Carla Trujillo Chicana Lesbians Analysis

Joe Gamez
Phil 327

My report is on Carla Trujillo’s article on chicana lesbians: Fear and Loathing in the Chicano community. Carla Trujillo hit it right on the head when according to Trujillo chicana lesbians are perceived as a threat because it disrupts the order of male dominance and raises the awareness for chicana women about their own independence and control (Trujillo281) This is true because of the machismo way that males have dominated families that have shaped their children to think that chicana women are inferior to men. Trujillo also made sense when she talked about sexuality when it came to suppressing it because
women are taught to concede all pleasure to the male (Trujillo282) which makes women not appreciate their bodies and know little about them. Another point I want to make is the way chicanas identify themselves because chicans are taught at an early age to undervalue themselves, this in turns to chicana women being dependent on men. Motherhood and Religion play a essential role in the way chicana’s minds are molded because in the Mexican- American family women are taught that in order to be a complete woman you have to get married to a successful man and bare his children.
Chicana’s are taught at a early age that it is important to find the right man to have their children with because it is the man that will support her financially and emotionally In contrast; If a chicana woman comes out of the closet and proclaims that she is a lesbian this will cause problems in that household on all levels.
The problems come about because chicano families have been brought up to conform to certain unwritten rules for example, to follow the norm(be a follower) and to not ask any questions regarding anything controversial that would make chicano families stand out from the rest. I Agree with Trujillo that chicana lesbians
are perceived as a greater threat to the chicano community because they are disrupting the established order of male dominance because homosexuality is considered taboo in the chicano family. However I disagree with Trujillo on the assertion that lesbianism disrupts the established norm of patriarchal oppression because in today’s society we are seeing more women becoming the head of their household and thus creating more equality in the household. The argument that lesbian’s are disrupting the norm of patriarchal oppression is not persuasive to me because what is the norm now in our society today? I have this view because according to Lugones one’s identity and self-identity change through a cultural shift that I feel is going on in today’s society. Chicana’s lesbian, and heterosexual’s are taught that their sexuality must conform to certain modes of behavior (Trujillo282).
Expressing and talking about Sexuality for chicana women has always created a problem because there is no social norm for expressing and talking about it. I agree with trujillo’s persuasive argument that not loving their bodies lesbian chicana women are not perceiving themselves as sexual beings thus not confronting their lesbianism(Trujillo282) because in order to be true to yourself chicana lesbians must first love themselves as a woman and as a sexual being before they love somebody else and break free of traditional conceptions of appropriate female conduct. Breaking free of the traditional concepts of appropriate conduct is a challenge because chicana women having always been instilled that it is a sin to be a lesbian according to the Roman Catholic Church which is not factural. Religion is a important component in the chicana upbringing thus making a closeted lesbian not want to come out because she is confused about what is right and what is wrong. The culture voices shame upon chicana women if they go beyond the criteria of passivity and repression or doubts of in virtue of chicana women refuse (Castillo
1991) Identification and motherhood in chicana women have always gone together because this is what defines a chicana woman in a chicano culture. Chicana women are not viewed complete until they are connected to a man; this sets up situations where women are competing with each other. Chicana lesbians however, do not fit into this picture. Instead of competing with other women, they love other women and identify in ways that are independent of men (Trujillo283) I agree with Trujillo’s argument that chicana women’s identification is made through finding a man to preserve herself worth because chicano families have always instilled to a women that if you don’t find a successful man to marry you will be ostracized within the family that you are a loner. This stereotype within the chicano community is best illustrated with Collins arguement that stereotypes help serve to hide to normalize oppression by making it seem something that the oppressed person wants to do or something that comes from the oppressed person’s nature.(Collins) Chicana lesbians according to trujillo disrupt motherhood in two ways by not having children and by being mothers in non-traditional ways (Trujillo284) this with their identification are reasons why chicano families are not respective to lesbianism. In conclusion, Chicano culture, like the larger Latino culture of which it is a part, is strongly influenced by the Catholic Church, which in turn shapes most of the culture's attitudes towards gender and sexuality. Gender roles are very narrowly defined, so that the only appropriate roles for women are those that "connect" them to men -- as daughters, sisters, or wives. Sexuality is considered a taboo subject, especially for women, not only as a way of maintaining an aura of chastity and purity around Chicana women, but also as a way of curbing their the impulse to explore their sexuality, which might undermine male authority and dominance. In keeping with Catholic teaching, sexuality exists solely for the purpose of reproduction, which is considered especially essential for a people who’s every survival is constantly threatened by the dominant culture. For a Chicana woman to explore the possibility of lesbianism, then, she must face the consequences of rejecting the only gender roles available to her and she must overcome her own fears and ignorance about her sexuality.