The Ghost by Cherríe Moraga, The Mixquiahuala Letters by Ana Castillo, and lastly Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros. I begin with the use of "Yo Soy Joaquin," and "El Plan Espiritual De Aztlán," to show how Chicanas in the beginning of the movement were omitted by their sexist and homophobic male counterparts. I suggest that due to the absence of Chicanas from the creative literature produced in the early 1960's by Chicanos, women countered by creating a multitude of groups, within the Chicano/a movement, in order to explore their own individual identity with respect to sexuality and gender. The importance of understanding the complex development of Chicana identity is significant in connecting the present day Chicana and the Chicano/a movement, which I would suggest is unraveling at its core.