Anzaldua's Ambivalence Analysis

In Anzaldua’s piece her ambivalence is the mixed signals or signs that she is receiving about the different sections of her identity. s. In a generalized form her ambivalence is her intersectionality as a lesbian, Chicano woman. These three minority groups are splitting Anzaldua’s being and that is the world wind that she faces. Unable to be herself, she is forced into choosing labels that society creates due to binaries and ignorance. This is the ultimate problem that Anzaldua and others face. Anzaldua is happy with her mixed identity, but she is unable to choose which is more important which is something she should not have to do as we progress farther and father away from the binaries that hold society back. She explores this thought with
the opening lines of the piece: “Your allegiance is to La Raza, “the Chicano movement, say those of my race,” and “then there’s my allegiance to the gay movement.”
As Anzaldua’s writes, she seems happy that she can pick up something from each group that she identities with but hates society for forcing her to create a label for herself that is not inclusive of all her identities.
This is the bridge that she refers to later in the piece. This bridge is one sided where on the left side, you are in the “out” group because you do not identify with the right side and vice versa. As a lesbian, Chicano woman, Anzaldua is not allowed to cross the bridge to be the “real woman” that society defines. The intersection where her sexuality and race meet with her sex and gender causes an imbalance in the bridge if the right side of the bridge is all heterosexual, white women. This nature causes what feels like a battle between people as she highlighted in the text. She speaks of black people offending white gay people, and these same white people coming back with remarks that involves “nigger,” as a way to offend this group of black people. These battles are ones that can be avoided, but they feel like they have to be made because of the bridge and the “us vs you” nature that it imposes. This bridge forces us to choose what we think is more important and disregards the idea that multiple things or identities may be important to
us.
After reading the piece, I believe Anzaldua wishes the reject and work past this bridge and the direct picking of one identity to remain the “multilegged” creature that she sees herself as, with each leg being a different aspect of her identity or another piece of her intersectionality. In this model, for Anzaldua, one leg would be female, one leg would be lesbian, and the final leg would also be Chicano.